Anyone no who one the F500 races at Sebring?
Sebring results
Anyone no who one the F500 races at Sebring?
Corey Mcleod won and Jack Walbran was 2nd on both days.
Steve, FV80
I heard that there was more than one on-track incident.
Jim
Biggest incident was FF diving outside an FV while another FF was diving INSIDE the same FV. Contact sent the outside FF end'O+ resulting in 3 laps of FCY and driver flying to hospital. FV damage was relatively minor, but kept car out of Sunday race.
All drivers now OK.
SEVERAL ... no... MANY incidents of faster cars DIVE BOMBING FV's at or after turn-in. Lisa got punted off w no damage except for position, but there were A LOT of very close calls. I managed to avoid contact, but it is EXTREMELY difficult to drive in your mirrors and still stay competitive... and also NOT crash on your own because you're not looking where you NEED to be looking to drive .. you have to look where you HAVE to look to stay alive and in one piece.
Steve, FV80
Thanks for the F500 update, Steve.Sorry to hear about the FF/FV incidents! Shelly Sadwin said that Peters VEE had a bent frame tron that end0. Makes me just want to be more careful in the spring not cutting the VEE folks off coming out of corners with our extra speed in F500 'S!!Originally Posted by Steve Davis
Biggest incident was FF diving outside an FV while another FF was diving INSIDE the same FV. Contact sent the outside FF end'O+ resulting in 3 laps of FCY and driver flying to hospital. FV damage was relatively minor, but kept car out of Sunday race.
All drivers now OK.
SEVERAL ... no... MANY incidents of faster cars DIVE BOMBING FV's at or after turn-in. Lisa got punted off w no damage except for position, but there were A LOT of very close calls. I managed to avoid contact, but it is EXTREMELY difficult to drive in your mirrors and still stay competitive... and also NOT crash on your own because you're not looking where you NEED to be looking to drive .. you have to look where you HAVE to look to stay alive and in one piece.
Steve, FV80
We're not concerned about getting cut off coming OUT of the corners - speed is speed. But ANYONE can use any other one instead of brakes and THAT'S where the problem lies. When the Vee sets up wide to turn in, invariably the faster car thinks they can FIT in between the Vee and the apex and WHAM! - the vee, being on the outside almost always gets the short end of the deal as did Lisa. Peter got a BAD end, but the FF got the worst since it was on his outside this time.
But .. we do appreciate ANY consideration by the drivers of the faster classes.
Steve, FV80
In and out of dive bombings?
Well said Steve
These FV incidents and near incidents just confirm to me that it is high time to start
making the FV's faster using the FST configuration. This can be accomplished over several seasons in order to spread the conversion cost out. It is only a matter of time before there is a serious injury wreck. And the bad thing about it is that HQ and the BOD are fully aware of this danger. I can just see this nightmare when the insurance people investigate the accident. I really don't want this club to be put in this bad situation.
Jim
Unfortunately, FST is not the answer to this situation. They are only a couple of seconds a lap faster than FV. We need to pickup 20+ seconds a lap to make it noticeably better ... or just tell SCCA bye bye and go vintage racing..... or add 3000 lbs of weight to the car so we can 'take the hit' better ??
Steve, FV80
Going vintage is one possible choice but not mine. I would rather do this.
FST's configuration would be the STARTING point as I suspect a 1800cc+ motor that has about the same rpm range as the 1200 would help the car get a lot closer in speed - say about 8 seconds on a lap time at RA (FV's low 1:40's down to ABOUT FF/F5's low 1:30's). Solo Vee's already have 2 liter motors so it is feasible.
I make the point about the same rpm range for the sake of engine longevity.
The whole point is to minimize the closing speed.
Jim
Tough choices for folks that understandibly love their VEE's. Steve mentioned a 3rd choice earlier which is more care taken by the faster cars. Last summer at NHMS, I watched the race winner(and class act) in an F500(Richard Johnson?) from RI carefully choose his entrance into the bowl, as to not toss the VEE's around entering the apex. He then powered out away from them(as Steve pointed out to me,earlier) safely.
What happened at Sebring will make me think hard about my moves at LRP next summer. I have alot of friends running VEE's.....and this is supposed to be fun and safe for all.
Tough choices for folks that understandibly love their VEE's. Steve mentioned a 3rd choice earlier which is more care taken by the faster cars. Last summer at NHMS, I watched the race winner(and class act) in an F500(Richard Johnson?) from RI carefully choose his entrance into the bowl, as to not toss the VEE's around entering the apex. He then powered out away from them(as Steve pointed out to me,earlier) safely.
What happened at Sebring will make me think hard about my moves at LRP next summer. I have alot of friends running VEE's.....and this is supposed to be fun and safe for all.
I really wished that FV's would not have to suffer this but the incidents just continue year after year all across the country. This pattern will not change for the better as the offending drivers have been told repeatedly year after year not to do this. What happens many times is that the next incident occurs with a different driver who is a first time "offender". I have been watching this same scary pattern since 1982 when I started with F440's. The warnings have never improved the situation so it is time to search for a better fix.
Jim
speed difference
I Agree Richard Johnson did a great job this past racing season, but the previous season He would get on the binders so bad going into the bowl at nhms that 3 different vee drivers hit him, and 1 driver refused to race anymore because richard would be in the way. I will say after 3 or so laps richard would get his tires up to temp and the problem would go away. He told me He liked racing with the vee's the problem was he was the only one there in an f 500 and would get a 1st place reguardless of where he finished. He blocked me up one time and got between me and Harry White and I lost Harry's draft so my race with Harry was over. It didn't change the out come except I may have been able to pass harry later in the race if I could have stayed with him. This is what club racing is about. We all have to try to get along with all the classes but I do think the vees being as slow as they are need a class by themselves. At nhms we pretty much are except for the 1 or 2 f500's that show up. thanks Peter Cheney fv #06
Unless you have the numbers to justify a separate race group, this just won't happen
and with the current FV numbers around the country it looks like it will never happen with maybe a rare exception. The other part of the problem with FV that I have heard several times is the younger generation drivers just are not interested in antique technology and the FST's newer technology is more attractive to them.
Jim
Jim - I have only seen one FST at SEDIV races in the past few years if you take away the ARRC. The FST's are more numberous in CENDIV but SEDIV is not a FST area at all. If enough of the FST wannabes actually start showing up the SLOW formula class of FV, FST, F500, CF, would substain itseld and the high speed formula run overs would be moved into another class. I have raced with CF, FF, FC, FA, FM, F5, F6, ASR, CSR, DSR and while the closing speed is blink of the eye quick the overtakers need to excercise caution - this is for partical board or a sticker isn't it?
Outside of the ARRC (which the FST's did not run this past November) there is only one FST in the SEDIV. Thankfully, Atlanta and most of the SEDIV regions split this group into wings and wingless cars most of the time; sometimes FC will be moved over to the slower group if the numbers are not there.
Jim
I may be wrong...but don't remember seeing a FFST in the NER Region.There was a rumor that one was going to run last year at NHMS..... but it didn't show.
There were about 10 FST's at the Glen for the Fun One last year. Other then that race, I don't recall any others in the NE region last year.
Actually, there are at least TWO - Garry Sharp and Allan Adderley. Allan has had several engine problems but as far as I know, does plan to run some races this year. JR Russell is also building one, but he has a ways to go yet.
Steve, FV80
John....when I watched your great laps on race monitor at the glen last fall, I saw all those FST's running.I think most all were from the Midwest....Bill B. Had an 11hr drive home and you folks were the last run group.See you soon at the track my friend with your son!!
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