Champ Car is Back

[DNQ]

Great to see CWS back, but it's a damn shame we have to wait ONE whole month until the next race... I can hardly wait

So what, are your gerneral comments on the new look Champ Car World Series? I haven't seen the race yet myself, but by all accounts it was a big success.

[tanalised]

a damn big step in the right direction. Thank god traction control is gone; the cars are once again a handful to drive and can put on quite a show. Experience came through in the placings at the end of the race, but as the season goes on, its clear that with a little more experience Bourdais is going to be a star. He was lightening fast around that track; putting 8 seconds on Fernandez after the first yellow flag period.
A season to look forward to.

[DNQ]

tanalised, what is the TV coverage like in NZ btw?

[BootsOntheSide]

I'm really impressed with the race - there was lots of action, the cars are great, most of the rookies did pretty well, and it seems like a nice circuit. I just hope tjhe attendance was impressive.

[Liz]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the outstanding drive of my man Tiago Monteiro! After 3 days in the car (at ROAD ATLANTA of all places), to race consistently in the top 10 and finish 7th, to avoid being mowed down by Haberfeld, and to keep Tracy behind him for as long as he did (and even to lead a couple of laps!) is an impressive finish. There are lots of guys on the grid who couldn't do as well.

Clearly they are drawing a lot of new fans and some security people who haven't been around racing much. I have read in the paper that security didn't recognize Emerson Fittipaldi even after all the fans who were chasing him for autographs informed security who he was! Maybe he ought to put a photo on his ID that shows him back in the 1970s.

[enemy-ace]

My personal opinion of the St.Pete's ChampCar race was that it was brilliant and I have the feeling that it is going to be a phenomonal year.
Just a few of the things that got my heart pumping were:
1) the most obvious NO TRACTION CONTROL, but to make that even better the Ford Cossies are torquier (is that a word?)
Mind you in the rain that could present some serious problems for our drivers. The Jourdain/Junqueria battle was great until Bruno had to back off. Watching from Bruno's onboard camera and seeing Jourdain getting all squirrely when getting on the power was great.
2) some very exciting rookies and some mature drives by them as well. Bourdais looks to me to be a solid Championship contender.
(with all that pre-season speculation that N-H were going to the IRL, could you imagine if they took Bourdais there. What a waste that would have been) Haberfeld looks strong as well justs needs to drive a little more intelligently. Tiago,Manning and Hunter-Reay showed good consistent speed and look like they will be solid racers. Also our rookie of the year last year who really wasn't all that great is showing signs of speed; thumbs up to you Mr.Dominguez!
3) drivers with blisters on their hands! Nice to see these cars are a handfull to drive. IMO that is what makes racing heroes. They're gorgeous cars but their real monsters!
4) and of course PT taking home the top prize!

One down side though, which is it's a month to the next race. Real nice! Get me all worked up and then make me wait.
All in all though I would say that we have a serious crop of good racers driving some REAL racecars. Let the ChampCars roll!!!

[double00]

Although I didn't see the race *listening to the internet broadcast*, I know that the series is doing great. I feared 2002 was CART's last year, but it's nice to know Chris Pook actually gives a care about CART. I think he's the best thing to happen to CART since the Hanford Device.

[norman-normal]

PT came in first( I really like that), but the real winner is Chris Pook and Champ car fans.
I haven't seen any #s, but there were no empty seats and the people were "diggen" it. Big crowds every day!
Mario was a little exuberant, first big race it's easy to do, but he seems to have the tools to be a star. Bordaise? tantalizing. CARTS first opus made a very powerfull statement about it's future!

[paul-collins]

Originally posted by enemy-ace
1) the most obvious NO TRACTION CONTROL, but to make that even better the Ford Cossies are torquier (is that a word?)
Mind you in the rain that could present some serious problems for our drivers.

What I heard on the broadcast was that the drivers no longer have boost knobs in the car, but they have "torque" adjusters (to help conserve tires). So they'll be able to adjust in the cockpit to rain.

