Tierp drag strip
Discussion
wicked fish said:
may be a rumour to you but i have heard it officialy from speedgroup CEO and as a speedgroup shareholder I Know it to be true.........this is what i hate about this site everyone wants to split hairs and get one up on everyone else, Its in black and white on eurodragster do you think Tog would publish a rumour??
he knows it as a fact as do i..........the rest of you can debate it amoungs yourselvs in your usual style
I agree Graham, I was one of the other 30 in the room that attended the meeting and we were told that indeed Mantorp had withdrawn from FIA but was looking to run UEM.he knows it as a fact as do i..........the rest of you can debate it amoungs yourselvs in your usual style
Spencer Tramm
Isaacs & Tramm Pro Mod Team - see our progress @ www.chris-isaacs.com
WJM said:
Notice on ED that Top Fuel Bike at the meeting at Mantorp is to be run over 1/8th mile unlike all the other rounds. Mantorp has always had a short {and downhill} shut off area , is it this that has caused it's loss of the FIA round.
Bill
Wasn't TF bike run over the eighth last year too at Mantorp? TF was over 1000ft... As you say Bill, the dangerously short runoff (and hard right hand turn at the end) needs some consideration...Bill
It really looks as though 1000ft runs will be the future (for Top Fuel at least) all over the world.
Whatever happens in the US - we catch up with a few seasons later... A real shame IMHO
I agree, the NHRA have been obsessed with terminal speeds for a few years now and have looked at watering down fuel engines to slow them down. I suppose if it's a choise between a neutered fuel car over a full quarter and a full house one over 1000ft I would prefer the latter. Personally I can't really understand the problem so long as there is a decent run off, the current US Top Fuel guys regularly exceed 320mph over 1,000 ft and I can't see how that is a lot safer than the 340 mph they used to do in a full run a few years back. If it's the extra 300ft of stopping area that makes the difference then the run off is way too short anyway.
I know people have posted on here that 1000ft will make the cars cheaper to run but from a spectator point of view unless you are on or behind the startline it looks very short and I wonder what the effect on attendances will be. I went to Gainesville in 2009 and all the Yank fans I spoke to out there were against it though maybe they will get used to it and the funny times eventually.
I drove the circuit at Mantorp a few years back and I must say the distance between the finish gantry and the sharp right hand turn at the end of the run off area did seem very short. I hope Europe sticks to the full quarter though like you I suspect that the NHRA has made up it's mind and in the end we will follow.
Pleased to see that Tierp is running the full quarter this year anyway.
Bill
I know people have posted on here that 1000ft will make the cars cheaper to run but from a spectator point of view unless you are on or behind the startline it looks very short and I wonder what the effect on attendances will be. I went to Gainesville in 2009 and all the Yank fans I spoke to out there were against it though maybe they will get used to it and the funny times eventually.
I drove the circuit at Mantorp a few years back and I must say the distance between the finish gantry and the sharp right hand turn at the end of the run off area did seem very short. I hope Europe sticks to the full quarter though like you I suspect that the NHRA has made up it's mind and in the end we will follow.
Pleased to see that Tierp is running the full quarter this year anyway.
Bill
I'm not sure NHRA are obsessed with terminal speeds, I think it more likely they are obsessed with not getting sued by the next of kin of a dead driver. The views of their insurance and legal people will be telling them that +300mph speeds leave them vulnerable. It's probable, at those speeds, any number of minor mishaps will cause death and destruction and leave the sanctioning body standing in a court room will all manner of problems, particularly if a few "told ya so" letters from insurance and safety experts are produced in evidence. It must be tough for NHRA etc. to get the balance right.
Well yes but are their insurance people telling them that 320 mph is OK and that on the other hand 340 mph is very risky ? I suspect that the 1000ft thing is a token gesture which will say they have done something in the event of a law suit. Virtually every pro class {and many of the the sportsman racers in the US} goes way over 200 mph regularly and I'd have thought that was more than fast enough to kill in the right circumstances. Drag racing is all about high speed and the effort has to be in making the strips and cars as safe as possible while keeping the speed I'd have thought.
Bill
Bill
That may be true... But it is fact that the FIA don't have much time for Drag Racing... Their priorities lie with F1, WRC etc... the sports who really do pull in the spectators, media coverage - and more importantly - money!
If the NHRA decide to legislate 'watered-down' TF - it will only be a matter of time until the FIA follow.
To be honest - I think the NHRA, FIA, Speedgroup and everyone else in the melting pot do a superb job... At the end of the day everyone who goes along to spectate wants to see fast, loud, close racing - but safety is paramount (for drivers, crew, spectators...) It always has been - always will be.
If the NHRA decide to legislate 'watered-down' TF - it will only be a matter of time until the FIA follow.
To be honest - I think the NHRA, FIA, Speedgroup and everyone else in the melting pot do a superb job... At the end of the day everyone who goes along to spectate wants to see fast, loud, close racing - but safety is paramount (for drivers, crew, spectators...) It always has been - always will be.
Isn't modern drag racing already a reflection of this safety/spectacle balance? We don't have Fuel altereds other than for exhibitions, side by side jets are banned in Europe, flame burnouts, crew holding cars during static burnouts..... there's doubtless plenty more examples, the entire rule book?. Sanctioning bodies and promoters are not in the business of spoiling the spectacle but you can't go round killing folk (except in Libya maybe).
I wonder if drag racing would survive as a major spectator sport without fuel cars, I like a lot of classes but I won't go to the Pod unless there at least a few TF cars running. When I have been to the US the stands tend to empty as soon as TF and Fuel Funny has finished even though the other Pro classes are over the full quarter and fabulously competitive.
I suppose if they could find something that matched the noise and produced plenty of header flames but did away with the tear gas exhaust fumes it might work. Wonder if such a fuel exists ?
Bill
I suppose if they could find something that matched the noise and produced plenty of header flames but did away with the tear gas exhaust fumes it might work. Wonder if such a fuel exists ?
Bill
To those involved in drag racing talk about the explosive nature of fuels is meant in jest, as are the comments in this forum.
Unfortunately not everyone would see the way the Drag Racing as a whole advertises the explosive nature of Nitro as a good thing. When Nitro cars are running its properties are often used to try and impress the crowd.
As the sport grows I think we need to be careful about how we try to promote the sport in this regard, 8000hp really should be enough to impress. I hope that the NHRA would be sensible enough and put adequate measures in place which would satisfy any concerned parties before they feel a ban is their only option.
Unfortunately not everyone would see the way the Drag Racing as a whole advertises the explosive nature of Nitro as a good thing. When Nitro cars are running its properties are often used to try and impress the crowd.
As the sport grows I think we need to be careful about how we try to promote the sport in this regard, 8000hp really should be enough to impress. I hope that the NHRA would be sensible enough and put adequate measures in place which would satisfy any concerned parties before they feel a ban is their only option.
Gassing Station | Drag Racing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff