champ car vs. f1

Could someone please let me know the difference between these two races? their cars look so awefully alike. Or any pointer to the web site that details the two races will be appreciated.

thanks in advance,
WP

p.s.: this question probably has been asked before, maybe for many times. but i'm new to this forum. so please bear with me.

  wellingtonpan

have you introduced yourself?

  cinqyg

F1 is a much bigger series where manufactors are behind most cars and budgets are much larger and teams employ much more people and do much more testing and such, you get the idea

  veilsideksyline

There are manufacutres but there are smaller teams aswell, jordan for example, who have some sucess in the past there are other similar formulas where it is less professionalised, formula ford, F3, F3000. All are feeders into F1 and serve as a good training ground for this genre of motorsport.

  cinqyg

Champ car racing is so gay, they have a woman in one of the cars. Danna Partick I think her name is, and any sport with a woman in it is not worth my watching...

Has the world gone mad? I suppose the next powder puff football will be a full league on tv

  DSMer

Are you jealous cause ur not that woman in that champ car?.... :2cents: Well if its slower then its gay. If champ car racing is the stepping stone to F1 than its the tricycle of superbikes. Gay is the difference.

  VMJYogi

Formula 1 is more spectacular, they're going more on the limit, never driving in an oval. It's much more difficult to drive such a F1 bolide. Many electronic wizards are in the cars, such as the the gear shift boton on the stearingwheel.
Tires are treads.
:smoke:
The champ cars (former Indy cars) are similar in general. It is independent from Formula 1. The cars are easier to drive, less strict regulations (using charging, no usual fuel), smaller family like teams. Manual Transmission gear shift. The cars using slicks (tires).

That's all I know about :wink2:

  lutz

have you grown up to be a sexist ignorimile bigot or were you born that way?

  cinqyg

are you all lacking in a vocablary or is it me. how can something be "gay", in the traditional meaning then it cannot be happy, objects as we currently understand them do not have feelings, nor can it have a sexuallity.

come on people grow up

  cinqyg

:roll: No, but I suppose somone was born without any working nuerons to fire his humor recepters..

  DSMer

real humour takes subtlety, thought and wit. my recpeters respond to all of those, im not into laughing at people becuase they are cruel, obtuce or at other peoples misfortune.

  cinqyg

Yes because Danna Patrick is so misfortunate from the 100's of 1,000's of dollars she makes every year...

  DSMer

I think u totally missed the point, you white washed a sport becuase there was a woman in it.

Takes 2 to tango.

  cinqyg

may i say Leslie Durst? or how bout Lisa Kubo? she remains unbeaten in her home turf, and in wat sport are they both in? drag racing.

still feel like watching, and even taking part of drag racing?

  Inygknok

Ok, F1 is an FIA regulated motorsport, where costs are not a concern, merely meeting whatever Bernie decides the rules will be each year. CART Champ cars are regulated to keep costs down a little bit, and are a US "formula" but not connected to sports car racing in any way. IRL takes the same basic formula and made regulations to make it less expensive to compete in (things like requiring less exotic materials in the chassis and suspensions).

IRL and CART are not stepping stones to F1. In Europe, F3 and F3000 are the stepping stones. In the US, Formula Atlantic is the primary training ground for F1.

The reason that all of them tend to look similar is simply due to having similar basic layouts. Single seat open wheel race cars designed to go 200 mph AND go around corners will tend to end up looking very similar, due to similar aero and weight needs.

BTW, it's not Danna Patrick, but Danica Patrick, and I can't find a single thing wrong with letting her race: http://www.danica-patrick.com/

  ChrisV

It also proves that racing drivers are good at dancing as well.

  fudge

Oh god no, I can't stand those types of TV especially when they try to integrate it into the actual coverage of the sport. I just happened to have heard about Helio Catroneves winning the US dancing show.

Right now American open wheel racing is at its lowest as far as I can remember largely due to the split back in the mid 90's. I really enjoyed the days of CART especially as it had diverse engines and chassis competing. IRL and Champ Cars are just a spec series which really don't attract the mass fans who are loyal to a certain make. Sure you can get real close racing with the IRLs on ovals but most of the top drivers have moved to Nascar as that seems to be the most popular series(and the only one they seem to report on American TV when I was there) in America.

