Roger Adams
pfm Member
I still have an image of Steve Mcqueen and that colour scheme in my head whenever the GT40 is mentioned.
Stolen off the interwebs:
“But for the long straights of Le Mans, the pitch angles of the Mercedes cars were nearer neutral to allow the cars to take full advantage of their naturally-aspirated 5.7-litre V8s. This was implemented by softening the rear suspension, making the relatively stiff front axle susceptible to hopping and jumping.”
So, it was their own fault. Mercedes were going through a challenging period: flying cars at Le Mans, drop in build quality, new A Class failing the elk test, and that attention seeking woman dying in a Merc in a tunnel crash.
They did well to stay in business.
I still have an image of Steve Mcqueen and that colour scheme in my head whenever the GT40 is mentioned.
Given Klaus Bischoff's advice that the throttle is pretty much all or nothing, can you even begin to imagine what it must have been like in the rain?
Helmut Marko being a dick as usual:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/52091905
Suggested drivers and other team members should deliberately get the coronavirus!
And the earlier cars flexed so much that the gear lever would change its location by the second. They filled the roll cage with pressurised nitrogen, and if the gauge started to drop, they knew there was a crack somewhere.
The 908/03, descended from the Bergspyder hillclimb models and designed principally for the wiggly-waggly Targa Florio, had a largely titanium spaceframe, which was again filled with gas under pressure. There was a very prominent pressure gauge and the drivers were told to stop immediately if the pressure dropped.And the earlier cars flexed so much that the gear lever would change its location by the second. They filled the roll cage with pressurised nitrogen, and if the gauge started to drop, they knew there was a crack somewhere.
The 908/03, descended from the Bergspyder hillclimb models and designed principally for the wiggly-waggly Targa Florio, had a largely titanium spaceframe, which was again filled with gas under pressure. There was a very prominent pressure gauge and the drivers were told to stop immediately if the pressure dropped.