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20 Mar 2004, 18:08 (Ref:912432) | #1 | ||
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Race distance engine
I am just grasping at straws here, but if I blew an engine during practise or qualifying I would be forced to start at the back of the grid right??? Well, what if the second engine I had for the race was like the previous qualifying engines where they were only designed to last a short time. If an engine was designed to last a race distance only, would it be competitive enough to win from the back of the grid?? I know this is a stupid question...I just hope you guys understand where I am coming from. It just hit me while watching qualifying this morning...when all you hear about is reliability being built into an engine.
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20 Mar 2004, 18:48 (Ref:912523) | #2 | ||
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Yeah, we have talked about this topic at the start of the year. Personally i was saying what is stopping Minardi (who always qualify last row) from just using last year's engines? They won't be "penalised" for changing engines, and they'd have a handful more horsepower and lighter engine.
However, it is unlikely top teams would go for this approach. The new engines are already matching last year's engines in terms of power, so i assume that building a race engine wouldn't see a "significant" jump in horsepower, and hence race performance, that actually justifies it from starting at the back. Of course, if say Ferrari uses the old version engine, qualifies on pole with ease, then drop 10 places to get the new engine, it may work perfect... But i doubt the sponsors would like such a scene happen every race. |
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Alonso: "McLaren and Williams are also great racing teams, but Ferrari is the biggest one that you can go to." |
20 Mar 2004, 18:50 (Ref:912527) | #3 | ||
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Hmm yes interesting, again the bigger rich teams could do this. But knowing when your engine was going to blow and how long the new one is supposed to last is a bit tricky.
Judging from laptimes this year I am not sure if it would give you enough extra performance anyway! |
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Local Track: Aldo Scribante What sort of motorist are you... Smooth or Hairy I'm definitely hairy. |
20 Mar 2004, 19:01 (Ref:912544) | #4 | ||
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Yes, if this year's engines are already matching the power of last years..who is to say that a new race spec engine would be that much better this year?
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20 Mar 2004, 19:12 (Ref:912561) | #5 | ||
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Hmm..in the past, under the old format, teams use the old engines from the previous race event (those used in practice/quals/race) sessions for the following week of testings, after giving it an inspection of it's wear/tear. Hence, the increase in mileage the new format engines need to endure isn't as much as what some may want to believe. Even BMW over-estimated the potential lost in horsepower, only to realise it's just a very small dip.
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Alonso: "McLaren and Williams are also great racing teams, but Ferrari is the biggest one that you can go to." |
20 Mar 2004, 20:03 (Ref:912664) | #6 | ||
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As an aside, Alonso has changed his engine for the race today having messed up qualifying. Might Renault be tempted to up the revs a bit, since the engine is covering a lot less mileage?
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21 Mar 2004, 02:19 (Ref:913275) | #7 | ||
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Seems like BAR's confident with their Honda engines then
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Alonso: "McLaren and Williams are also great racing teams, but Ferrari is the biggest one that you can go to." |
21 Mar 2004, 10:55 (Ref:913821) | #8 | ||
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According to ITV's grid rundown, Sato did change the engine, which is baffling because it blew for Ant on Friday - and we all saw the result.
I don't think this year's engines neccessarily perform any worse than last year's, mainly because so much work has been done on them. Even though Mianrid are using Ford engines from last year, they have been developed significantly,r ather than just having their revs reduced. |
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