The Man from Sao Paulo - Senna to Williams in 1992

[FickleCrossroad]

Toronto Idea

This incorporates a small section of a couple of your ideas, which adds speed to the Lakefront Straight, and possibly opens up another overtaking area into the new turn 3 hairpin. Track length won't increase much, so there'll be enough laps for spectators.

I'm just very wary of anything longer than 2.5mi on a street track nowadays, and I'm pretty sure this pushes Exhibition place somewhere into the 2.3-2.5mi range.

Thoughts?

 

[Webster]

This incorporates a small section of a couple of your ideas, which adds speed to the Lakefront Straight, and possibly opens up another overtaking area into the new turn 3 hairpin. Track length won't increase much, so there'll be enough laps for spectators.

I'm just very wary of anything longer than 2.5mi on a street track nowadays, and I'm pretty sure this pushes Exhibition place somewhere into the 2.3-2.5mi range.

Thoughts?

That's an interesting alternate Toronto layout, spdoyle...so correct me if I'm wrong here: looking at it, instead of a right at Prince's Gate, the course goes left for Turn 1 and then out a ways to the hairpin?

 

[TheMann]

^ That would push the track to about 2.2-2.3 miles or so, and increase the lap times by probably 10-12 seconds. It's an improvement, but that layout would see all of Lakeshore closed or else you'd get the tightest hairpin in all of creation, impossible to pass in. I'd still go the route through Remembrance Park (which would make the total length 2.63 miles by my count), to give it a better driver challenge. You're not losing anything or spending a huge amount of money to do it.

 

[TheMann]

That's an interesting alternate Toronto layout, spdoyle...so correct me if I'm wrong here: looking at it, instead of a right at Prince's Gate, the course goes left for Turn 1 and then out a ways to the hairpin?

Correct. It goes up Canada Boulevard, turns right onto Fleet Street and runs back to where Fleet splits from Lakeshore, does a 180 and heads back down the Lakeshore to rejoin the old track.

 

[Webster]

Correct. It goes up Canada Boulevard, turns right onto Fleet Street and runs back to where Fleet splits from Lakeshore, does a 180 and heads back down the Lakeshore to rejoin the old track.

Thanks for the clarification. FWIW, Toronto's one of the few street circuits I liked seeing Indycars on (other than Long Beach) and seeing the different proposed layouts made me wonder what a different Toronto layout might look like.

*looks over towards spdoyle* Subscribed, BTW!

 

[FickleCrossroad]

Back to F1!

Formula One Round Ten – Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutchland – 25 July 1993 – Hockenheimring

Nigel Mansell went into the weekend needing to win every race through the end of the season, and get some help versus Senna. That his teammate merely needed to follow him home every race and still would win the championship led some to speculate that Mansell got the better of himself in qualifying, setting a pole lap and then blowing his engine trying to pad the gap to Senna. With his qualy run over, Senna grabbed pole with a tenth to spare, as Patrick Head was screaming at him over the radio not to cost the team two engines before Sunday. Thus, behind the Williams drivers on the grid sat Schumacher, Hakkinen, Hill, Capelli, Brundle, Alesi, Berger, and Blundell.

Come Sunday, the Williams both started well, but further back, it was judged that Olivier Panis jumped on what was only his second start in Formula One. His early leap was called too late to save the races of Blundell and Berger (all aimed to the inside for the start.) To the annoyance of the others, Panis was able to make it back to the paddock missing a nosecone and a tire, while the other two were out before the first turn. The FIA handed down a green-flag stop and go penalty to Panis, who spent the remainder of the race trying to get back towards the mid-pack. The Safety Car was dispatched, cooling the tires even further for the drivers but allowing the race to restart on lap four.

The second time around, the action was at the front, where Senna’s control of the cold and underinflated tires helped him avoid Mansell, who attempted to dive-bomb Senna into the Clark chicane, but spun insead. Mansell’s spin had meant that he cut the chicane, but due to beaching it and waiting for the field to pass, he was not penalized. However, the error snapped him back into focus and took off on a recovery drive. As the field bunched into Clark, Hakkinen put the same move on his teammate, but backed out of it when he saw Mansell on the grass. As he surrendered the line, Hill grabbed third from him.

