OTT: US Formula 1 race great for Ferarri, bad for Michelin

[Patrick Martin]

This is not a true statement on the first account.  The "new" tires shipped 
in from France were not a fix.  They determined on Saturday that the "new" 
tires were not going to fix the fundimental problem that they had.  While a 
more conservitive tire they were not really that different from what they 
already had.  A certain engineer at a red cars team told me that Mich has 
been running a lower pressure tire all year, hence the extra grip.  One of 
the early solutions being bantied about the pits was jacking the air 
pressure up in the tires but that apparently could not have been done with 
the construction of the tire.  The problem is that at Indy is that low 
pressure is a disaster and without testing they could not have known it.

The chicane is a red herring that was never going to happen.  And frankly 
anybody that thinks it was ever a real proposal is a little nieve.  Is it 
really expected that they would drive a track at speed that they had NO 
testing on?  How about the car set ups?   What about brakes?  What about the 
tires that Bridgestone brought out?  Would they be adversely affected by the 
extra chicane?  What if the Bridgestones wore out by the end of the race due 
to the chicane?  Would that be fair?   What about safety?  Did they really 
have time to get an adequite safety regime in place to make sure that it was 
a safe move?

It was a shitty situation that had no easy resolution.  I do think the 
slowing in the cars down in the corner was the only viable choice.  Most of 
the teams would have still beat the Jordons and Minardis and could have 
fought for 3-20th.  They chose to make a stand and are going to pay a price 
for it.  I hope the tire rule goes away after this year and sanity gets back 
into f1.

Pat Martin
86 4kcsq turbo, 3" "cat" back, H&R-Bilstein, MC and loving it.  Drilled and
stopping it. Koenig Cobra 16x7 with AVS ES 100's  turning it,  K&N and
uh....
98 A6q Avant.
95 S6 Avant, IA Stage III, 18x8 RS knockoffs. Daily driver.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bob D" <bob at audisport.com>
To: "Mike Veglia" <msvphoto at pacbell.net>
Cc: <quattro at audifans.com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 21, 2005 12:31 PM
Subject: Re: OTT: US Formula 1 race great for Ferarri, bad for Michelin


> IIRC, michelin offered to ship in new safe tires for them to race on. Max 
> Mosley said NO. Then Michelin said its ok to use those tires, but put in a 
> chicane on turn 13. Max Mosely said NO.
> Not sure Id place all the blame on Michelin...
>
>
> Mike Veglia wrote:
>
>>Michelin and the teams that run them are 100% at
>>fault. The fans got screwed, F1's presence in the USA
>>likely got screwed, but there is only one place to lay
>>blame, and that is Michelin I'm afraid. The root of
>>the problem can be also attributed to tire wars, and
>>this supposed cost saving rule of running race
>>distance on a set of tires
>>
>>According to Peter Windsor on SPEED TV's Wind Tunnel
>>program Sunday night. Michelin was told of the track
>>resurfacing and the Michelin running teams were
>>invited to a tire test. I don't recall which two, but
>>two teams sent two cars (one each) with test drivers
>>to Indy to test tires with Michelin. Meanwhile, the
>>majority of team testing was held at Silverstone
>>instead. Obvious to see priorities lied here. That was
>>the opportunity for Michelin Engineers and teams to
>>"get it right" and they failed, miserably.
>>
>>Adding a chicane in the 11th hour because Michelin
>>failed to provide reliable and safe equipment really
>>wasn't an option. Clearly the technical hurdles were
>>not insurmountable, after all the struggling Ferrari
>>team finally got a decent qualifying result and ran
>>race distance at a solid pace just fine. In fact, none
>>of the Bridgestone teams had a tire problem.
>>
>>The only underlying conspiracy here is the opportunity
>>for the breakaway teams to use this as a reason to
>>begin the "split" in F1. Of course American open wheel
>>fans only know all too well what happens when a strong
>>series splits off into two. The best open wheel race
>>in the USA last weekend was likely in Portland, but
>>not many cared.
>>
>>Mike Veglia
>>Motor Sport Visions Photography
>>http://www.motorsportvisions.com
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