News RIP John Surtees.

[Notebook]

British driver, bit before my time, but I remember him on newsreels.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/35126201

John Surtees, who has died aged 83, is the only man to have won a grand prix world championship on two and four wheels.
A brilliant motorcyclist who dominated the top 500cc class for much of the late 1950s, Surtees moved on to cars and immediately established himself as a leading figure, winning the Formula 1 championship for Ferrari in 1964.

 

[fort]

Was, a time, in the F1 Lotus team ? ( or Graham Hill ? or Stewart ?)

 

[Notebook]

A quick look through his history suggests not.
But he did drive some of the big names!

 

[fort]

A quick look through his history suggests not.
But he did drive some of the big names!

I was not sure but, looking at wiki, yes: it was on Lotus. The fine dark green F1 car, sometimes running with an asymetric geometry ( for parts relying wheels to the cockpit - arms of suspension ) for Indianapolis races.

 

[Notebook]

I love the shape and the engineering of the 1960 cars. To me they are unique.

N.

 

[Proximus]

I know Rossi has had a quick play in a Ferrari but winning both F1 and Moto GP championships is really remarkable. Some people work hard to be fast and some are just born that way. RIP.

 

[Marg]

I love the shape and the engineering of the 1960 cars. To me they are unique.

N.

Yes, they really had great shapes. By mid-70ies designs became horrible, too "cornerish". Especially until high airboxes were banned. Thankfully there are rFactor type sims, which can recreate those seasons.

 

[fort]

Yes, they really had great shapes.

Sometimes yes...

https://secure.pic.autoscout24.net/...27805001.jpg?fb595e507e7d291f9ced9a0fb71fe397


sometimes less ( or so different.. ).

http://blogs.hommell.com/2cv/files/2014/07/2cv-az-1956.jpg

 

[Wolf]

Personally I think the Citroen 2CV still looks great. Citroen in the 60's designed some amazing cars with super-advanced technology, the unquestionable queen being the DS!

---------- Post added at 03:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:22 PM ----------

I know Rossi has had a quick play in a Ferrari but winning both F1 and Moto GP championships is really remarkable. Some people work hard to be fast and some are just born that way. RIP.

Rossi tested the Ferrari F1 a few years ago in Fiorano (Ferrari test racetrack in Maranello). His fastest lap was less then a second above the track record (I think set by Raikkonen).
No doubt he could have been a F1 top driver; luckily he decided to continue his career in MotoGP, by far IMHO more spectacular and exciting and, more important, a motor sport where the rider can still make the difference.

 

[Proximus]

Moto GP is very exciting, the number of overtakes is hard to follow sometimes!
The riders themselves are like gladiators with frequent injuries during a championship.
Inevitably it can go really wrong like Marco Simoncelli

 

[K_Jameson]

I love the shape and the engineering of the 1960 cars. To me they are unique.

N.

Yeah, they was essential, compact, beautiful, especially before the introduction of the first aerodynamic surfaces.

Those years were the best. They had the best cars, the best girls, the best music, the best space programs... :lol:

---------- Post added at 05:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:40 PM ----------

MotoGP, by far IMHO more spectacular and exciting and, more important, a motor sport where the rider can still make the difference.

Very different disciplines.
F1 has always been a technology workshop. And obviously this implies that the car and the technical research has an importance that sometimes overshadows the driver. The races are based on strategy rather than on constant overtakings, also because of their greater length. The overtake is so difficult that is considered the F1 equivalent of the "goal" in soccer, but this isn't a prerogative of recent years.
I always felt MotoGP (and two wheels races in general) as a more "popular" or "populistic" show and F1 as a discipline more devoted to enthusiasts interested in technical details.

That said, I stopped following F1 some year ago because of that continuous carousel of changing rules, the ugly racetracks and the lack of charismatic drivers as in the golden years.