As the first stint settled, Senna increased his gap on the Benettons, and Hill, who was passed by Hakkinen on the fifth lap. Capelli benefitted from his Renault power and was able to begin to challenge Hill a few laps later, eventually passing him on lap ten, yet was too far behind Hakkinen to make much more of it. Alboreto kept Alesi honest, the latter glad to have had the early Safety Car to remove any fuel worries from the Ferrari, while the Saubers began closing in on the Lola-Ford. The first round of stops went best for Hill, who was gifted a position with Capelli stalling in the paddock, only to start to encounter gearbox problems – losing third and fourth and preventing another points finish. Brundle faired worse, his upgraded suspension failed on lap twenty-three, dropping the sister McLaren from the running. Mansell was gaining fast, remaining on the lead lap and occasionally outpacing Senna, but his teammate had a minute on the Manxman by the halfway point, and twenty seconds on Schumacher.

Mansell’s altered strategy afforded him a late stop (having to pit for tires after his spin,) and he quickly made it into the top ten as the laps wound down. Overheating claimed Zanardi’s Lotus, while another gearbox failed for McNish’s Jordan. Capelli’s engine failed, ruining one of his best drives of the year, leaving him with a long walk back to the paddock from the Ostkurve. Morbedelli’s Minardi went up in smoke at the same place the following lap, leading the two Italians to curse their powerplants and converse on their nearly two-kilometer walk back to their respective garages. A local yellow for enough leaked oil in the same vicinity kept the Benettons civil through one straightaway, but after the Ostkurve they were at it again. Once the yellows were pulled, Schumacher and Hakkinen briefly traded fastest laps, before Mansell put the hammer down even further – once climbing into the points with six to go his best lap was a half second better than the next.

One bit of comedy ensued when Nigel swearing his team over the radio asking for a blue flag for the Lola-Ford’s, only to get the following reply, “Nigel, you didn’t lap them yet, you’re racing for position. First Comas, then Alboreto.” Mansell retorted with a colorful outburst that upon hearing about it - the recently-recovered James Hunt remarked on BBC, “What, didn’t you remember you cocked it up today?” Incensed, the defending champion made it through over the course of the next lap, and began stalking Alesi off in the distance. He too fell quickly, but with two laps remaining he saw the battle of the Benettons and knew he’d have to tread carefully after coming so far. By this point, all three were on worn tires, but Schumacher realized he could only hold off one of them with the dark-blue and yellow FW-15D behind him, and chose Mansell going into the Stadion complex. Hakkinen slipped by, and the two fell into a duel – the German looking to make it on the podium for the first time at home, but falling short on the final lap when Mansell made it stick at the final chicane. Senna won from Hakkinen, Mansell, Schumacher, Alesi, and Alboreto – who brought home the maiden point for his Lola-Ford team.

 

[FickleCrossroad]

^ That would push the track to about 2.2-2.3 miles or so, and increase the lap times by probably 10-12 seconds. It's an improvement, but that layout would see all of Lakeshore closed or else you'd get the tightest hairpin in all of creation, impossible to pass in. I'd still go the route through Remembrance Park (which would make the total length 2.63 miles by my count), to give it a better driver challenge. You're not losing anything or spending a huge amount of money to do it.

How much would it cost to trim the area where Lakeshore splits off from Fleet? It looks like there's a combined sidewalk/bike lane that runs into a pedestrian circle around some trees. Perhaps a promoter would be willing to fund trimming the area 10-25m to the west, and dress up that point of the park a bit? Then you could throw in a small cluster of grandstands right on the street, (blocking off Lakeshore and Fleet to Grand Magazine.) That wouldn't cost too much.

Regarding the driver challenge, Rememberance is incredibly narrow through the park, (moreso than any other part of the OTL track,) and it looks like there's a bit of a kink into the entry onto Lakeshore which would blunt any shot at passing. I don't see how it'd add much to the track, and judging how there's only one possible line INTO the park, any pass would have to be made before leaving Fleet, otherwise you'd just block the track. If the median overhaul won't fly, you could just send them through Ft. York. That'd at least improve the passing on Lakeshore versus the current layout.