Still, having traction control implanted in your right foot is a good thing.

[hoffy]

Ahhh, great to see racing back on the Teev.

Loved the race and the track looked really exciting. I was waiting all race for some one to stuff it into the wall thru the flat out chicane. Thankfully no one did, but Junquiro had my heart in my throat for a short second!!!

If this is what they can do with a relatively small grid, I hope and can't wait for some more cars to come out.

Who needs IRL and Indy. This is REAL racing!!

[Demo King]

I enjoyed the race. It was good to see the cars sliding around but this was mainly due to the tyres being cold and harder(no tyre warmers or tyre competition between company's). Obviously the lack of TC would also have had a impact on this but knowing that the engines have less power, less revs and a higher level of boost leads me to think that the engines are a little more abrupt in their power delivery which would make the cars a little oversteery. Also, the track was quite 'green' with a lot of rain in the early part of the weekend. F1 should take a look at their formula for exciting racing, no tyre warmers, one tyre company and heavier cars, not to mention some drivers who suffer from 'red mist' and dont mind trying to stuff their car up the inside when it really doesn't fit.

[Omega99]

Originally posted by tanalised
with a little more experience Bourdais is going to be a star

I completely agree. Last year in F3000 he grabbed 7 poles but (only) 3 wins... He so far seems to be more of a qualifying driver, and has more difficulty in the race. I also heard the announcer on SPEED saying that he was overshooting his pit marks by about ten inches, but he'll overcome that. It was bad luck that cost him the race, and he's a spectacular talent on a team that's going to take him to a championship very soon.

Junquiera had troubles early but still got up to 3rd, Haberfeld finished fourth... It was a crazy race, but PT finished where he belongs. As far as the rookies go, and Haberfeld's blocking, you have to consider that these are guys who ran at the top last year in their series and certainly don't like to get passed. They'll learn to be patient... but hopefully not too patient.

[gttouring]

CHampCars new racing and set up is soo great- what racing slicing and dicing, and passing! this is gonna be good

[f1manoz]

ChampCars are back with a vengeance. Fantastic first race gave everyone numerous positives after a difficult 2002 and a tense off-season.

Most drivers were impressive - PT was cool in the lead, Haberfeld fast but pulled a couple of silly moves, while rookies such as Monteiro and Manning were fast and consistent.

[Tailwind]

St. Pete was a great start to the season. The racing was good, the course was good, the location was nice, the racing surface was smooth with little trouble at the pavement transitions, the crowds were a good manageable size, the weather cooperated, and for the most part, the drivers drove competitive and professional race.

[angus987]

I loved the race. St Pete. looks like a great track with plenty of passing ops. The cars looked awesome on TV, I don't think I've seen so much opposite lock on any openwheelers anywhere. That chicane looked very hairy, but there was a notable lack of depth. Hopefully that will change by the end of the season.

[The Snout]

Champcars forever !

[Tailwind]

Spinning wheels...smoking tires...tail ends comming unstuck on the corners...blisters on drivers hands!



Thats the stuff of racing heros and legends...

I raise my glass to a new season.

[racer69]

It was a pretty good track, nice to see the cars sliding around abit more (although alot seemed to be more out of control slides rather than powerslides). I wouldn't say the actual race was that exciting though.

All in all a good start to the season though.

[tanalised]

Originally posted by DNQ
tanalised, what is the TV coverage like in NZ btw?

Pretty good actually. We get a Sky Tv feed from the Cart guys with the commentators from CART, no ad breaks thank god (unlike ESPN 2 years ago where they would cut to an ad about the NBA while something critical was happening on track) I've only once seen a race delayed while something else finished ( golf i think) Furthermore IRL is on ESPN and F1 is on our national TV network and is free to air.

I'm so pleased motor racing season has started

[Archer]

This racing is absolutly fantastic, what more can I say?

[The Snout]

Fantastic. And the passes made have value in them and are earned.