Its sad to see Champ Cars go but I guess both parties have to merge or both will go down. Lets hope they can bring it back to its glory days once again. On a side note I'm starting to fear for the Formula Atlantics as being a feeder series, they don't seem to be supporting main events now that Champ Cars have folded and that somehow Indy Lights would get all the support instead.

  fudge

This really shows the popularity of Open-wheel racing in America. No one has replied to this thread in a few weeks/years. In fact I had to wait til I got back from America to find out who had won the Canadian GP as all that ESPN cared about as far as motor racing goes was Nascar!!?!. Formula 1 didn't even get a mention on American TV:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: I guess its more or less safe to get rid of Indianapolis from the calender.

  fudge

the difference is f1 is a whole lot better then champ cars.

i guess f1 is the pinnacle of motor sport, the best and most expensive while champ cars not so much.

  mattyp747

F1 is a series full of primadonnas and leaders that would rather make a show that actual racing. Look at the fighting between FISA and FOCA. F1 is just a playground for Balestre and Ecclestone, and not a venue for real racing (and hasn't been since the early '80s).

Interesting how many European F1 drivers are eyeing a move to NASCAR. yes, NASCAR. Too much BS in F1 anymore.

  ChrisV

:puke:
No one takes NASCAR any seriously outside of the US so it'll be a dead end for those outside of the US to do that. Despite all the BS in F1, it is still the target for most aspiring racers and will only focus elsewhere when that doesn't go to plan.

Don't think that because Trulli (who's past his best and doesn't have a contract with Toyota for next year) spent a few days testing NASCAR means that F1 is in any state.

  fudge

Youre apparently wrong about NASCAR. F1 drivers have tried it and found it MUCH harder than they imagined.

As for the open wheel racing, the IZOD indy car racing just got a big boost with the Baltimore grand Prix, a downtown city street course that had the ALMS race as the lead in. A highly successful event in a beautiful stetting. Simona de Sivestri said "this could be our Monaco." With over 160,000 fans flocking to it over the weekend (and over 70k people just on Sunday) it has potential to be huge. I was down there for the F2000, Star Mazda, Indy Lights, and Indy car race on Sunday and it went extremely well. And apparently it looked real good on TV, too.

  ChrisV

They have found it much more difficult than they originally anticipated, but I don't think a single driver has ever agreed that oval racing is more difficult than road racing or any open wheel racing.

However, having had the luxury of driving a few Italian super cars on an oval track and road course track, I will give much more respect than originally thought to any Nascar driver. 9 Degrees at 140MPH is something that requires extreme focus and skill. I couldn't imagine going around those turns at 230MPH, even if I was in a car that was solely created for that purpose.

ChrisV, I do think you're right with the recent boost in IndyCar racing. I actually caught a few at the Indy500, but my money is on Formula 1 coming to Austin Texas in 2012. That is an event I will not be missing. Let's just hope we actually have some competition next season and I don't have to watch another German dominate the field.

Maybe we can actually get an American F1 team *fingers crossed*...

  DSMer

The Baltimore GP looked good for an inaugural event but the IRL cars are still a problem - they're still ugly and with every car being the same it just doesn't interest me the way CART used to when they had 900hp turbo engines screaming to 15000rpm. But with Chevrolet and Lotus joining as engine supplies and a return to turbos in the form of V6 it might re-ignite my interest. Also be nice to see some more American/Canadian drivers at the sharp end of the field but the talented ones usually go to Nascar where they make more money. Heck even Danica is moving next year.



You've had a chance but you blew it. USF1 was a farcical attempt at joining the other new teams. I think it might be a blessing in disguise though as I doubt most Americans would stomach the dissapointment as they watch their cars at the back of the grid with Virgin and HRT fighting for division 2.



Like this one?:wink2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpGsTyv96Rk
I'd think us mere mortals would either passout due to excessive G-force or run out of skill and spin it staight into a concrete wall.

  fudge