From: kevinc@cbnewsf.cb.att.com (kevin.j.coulter)
Subject: Re: IMSA Info
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: na
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1992 20:45:42 GMT

In article <1992Aug12.192000.16024@ncube.com> bob@ncube.com (Bob Kehoe) writes:
>Marvin at the wheel, #49 experienced a cam belt failure.  The motor
>stopped so quickly it probably froze up the ring and pinion in the
>gearbox.  #49 spun immediately, obviously catching Dan off guard.
>He went off track, became airborne over a hump that Dan had never
>been aware of before, and came very close to hitting the guardrail.

I remember he went off drivers left at 3, but can't remember if it was
before or after the turn. If it was after, its a LONG way to the
guardrail..... 

>GTP info:  According to the mechanic's heresay along pit road following
>Sunday's race, the Jag's crash was due to a left-rear wheel failure.
>Reportedly, the Jag team had noticed 3 cracked wheels during the course
>of the weekend - however none had come completely apart.  Also, Nissan

Any ideas as to why the wheels were cracking? Just the pure speeds they
were running or was it something more?

>is now regrouping and reevaluating next year's season, so will only
>enter the Brabham car for the final races.  The Toyotas were SO FAST at

Plus Nissan is getting low on chassis......

>RA Sunday, that Parker stated while he was still in the race and getting
>lapped by the P cars, that after the the 2 Toyotas passed him it was
>literally 6-7 minutes before the Nissan lapped him, then several more
>before the Mazdas went by.

On my watch, the toyotas were about 2 seconds a lap quicker than the
nissan.

>I specifically got into the matter of heat in the cockpit and drivers
>noticeably cracking open their doors, etc., coupled with cool suits and
>when will they go to the NASCAR-type filtered helmet.  The heat buildup
>in the closed cars is severe.  Not wearing a coolsuit, Melgratti
>collapsed after running his stint.  Parker described that, as you're

Doesn't surprise me. It was ~90 degrees on Sunday, with very few clouds
passing through to provide shade.

>preparing to pit (they look like astronauts these days), they have to
>start unplugging everything.  One this is done (you're still rolling to
>your pit), you realize that suddenly the temp is about 140degrees - like
>looking into a blast furnace.  A few of the drivers, including Parker,
>are now using the filtered helmet.  More serious than the heat for the
>drivers is all the crap (carbon fiber brake dust/highly toxic fuel
>fumes) they have to breathe in.  Filtering this air before it reaches
>the driver is the primary reason for the helmet-style.  Without it, a
>lot of the drivers are ill for many days after the race.  This new
>helmet will be adopted by many more in the future.

One of the things I noticed is the number of driver who still aren't
driving with their visors closed. I thought after brabham's face looked
like he had gone a few rounds with mike tyson after geoff had flipped at
road america (one of the telemetry units broke loose and nailed him with
the visor open), everyone would have their visors closed. I'd say only
half of the field had them closed. 

About the stuff the drivers are breathing: if anyone needs convincing,
they should have just looked at the side of the Jaguar after about 5
laps. It was black. Sometimes at the end of the hour long practice
sessions, you could barely read the "Bud Light" on the side of the car
from a corner workers distance. I actually started wondering how much of
that stuff we were breathing in....

>He went on to say that Honda is more than likely getting out of F1, but
>is excited about utilizing the V10 in GTP.  Also, BFG is excited as well
>as American Honda and Acura.  The problem is the expense.  Some reports
						  ^^^^^^^

Thats the understatement of the year. If IMSA doesn't start making some
rules that will limit costs, there ain't gonna be an IMSA.

When you're talking the jag team alone spending $28K/weekend on brakes,
something is definitely wrong. Wonder how much that broken wheel ended
up costing them in the big picture....


I've heard from another source that davy was saying afterwards that when
the car broke, it seemed like he was in slow-motion - until the car got
upside down. Then it felt like 300MPH.   

BTW: Don't know if I mentioned this, but a radar gun was getting the
toyotas during the race at 131MPH in the carousel. So I'd say Davy was
doing at least 120 at impact....

			Kevin
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