The Four Wheel Game

[teamsaint]

What a giant figure Graham Hill seemed to be back in the 1960s. No boys annual was complete without a big feature of the great man.
There used to be a second hand car dealer in Southampton called "Graham Hill". Always reminded me of a childhood hero.

[eighthobstruction]

I would like to see them race on roads like the A303 with its numerous intereresting obstacles and diversions...the two summer holiday months would be perfect....and they could have a glamorous finish at Nigel Mansell's place near Exeter.

Oh yes, I'd particularly like to see them take the railway bridge sharp S at the end of the Honiton Bye-pass....

[anotherbob]

Thought I should reset my avatar.....
For the benefit of amateur51 the picture is Prince Bira of Siam in a Maserati at San Remo in1950....
.... and speaking of princes this picture of Mum and Dad Grimaldi appears on P.4 of the Monaco programme. Never got an invitation for drinkies.



There's a race report here

http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr112.html

[Nick Armstrong]

Great stuff, anotherbob! Thanks - though I take the point about the campervan for 2 weeks in early summer Riviera heat.... Love the new avatar, kudos to Ammy for knowing the result of the '63 race, and sorry you never got to drinkies, bob. You may not have missed much... I (for work reasons) did spend an evening with among others the little lad on the right of the picture, 40 years after that was taken. I found him (and his entourage) pretty dull and rude - on mobile phones with ear pieces the whole time, talking into the middle distance and ignoring the real people around them

[Mr Pee]

While we're on the subject of historic GP racing, have any of you fine folk ever made it down to the Goodwood revival? It's a fantastic event, as is the Festival of Speed. If you have any interest in historic racing the Revival is well worth a visit. The FOS also features historic cars, as well as modern machinery, of all descriptions. The Revival takes place at the Goodwood Race Circuit, and the FOS is on a hill-climb course- Lord March's driveway at Goodwood House! At both events, you can get closer to the cars and drivers than just about anywhere else. I was wandering around the paddock at the FOS a few years ago and quite literally bumped into John Surtees!

[anotherbob]

...have any of you fine folk ever made it down to the Goodwood revival?

Never been, but mates tell me the atmosphere is very "them and us". The cars are all part of somebody's investment portfolio now. I find a trip to the BRSCC meetings at Oulton Park more reminiscent of the enthusiasm of the fifties and sixties, though the cars are somewhat less exotic.
I enjoy browsing the Classifieds in my collection of motoring mags from the 50s & 60s when you could buy a Zagato Alfa 1750 for the same price as a new Ford Consul, then take it racing next weekend.

[Nick Armstrong]

Never been, but mates tell me the atmosphere is very "them and us". The cars are all part of somebody's investment portfolio now. I find a trip to the BRSCC meetings at Oulton Park more reminiscent of the enthusiasm of the fifties and sixties, though the cars are somewhat less exotic.

I know what you mean about the atmosphere, abob. Not been to Goodwood, but did have a couple of trips to the 'Grand Prix Historique' which they've been running every two years, a week before or after the main GP, in Monaco since 1998... The cars as you say are investments, and it's all a little processional. Worth doing for the spectacle. I love the artwork from early GP racing - the GP Historique posters reproduce artwork from original 30s GP posters - the ones for the the two years I went down there are framed on the hall wall at home, and cheer up a slightly dark corner!

[anotherbob]

I thought I ought to try and find out something about today's F1 so I visited the official website. I wanted to find things like how big are the engines these days (3.0L, 3.5L?), how are they configured (V8, V10, V12, Flat?) What kind of valve operation do they use etc. etc.
I found the level of information to be pretty dire....
Here is an example.....


On the opening page is a tricky poll question "Which driver will score most points for the Mercedes team this season?"

It mst be hard for real motor racing enthusiasts to find their way throgh this nonsense.

[Nick Armstrong]

Not sure where you looked, but there's a lot a pretty clear info on the official site here: http://www.formula1.com/inside_f1/un...port/5280.html e.g. "Since 2006, the regulations have required the use of 2.4 litre V8 engines... revving to a limited 18,000 RPM "...

[anotherbob]

Not sure where you looked, but there's a lot a pretty clear info on the official site here:

Thanks, that's rather more informative, but still a bit basic.

[Nick Armstrong]

Thanks, that's rather more informative, but still a bit basic.

The full technical regs are available on this .pdf file on the official FIA site: http://www.fia.com/sites/default/fil...09-03-2012.pdf

"ARTICLE 5 : ENGINES AND KINETIC ENERGY RECOVERY SYSTEMS
5.1 Engine specification :
5.1.1 Only 4-stroke engines with reciprocating pistons are permitted.
5.1.2 Engine capacity must not exceed 2400cc.
5.1.3 Crankshaft rotational speed must not exceed 18,000rpm.
5.1.4 Supercharging is forbidden.
5.1.5 All engines must have 8 cylinders arranged in a 90º “V” configuration and the normal section of each cylinder must be circular.
5.1.6 Engines must have two inlet and two exhaust valves per cylinder.
Only reciprocating poppet valves are permitted."

[anotherbob]

That's more like it. Denis Jenkinson and Bill Boddy were my reading scheme as a lad.

[Nick Armstrong]

I imagine the concept of a reciprocating poppet will have Anna joining us...

[Mr Pee]

Never been, but mates tell me the atmosphere is very "them and us".

Well that sounds very odd. I have certainly never found it to be like that. On the contrary.

[Nick Armstrong]

Well that sounds very odd. I have certainly never found it to be like that. On the contrary.

Perhaps you're one of them... ?

Sorry, couldn't resist