I just don't see any other layout happening, honestly, unless you trim off all the stuff to the east and combine the original proposal (the western 2/5 of your yellow section and the western half of the OTL track.) If you turn them off of Prince's and onto Newfoundland, Newfoundland also looks a bit narrow to pull off a passing zone going into it.

 

[TheMann]

Nine podiums in ten attempts! No wonder Senna is running away with it. He can't be too far off of clinching the title, with six rounds remaining and a 34-point lead.

 

[FickleCrossroad]

Nine podiums in ten attempts! No wonder Senna is running away with it. He can't be too far off of clinching the title, with six rounds remaining and a 34-point lead.

Look at 1993 OTL. Prost only had ONE DNF that year, and Hill four. There'll be more than that ITTL given who's driving, but it's still a reliable car, even with all the tech.

 

[FickleCrossroad]

Next update should be out sometime in the next 24hrs. I may have two races done, plus some interlude backstory, (Benetton and IndyCar,) so stay tuned.

TTL's Marlboro 500 will be a gamechanger.

 

[FickleCrossroad]

Couldn't get the second one knocked out, but here's a long update for a 500-miler. Next up: Loudon, Hungaroring, Elkhart Lake.

Enstone, England – 27 July 1993

Flavio Briatore had quite a bit to ponder lately as he debated the posture he’d set the engineering teams for the B194.He knew he’d been biased towards Michael Schumacher at the outset, but Hakkinen was strong, and scored more points over the last four races than the man he trailed by a point overall, despite a retirement. He’d thought Michael to be the best of the young generation of drivers, but he didn’t realize how fine a gem he discovered in Hakkinen until the young Finn had really settled in to the team. Mika was more aggressive than Flavio thought he should be, but he was still young, and could be coached with bringing the car home every race. The problem was, their driving styles demanded different design approaches: Schumacher needed a car with slight, predictable understeer, and Hakkinen needed a neutral car. Flavio knew either could be champion, one day, it was just about maximizing the chances for both. A compromise approach could work, as it would still lean towards understeer. Yes, it was time to see what Michael could do on equal footing with another talented teammate…

IndyCar Round Ten: Marlboro 500 – 01 August 1993 – MIS

As the second superspeedway of the IndyCar season arrived, the Lola-Fords of the Andrettis, (Mario over Michael,) Boesel, and Goodyear were all lined up ahead of any other competitors, which were only broken up by the Penske of Paul Tracy in fifth, with four more Lola-Fords, (St. James with a surprise third-row appearance, Gordon, Luyendyk, and Stanley,) before another chassis-engine combination was found: Unser’s Penske-Chevrolet. To Roger Penske’s chagrin, it looked like he was going to be in for a long day on his own track – in front of Bruton Smith for the first time since the two combined forces.

When the green flag waved, his assumptions were realized, as even a hard-charger like Tracy couldn’t keep up, falling behind St. James at the start, Gordon by the end of the backstraight, and out of the top-ten by the end of the first several laps. The Andrettis and Boesel remained within a second and a half of each other through the first stint, all three of them leading at least a lap. Tracy’s race had degraded to a battle of best-of-the rest, and an attempt to score as many points as possible with a win already seemingly out of the picture. If his race started poorly, the Rahal-Lolas had faired even worse. Their speedway woes earlier in the season forced them to be more and more drastic in their setup, to the point that while they were very fast on warm tires, once those tires started to fall off, the driver would have to lift progressively earlier with each lap until pit-in, to the point where Rahal had mandated separate strategies between him and his teammate. Rahal would take later stops whenever possible, but it would all depend on yellows. Rahal had climbed from fifteenth on the grid to as high as seventh for a few laps, he’d already fallen back to twelfth by lap 26.

