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I think online racing is a good alternative for excessive risks on track.

I imagine its less the "dangerous" factor, because bumps aren't, really, and more that drivers would prefer a track that doesn't badly blister their hands, as it did to Will Power in 2010. Plus, removing the bumps typically makes for a faster track, and sometimes can improve racing lines as a result.

Excessively bumpy tracks were knocked out of the schedule even in the 1980s (CART ditched Pocono for that reason, Formula 1 ditched Interlagos in 1980 because of this, etc.) so I'm not sure when this nostalgic era is (where Real Race Drivers Handled Bumps) that you are talking about. Maybe in the suicidal days of old, when 1/3 of the grid would end up getting killed in racing accidents, there was little care for bumps, but nostalgia for emulating that era of racing is strange to me.

I'm absolutely sure that If I told races were better with bumps, everyone would say the opposite, telling that I'm in favor of irresponsible practices of motor racing. What the f*, everybody knows that bumps (in excess) are a threat to the physical structure of the cars, specially open wheelers at speeds exceeding 200 miles per hour.

It's also truth and known that I'm one of those who defend Motorsports old-school in most of my opinions and have heavily criticized IndyCars for trying some paranoid ideas (new car and bodywork) on attempts to make motorsports a harmless thing, when actually this is impossible.

My opinion about bumps reflects the idea you don't need them to make better racing (when it comes to open wheelers). São Paulo circuit will prove that, you'll see.

I think the point is not every track should have lots of bumps. Thing is, there's a tendency of making every track smooth nowadays - one more point of standardization to tracks. But this should be another characteristic of tracks that affects car setups and becomes a decisive factor and is becoming something less on challenge for the drivers.

I think no one here wants Hermanos Rodriguez to be smooth or Silverstone to be bumpy, for example. Tracks must have their particularities and the kind of surface is part of this.

Pretty much this. Smoothing the track be damned, if the drivers aren't using their heads, then why bother?

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Ducks Angels Sounders Spurs

How many suspension failures has there been over the past few years? I'm sure it can't be many. It's like Scotty says, the actual loads the components can withstand is immense. Bumps on a circuit? Pah! Let's tarmac every rally stage then shall we?

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BTCC Pick Em's Champion 2010
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http://www.the-fastlane.co.uk

Bumps present a variable that can result in drivers making small mistakes more frequently. These small mistakes can result in back and forth battles between drivers, and present opportunities to pass. Any time you give the drivers less than optimal driving conditions, the quality of the actual racing becomes better.

Its a confusing world indeed, Single Seater racing because we're often told how fragile these cars are and that how if we leaned on one in the wrong direction we could snap the suspension, and in some cases there is minor side on wheel to wheel contact when the suspension breaks and you think "c'monnnn, how brittle are these things?"
Based on that info you could certainly argue that bumps should be eradicated because the impression is if the car so much as looked at one the wrong way it'd be snapping off its suspension pieces like it hit a mine.

But then you start seeing cars popping wheelies and knocking into each other off the start with few if any adverse effects and suddenly you realise maybe this "open wheel cars are so fragile" stuff is based off of information from 10 years ago or something.
I for one expected to see Webber pit with underfloor damage that made his car un-drivable if not a bit of front suspension damage but was amazed, and pleased, to see him continue unaffected.

So maybe it depends on the type of force a car receives, maybe on bumpy track the suspension is completely different to one where the surface is marble smooth and the cars are forced into taking more load when the engineers would love everywhere to be smooth so they could design the cars to their ideal conditions for speed, not durability, who knows.

Either way there's conflicting information coming out across all of open wheel about just how much of a beating they can take.

I just wish they got to a point where you could organise a street race and leave in the speedbumps...that'd be a true driver challenge: who is so desperate for the victory they're willing to risk terrible lower back pain for the rest of their lives?

The track seems to be sold out completely.

Nah, Pocono (at least before the most recent repave) is still bumpy and yet still produces shitty NASCAR races.

Look how awesome Daytona and Talladega are now without bumps.

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Brilliant!

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"An idea whose time has come cannot be stopped by any army or any government"


3x TBKL rFactor Hillclimb champion

Unlike the expected, Luiza Possi will sing national anthem this Sunday. Everybody expected Paula Fernandes, she's great singer and would perform very well If chosen, besides she's the official Nestlé jingle singer in Brazil, Nestlé is sponsoring the race once again, it's a surprise Paula wasn't chosen....I guess it's already the second year in a row people expected Fernandes and they come up with someone else.

lmao

Who cares, she might butcher the anthem anyway.

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Ducks Angels Sounders Spurs

I give a damn to these singers. But I'd hit both.

[spoiler]Luiza Possi


Paula Fernandes
[/spoiler]

Hit in a kind of "oh yeah, gonna do her" kinda way, or hit in a Chris Brown on Rhianna kind of way?

Depends whether they're singing or not.

Luiza is a bit out of shape, but depending on the day, weather conditions and temperature, I'd hit her too.

Anyway, it's gonna be interesting to see what Bia Figueiredo is capable of now she'll be taking part on Andretti team this weekend.

Southern side of São Paulo has been facing heavy rain since yesterday. Forecast of another chaoitc race coming.