F1 Vs Gp Bike - 'nuff Said

[eatingupblacktop]

I used to think F1 drivers were insane. The GP bike racers are definitely on another planet!

:o Holy Sh*t!

[smooth1]

was that a real race or did they simply switch postions for the video?

[eatingupblacktop]

They never do show the end of the race, so we don't know if they changed places again or not. My guess would be the car's gotta have the edge on the staights with the bike getting the edge coming out of the chicanes or slow tiurns because F1 cars' power band is usually in the higher revs. Love to see the whole thing from start to finish.

Still, I've ridden a GP bike on the track when I did some work for the Suzuki racing team in Canada, and let me tell you, even though it was a detuned backup practice bike, and the crew chief told me to stay below 6K (they redline at 12k), it was the scariest most thrilling ride I've ever had! Couldn't peel my fingers off the grips for a while after bringing her back in, and had this stupid grin on my face for the rest of the day. The guys racing those bikes are nut cases, no doubt in my mind.

[smooth1]

Yeah, The GP class was awsome. But the 500 GP race circuit was stopped because of the emissions issues with the 2 stroke motors.

We race a Suzuki 1000 in the Unlimited GT class in a circuit here in Florida.

That's me in the black and yellow:

[eatingupblacktop]

Nice machine. When I get a chance I'll dig up

some old photos I have somewhere of the Suzuki team

taken in Toronto and post them. I think I might have

some of them on the track.

[smooth1]

Sure that would be great! But to address your topic, I wouldn't wanna race a F1. there's no way! My bike is fast, and while I think I might be able to hang with em in a few corners, the hp to weight ratio would kill me!!! Especially in the straightaways!! Man those guys hit 215 in no time! That's 35-45 mph faster than my bike can even go!

It's intersting to see the lap times they display for all the classes that run at some of these tracks. I know the course layout is different for certian races like motorcyles usually get the in field track with a portion of the main track, and in some clases it's more main track and a different version of the infield track, so it's hard to do an a/b comparison, but when I was at Daytona, they showed a Cart series time of 36.875! The NAscar record is 42.783!! MAn that's fast! Every 8-10 laps he would be passing the Nascar!

[eatingupblacktop]

Gotcha on the a/b track comparisons. No doubt about the speed

of FI. Been to Montreal a few times. Had to wear ear plugs. Haven't

been to a Nascar event yet, though I just missed Daytona by 1 day.

Saw them packing them up in their luxo trailers. It's quite amazing

to see the beautifully painted extended cabs with matching trailers

hauling down the road. Would love to hear and feel the rumble of

Nascar. F1 is loud but high pitched. BTW, congrats on becoming

a mod.

Guess you're gonna have to get a bigger helmet.

[smooth1]

LOL!! Thanks for the congrats. And my helmet was just loose before, so now it fits good! ;)

I LOVE Formula racing. I think it's awsome how the driver and machine have to be matched so perfectly, that ever engineering obstacle is about building confidence and speed. I like all racing. I love the competition, and the combination of man and machine, pushing the limits, and even beyond. It has allways been one of my passions. I really like walking down the paddocks early in the morning, and talking amongst friends and even rivals. Standing at the bottom of the track, trying to figure out where your advantage is, and how you can use it to win. Working out all the strategies, and then starting the motor. It's something I have looked forwqard to everytime I do it.