Wheel Men...Drivers of the Lotus 49

[Lou Drozdowski]

Boy, you guys are on it...yes, I expected to throw a curve at the group, ya nailed it...

Frank Gardner, in the yellow Brabham BT 23 Alfa V8, a two time British saloon champion, runner up in European F2 and touring cars and a F5000 title.  When I decided to start my competition driving, I was drawn to Frank's book which was perfect read to getting started right.

A shout out to (dakazman)...for the re pop of Baghetti's #24...love them legs.

Back to the Tasman....
Clark, showing the Kiwi 49 nose diving under braking & a happy Hill at Teretonga park

[Lou Drozdowski]

1968....


2018...

[BDA]

It's amazing how complex F1 cars have gotten! It has to be a huge ordeal to learn and understand all those buttons and knobs.

[Bainford]

Yes, crazy complexity. It surely must take away from the purity of the drive.

[Lou Drozdowski]

Research and development...or, when some bloke wants to try those new bits of kit in real life.

 A fascinating  part of racing, as with any boundary adventure is adapting new methods of attack, to address overall performance. Having extreme longevity as a chassis, the 49 was one of the most evolved during it's time.

As the versions morphed through the years, power and drive systems remained relatively stable. Chassis, suspension, tires and aerodynamics with sub component relocation were the work of the day.
 
 Here we see the R8 of Siffert at Brands Hatch in 69...and the first vestiges of the nose nacelle's on Rindt's entry, which were introduced quite eariler. The object of removing the high pressure area and stacked air behind the radiator into the front bulkhead. With improving cooling as a benefit, these ducts not only lowered the dirty internal turbulence  but increased the down force in front of the nose, and also added a greater exit speed creating a higher negative air flow on to the body forward to the cockpit. With adjustable wing slats, wicker bill, and side end plates soon followed, to manage and control increased load effects.

Before the wind tunnels...
The black art of Aerodynamics was living in the pit lane every weekend, along with the clinched butt cheeks of all the drivers. ld
   
 

[Lou Drozdowski]

Graham leaves the pits in South Africa 1968...

With a Team Lotus front row lockout, Clark with a full second in hand after qualifying, paved the way to a Sunday grand slam at the seasons opener.

From the looks of it, I would rather to turn the clocks back 50 years for F1.

Can't follow or pass, drive by wire data streams, halo, no grid girls, drs, 3 engines, fuel strat modes, grid penalties, with a VSC undercut and beat you delta, you win !...
Please God not...(ESPN)....Where are you Hobbs? I can't understand Di resta at all!

[BDA]

The reporting leaves a bit to be desired IMHO. I miss David Hobbs but Martin Brundle is ok. There is nobody like Steve Matchett which is a big loss. There is little analysis and few interviews. I don't like ESPN anyway (but that did allow me to go to the next lower tier on my DirecTV subscription) and to me, their coverage makes it less of an event.

I think Liberty has made some positive changes with better access to the drivers for the fans, for example, but screwed up other things like ESPN, no grid girls, etc. I don't like the looks of the halo, but I got used to it. I think the cars are pretty ugly anyway.

As for the rules, I think the fewer the better. Costs killed the original CanAm but look at the current costs for F1 now!

[Bainford]

I agree with all of the above. It's hard to get seriously interested in F1 now. The machines are much more like 200 mph  'remote control' computers rather than a mechanical machine. I just can't identify with them anymore, and the rules are stifling and far too contrived, designed to suit money-making agendas (read, TV) rather than facilitate good racing. I'm just confused these days when trying to watch an F1 race, with all of these DRS zones (is he in it or not?) and regenerative braking (can he use it now or not?). I don't understand much of it, and there is little incentive to learn.

[Certified Lotus]

I stopped watching F1 years ago. Not like the old days when I woke up in the middle of the night to watch every race. Too much like a video game now.  And where is the innovation? Remember when wings appeared, ground effects, and holly sh** when Tryrell appeared with a six wheel car.

Here is a ‘different” video history of Formula 1: https://youtu.be/hgLQWIAaCmY

Now I Race 1/10th scale formula 1 Cars that are electric and are more fun than watching on TV. Plus I get the build them and make my own mods.......

[BDA]

I've watched pretty regularly over the past several years. I started when Kimi and Romain drove the ersatz Lotus (at least it had an ACBC roundel) Now there's an American team (yes, they still buy an awful lot of the parts from Ferrari but it is still built in North Carolina).

I don't much care for the look of the cars and I don't like a lot of the rules, but there is actual passing as opposed to back in the Schumacher era when there was precious little. There is also records being broken and that's exciting, too.

Agreed, it's not as good as it once was but it's better than it had been and a US team adds to the excitement.

[Lou Drozdowski]

A sad twist of fate...

Heard the news this morning that we lost John Miles yesterday at age 75, exactly fifty years after Clark's fatal accident at Hockenheim. His Grand Prix career included 15 Formula one starts  scoring two championship points. Instrumental in the early development of the ill-fated type 63, saloon racing the 47 and finally working in the road car division for Lotus.

RIP and God's speed ...

[BDA]

RIP John.

[Bainford]

When tales of Lotus lore are uttered, especially with regard to racing road based cars, John Miles' name is always prominently, and favourably mentioned. R.I.P. John.

[Lou Drozdowski]

Victory # 25....

Dueling with Pedro...backmarker traffic in the same corner, looks like the same line. You always needed to rely on mirrors when Jimmy was nearby, since there was always a chance by mid distance he was lapping you...ld


Note: fans in the back round on the micros and com tower disrobing. Hot Times !   

[seniorchristo]

Today I was able to watch my first Formula 1 race of the year.  It was an excellent race and I actually enjoyed the announcers. My ESPN2 feed had no commercials!  Had no trouble understanding DiResta and his Scottish accent.  For me watching F1 in the 60's and 70's it was about the racing, but also about the innovation and difference in car design.  Costs and rules are what kills innovation.  I don't think you will ever see innovation like seen in those "Golden Years"..  Technological advancement as it applies to race cars has reached a point of diminishing returns and the rules reflect that.  Currently in F1 there three teams ultra competitive with each other with a few others close behind.  Racing in all the major series(F1, Indycars and NASCAR) is competitive as a result of spec type rule restrictions.