Lap 26’s caution caught Paul Page in mid-sentence, he’d been looking at that part of the track following the Andrettis as they picked their way through traffic. Mike Groff had been about half a second ahead of the leaders in twentieth and about to go one lap down, when he spun just as he started to pull his car up off the apex. With his car backing towards the wall, the Andretti’s split him, but left Boesel with no room to go, and they collided, with Boesel’s right sidepod smashing through Groff’s nose. The impact turned Groff’s car, and it backed onto the rear infield before rolling one-and-a-half times, resting on it’s rollbar. With the IndyCar safety team still in evolution, (the crews had not been fully trained up to the standards decided on at Indianapolis just weeks before,) Dr. Steve Olvey had stressed before the race to his driver not to wait on the others – knowing every second would count with this crash – and called for the helicopter to spin up and get clearance to the nearest hospital. Upon arriving, he knew Groff would never race at a high level again, if not ever. Boesel’s sidepod had punctured through the nosecone and severely injured Groff’s legs. His upper body seemed to be in good shape, but with the blood loss, Groff had already started to fade from consciousness. By the time he was in the helicopter, both legs were torniqueted and he’d fallen unconscious.

Upon hearing what had happened, and with the experience of just a few laps earlier fighting the same problem, Piquet had asked – and had been granted – permission to retire the car. He’d only raced on superspeedways one other time in his career, and didn’t want to risk one of the two cars the team had for the remainder of the season. The drivers knew it was a bad wreck, but they all hunkered down and went on with the race, with the professional skill of pushing aside the burden knowing the reaper always had a seat to the race. By lap 43, the green flag waived again, with Michael Andretti in front of Mario, Goodyear, Gordon, and Stanley, The Foyt-Vision cars attacked Goodyear early, but Scott was in no mood to lose time defending, and held his line and aimed to keep in touch with the Andrettis. Gordon made it through early, but Stanley couldn’t make the high line stick, and after a few attempts, settled down in fifth looking to bring it home. St. James fell to Luyendyk on lap 55 and Unser three laps later, but she’d managed to keep the Penske in sight. Fittipaldi had climbed to eleventh, riding his teammate’s wing, until Rahal’s mid-stint charge once again saw him make a run – this time to fourth and challenging Gordon. Mark Smith’s engine let go on the run into turn three, allowing Mark to coast into the pitlane, but dropping enough oil in the process that the yellow came out again. While the pits were closed for the first couple of laps while the oil was cleared up, they were opened for the last few as the track surface was taken care of. Coming out, it was Mario, Michael, Rahal, Goodyear, and Gordon, with fifteen cars on the lead lap. During the caution, Dr. Olvey was interviewed live – and announced that Groff’s injuries were life threatening and he was being airlifted.

The next eighty laps went by under green, with little changes through the field. Rahal had remained strong until the end of his runs, but after two pit stops he had settled back in seventh. The Andrettis had eased off to conserve, while Goodyear and Gordon were content with being the mid-race rabbits. Paul Tracy’s Chevrolet was overheating, after a two-minute pitstop left him four laps down, the litter that had been sucked deep into his sidepod was finally fished out. What ended the green was a single-car incident as Matsushita got into the marbles into the final turn. Most of the leaders took the opportunity to pit under yellow, with Luyendk gambling on stretching his fuel, while Tracy staying out to get back one of his lost laps.

Restarting on lap 148, Luyendyk could only hold off Mario for half a lap, and plummeted through the lead lap cars as he turned his boost down to stretch his tank as long as he could. Tracy had shot off from the front of the pack, knowing he’d need to increase his cushion to have a shot at a points finish, putting down qualifying laps to stay three laps down, but with the earlier overheating adding stress on the engine, his Chevrolet exploded down the front straight across the racing lines, which brought out another yellow on lap 161. Luyendyk took the chance to pit, knowing he wouldn’t get another chance, and still had to bank on yellows – his gamble looking like a bust with 180 miles remaining. Gordon took the green flag, with Goodyear on his rear wing looking to slingshot, and the two continued their battle at the front. The Galles teammates, who started in the midfield and drifted back early, began to climb into the points, with Sullivan ninth and Fernandez twelfth.

