Heightened Respect for FB

[Purple Frog]

Wow!

Shock and Awe.

This isn't my trip to the rodeo. I've been around racing a long time. But now I got to admit, i have a new respect for the top flite FB pilots. It's one thing to watch from the railing on pit lane, but to be right out there with them on the track is eye-opening. This is from a guy that has been in run groups with FAs for a dozen years. In car video doesn't really do justice to the skills required.

As an early FB advocate I've enjoyed watching the class. I was on the track with Sean O'Connell when he won the first ever FB national race. In the early years it appeared that FBs cornered much like FC cars but just scooted down the straights faster. Now, i'm beginning to believe they are cornering faster than FCs. Obviously they have compressed the braking zones into shorter spaces than a FC. And all this is going on with basically aero controlled by FC specs. I'm impressed.

Last weekend in one session (the race i believe), Coop passed me as I was running up to T3. I know i'm a bit of a wanker, but T3 is not my worst turn. He went by me like i was in reverse. Understand, that passing me put him off-line for the approach, yet his turn-in and resulting acceleration across the apex was mind boggling.

I was told that a good FA car going through T1 at Roebling Road has an effective weight of something over 3000 lbs, what with the tunnels, etc. I'm thinking that a FB in the same corner, at much the same speed has the downforce of a FC. I have to believe a FB driver is a lot more 'busy', and has to have great hand speed. I'm thinking it must be equivalent to driving a 160 hp FF with super brakes. Watching at Road Atlanta, these FB cars hopping around through T3 and T5 remind me of the old FB cars of the early 70's.

So I have high respect for the likes of Niki, Brandon, Coop, Cole, Justin, et al that can go out lap after lap at these new speeds and bring the cars back in one piece. I have read that Brandon admits that adjusting to the cars capabilities as a driver has been as much a challenge as the actual development of the car. I believe it.

I'm believing that FB is a harder drive than FA.

Shaping up to be one hell of a Runoffs.

[Stan Clayton]

So tell us, Frog...which one of the FBs for sale have you placed a deposit on?

[glenn cooper]

When I was just a spectator at the first FB ARRC in 2007, I was blown away from watching in T10a/b and up the hill to the bridge, esp that part. The cars came into 10a and flicked it through 10b and were g-o-n-e, adios muchachos!

I thought you mighta thought that pass in T3 was a little ragged, but the grip from those 8 and 10" wheels on Hoosier 25's (yes, 25's in that heat) allows for some pretty insane cornering. The cars are so light that they can decell very quickly.
Folks constantly make mention of how fast the cars are, and I have to tell them how incredible the brakes are.
Going into T10 at the end of the backstraight, I'm braking past the 100 mark and it's still too early.
Reprograming my brain for the superior braking available w/ the RFR chassis is proving to be taking longer than I had hoped. It's called survival instinct!

[RussMcB]

So tell us, Frog...which one of the FBs for sale have you placed a deposit on?

He'll need to recoup his Reynard investment (and sell it for $45,000 :-).

My opinion (as the slowest, least talented FB driver):

I think anyone who can drive an FC at the limit can probably adjust to an FB. I'm impressed with the driving talent of the front running FB drivers (as I am for front running FC drivers, etc.)

I think (from what I've heard) a tunnel FA is harder to get past that point where the downforce really starts working. I never got there driving my DB-4.

Many of the FB's have wider tires and wheels than FC.

[Purple Frog]

Stan,

I'm not good enough to drive my ol' Reynard to it's true potential. Can't imagine being in a new FB.

[Rick Ross]

The top FB drivers would do well in any car -- FA, FC, etc. These guys are all good drivers and would excel in any class. Likewise, a good FC/FE/FM driver should be able to make the transition to FB without too many problems. Driving any car consistently on the limit is not easy.

I suspect that the most "difficult" open wheel car to drive well is the FV, but I've never had the opportunity to try one. Skinny tires and beam axles must make things interesting.

As for FA's, at moderate speeds they are not particularly demanding cars. They have plenty of rubber and downforce. Most FA's that you see at club races are not being pushed to the limits as they would have been in the pro series with some 18 year old kid behind the wheel. But if pushed to the limit an FA will bite you, just like any other car. And the limit in an FA is reached at some relatively high speeds and g-loadings. I have experienced serious oversteer in T1 at Road Atlanta in my Atlantic at over 120 mph -- not fun!!!

[Wren]

Obviously they have compressed the braking zones into shorter spaces than a FC.

There might be something to those modern aluminum calipers.

And all this is going on with basically aero controlled by FC specs. I'm impressed.

Unfortunately, the aero rules are pretty different from FC. The bodywork/diffuser rules are worth something.

Brandon and Niki both ran around Road America about 1.5 seconds off of the fast Atlantics at the Cat National.

[Jnovak]

The thing that is amazing is that the development of the FBs is just begining. Wait a couple of years & they will be faster still.

Thanks ... Jay Novak

[ghickman]

I raced a March 76B back in the late 70's early 80's....flat bottom FA days. My F1000 reminds me of how that car handled in many ways....speeds close to the same. Aside from the really great brakes on the F1000 they feel real close.

My lap times at Willow Springs are almost identical to what I ran in 1979 at the same track in my March 76B...about 1.5 sec. quicker.

Gary
Edge FB #76