Once again, the green flag period didn’t last long enough for a full load of fuel from those who pitted during Tracy’s incident, with Groulliard spinning and backing into the wall in turn three on lap 185. This effectively ruined Luyendyk’s strategy, as all the leaders would stop twice, and had been gifted the chance to do so during yellow. Thus, Arie followed the pack in, and was able to make up several positions in the pits with a shorter stop, coming back out in tenth. During the yellow, Pruett also retired with electrical trouble, leaving the Foyt-Vision team down to two cars, (both still in the top five.) This retirement hadn’t been noticed until after, as the television crews had come in for another update by Steve Olvey, who only had a brief statement to make.

“I’ve just had word from Mike Groff’s surgical team that he has entered surgery and if he can make it through the night, he has a better than even chance at surviving his injuries. However, while I will not discuss specifics at this time, I have been informed that his injuries are career-ending.”

Once Groulliard’s crash been cleaned up, what was to be the final yellow of the afternoon ended on lap 194. The Andrettis were under attack by Fittipaldi and Unser after the green flew, leaving Stanley free to move into the lead pack, with Gordon and Goodyear. While Mario got the best of Fittipaldi, his son could not hold off Unser, who set off in pursuit of the rookie. With the laps winding down, experience and fresher engines began to pay in spades for those not among the rabbits, as a repeat of Indianapolis started to set up – the two Andrettis along with Little Al. It was not to be the same result, though, as Michael grabbed his second win of the season, with Unser fading late in the race back to seventh. Goodyear followed Michael home in second, picking up the bonus for most laps led, with Mario, Gordon, Sullivan, Stanley, Unser, St. James, Fittipaldi, Luyendyk, Fernandez, and Brayton rounding out the points.

Brooklyn, Michigan – 02 August 1993
Bobby Rahal left the hospital room Mike Groff was staying in shortly after midnight and shut the door quietly. His body was tired, but his soul moreso. Mike screwed up because I screwed up was the thought that kept playing through his head. Walking down the hall, he ran into Dale Coyne, who asked with a look how bad the situation was. Bobby was too tired to euphemize or sugarcoat the news and simply said, “Left leg gone above the knee, and enough fractures and hemorrhages in his right for the doctors to make me worry he’s going to make like Ronnie Peterson in his sleep. He may be able to attempt his prosthetic by Christmas. May. His family chased me out just now, they don’t want racing people in there for the rest of the night.”

“I figured as much,” Dale said, looking at the other owner, “but it was worth a shot. In any case, I talked to Mario, Roger, and Derrick. They’re all in, and will get the others. This mess has gone on too far, and we gotta do something. I don’t know what Mike’s gonna think after all’s said and done, but I’m glad it looks like he’ll make it.”

“Yeah.” Bobby stopped, and sighed, “Dale, it’s late, and I just drove 500 miles. If they won’t let me in the room, I’m going to my trailer. This hasn’t been the easiest day, you know?” After seeing a nod, Rahal walked off. So Coyne wasn’t overpromising after all, it looked like the drivers would have more protection next year – they were going to be lengthening the nose and working on a standardized tub all the teams would need to build around. Perhaps, perhaps now he could sleep.

 

[TheMann]

And Mike Groff's atrocious luck ends in the same sorta accident that ended Alex Zanardi's career. Well, at least that one will have a silver lining, and perhaps Groff can do what Zanardi did and race on one leg....

 

[Geordie]

Yes, it was time to see what Michael could do on equal footing with another talented teammate…

Flavio is making me really look forward to the next season. If both his drivers survive the next few seasons, this could be one of the defining rivalries of F1.

 

[FickleCrossroad]

Flavio is making me really look forward to the next season. If both his drivers survive the next few seasons, this could be one of the defining rivalries of F1.

This is pre-Adelaide Hakkinen, too. Splitting the difference between the drivers will forestall the sense of entitlement to having a team built around Schumacher, which - the longer it lasts, is a huge butterfly. Schumacher will not have 7 WDC's ITTL.

And Mike Groff's atrocious luck ends in the same sorta accident that ended Alex Zanardi's career. Well, at least that one will have a silver lining, and perhaps Groff can do what Zanardi did and race on one leg....

Close enough, (nearly head-to head impacts and less of a perpendicular was what I'd been thinking.) I was seeing it more along the lines of setting up a Peterson scenario, only with fifteen years development in medicine and Olvey getting to Groff right away. He won't pull a Zanardi, considering his talent level and recovery time needed. (I'm pretty sure Zanardi did what he did because he was so skilled and no matter where he bounced to, the man wouldn't quit.) Groff's career couldn't survive in the 1990's Indy Racing League, IndyCar ITTL will be a lot tougher.

If anyone has ideas what to do with Groff, (him being out of racing,) feel free to PM them. I don't know what to do with him, personally.

Any ideas towards filling his seat at Rahal-Hogan also would be appreciated, though out of respect, Loudon will not see two RH cars, only Bobby will run. My current thought is to see Vasser finish the season in the #26, then move on to another team.

 

[TheMann]

Close enough, (nearly head-to head impacts and less of a perpendicular was what I'd been thinking.) I was seeing it more along the lines of setting up a Peterson scenario, only with fifteen years development in medicine and Olvey getting to Groff right away. He won't pull a Zanardi, considering his talent level and recovery time needed. (I'm pretty sure Zanardi did what he did because he was so skilled and no matter where he bounced to, the man wouldn't quit.) Groff's career couldn't survive in the 1990's Indy Racing League, IndyCar ITTL will be a lot tougher.

If anyone has ideas what to do with Groff, (him being out of racing,) feel free to PM them. I don't know what to do with him, personally.

Perhaps after the accident, he goes into advocating for driver safety - perhaps he joins up with Bill Simpson at his company, maybe? I think we want to avoid the despair that befell Stan Fox here....

Any ideas towards filling his seat at Rahal-Hogan also would be appreciated, though out of respect, Loudon will not see two RH cars, only Bobby will run. My current thought is to see Vasser finish the season in the #26, then move on to another team.

Honda's golden boy in IMSA, Parker Johnstone. That's who I'd call up, but that's just me.

 

[TheMann]

Flavio is making me really look forward to the next season. If both his drivers survive the next few seasons, this could be one of the defining rivalries of F1.

Indeed, and having Senna still around in the mix would make it even wilder. I'm thinking that the Benetton team will be the best in the business in 1994 and 1995, making the WDC go from Senna vs. Mansell to Schumacher vs. Hakkinen.

 

[FickleCrossroad]

Indeed, and having Senna still around in the mix would make it even wilder. I'm thinking that the Benetton team will be the best in the business in 1994 and 1995, making the WDC go from Senna vs. Mansell to Schumacher vs. Hakkinen.

Remember the foreshadowing from '92, ITTL Senna was shocked from the level of advantage Williams had and had the insight to ramp up designs for the post-active suspension etc., era. Benetton will have the best lineup, but Newey has a bigger lead on the regulations thanks to Senna. OTOH, Benetton won't have the microscope on them.

 

[phx1138]

go from Senna vs. Mansell to Schumacher vs. Hakkinen.

I'd say it could easily be a toss for any of them, making it the closest racing, & the best season, in F1 in a long time. (I'm so split on who I'd want to win, I'd have to toss a coin between Ayrton & Mika & live with the toss. Just so long as neither of the other two do.)

 

[Geordie]

I'd say it could easily be a toss for any of them, making it the closest racing, & the best season, in F1 in a long time. (I'm so split on who I'd want to win, I'd have to toss a coin between Ayrton & Mika & live with the toss. Just so long as neither of the other two do.)

I'm with you there. Whoever triumphs, it should be a cracking one to read. I'm just gutted we can't sort out an AH-Youtube to watch the drama unfold!

 

[FickleCrossroad]

I'm with you there. Whoever triumphs, it should be a cracking one to read. I'm just gutted we can't sort out an AH-Youtube to watch the drama unfold!

I keep wanting to bribe the folks who do MiniDrivers/MiniBikers to do my race summaries. I got hooked on them a couple months ago, and find it hilarious. I just wonder what "weapons" they'd give the drivers ITTL. Raikkonen has a multi-purpose ice-gun, Hamilton has Roscoe, Vettel throws helmets and taunts with a foam finger, Webber has a boomerang, Alonso uses a magic hat and wand. Yeah...

Now add the cast of the 90's.