Alright when was that again.....?

Here is Mike Skeen who is a paid professional driver at Sebring in an LMP3 yesterday with a lap time of 1:59.78. The in-car footage shows just how little brake he uses due to the aerodynamics of the car. I have driven hundreds of laps at Sebring in my Miata, and even going slightly slower :), I think I use more brake than he does.

A friend of mine drove in the Trans Am and other series for years in a mechanical grip TA1 car. He purchased an LMP3, and had a very difficult time driving it. Being used to mechanical grip for thirty years, he used the brake far too much in the LMP3. This caused the car to lose aero and therefore grip, and he struggled trying not to wreck for a lone period of time. He told me it was extremely difficult to get his mind to realize that faster in the corners was actually better.

If any of you want to drive a LMP3, I believe you can rent his to drive at Sebring or Daytona for $50,000.00 or so a day. PM me for info.

Another interesting thing is that at a local professional race shop, there was an LMP2 having some work done on it. Sitting next to a LMP3, it was amazing how much smaller the cockpit is in the LMP2. I squeezed in an LMP3 and I thought that was really crowded! The strangest part is getting in and out of the car as I had to climb in, turn, and spin my body 90 degrees. Also the pedal box is elevated so your knees are at chest level. I think my legs would go to sleep driving a full stint.

A crew member for the LMP2 told me that they estimate that each lap a Sebring costs $80.00 in consumables alone. You have to have deep pockets to own and drive one of these. There's a used one for sale here in Florida for $400,000.00 and that is without an engine. Stuff a 1.8 in it, and off you go!

Here's the video if you would like to watch it...
 
Big no, if MotoGP was like in 2012, it would've been "it's ok".
HOWEVER, MotoGP has became so much more competitive than F1, look how many riders can fight for the top positions, BUT in F1 only 3 drivers could fight, not because of Mercs, but because of the others who can't make a car good enough to compete w/Mercs, Verstappen is the only one who can compete with Hamilton and Bottas and the gap is huge to the other drivers (2022 regs could change everything tho).
Modern MotoGP > modern F1
Don't forget the Pink Panthers at Racing point. If they did a good job copying the AMG mercedes they may start winning.
 
That's a hugely impressive laps..

The prototypes got better and better aerodynamics wise. It's all about efficiency.
The aero of a LMP2 nowadays is so effective that they can drive with lots of wing on all tracks except le Mans.

At least that's what a friend in the industry told me.
 
I was watching a political post on facebook (Don't recall name of persons post but it is irrelevant) A caller said i had a Lewis Hamilton Tattoo removed. This person who seems to be a educated reporter of politics claimed he new someone who grew up with Lewis and said he was privileged in his up bringing and not poor like he says. Mercedes threw billions at him to get through go carts and into F1.
Lewis rants about being Vegan and saving the planet. Yea and how many miles dose he clock in his private jet (pre virus)
It was claimed many sponsors wanted him because of his ethnic identity.

Its the reverse of Willy T Ribs who tested for Tyrell and was told he was to slow. Probably due to sponsors threatening to pull the plug if he drove the car. He was stripped of a stock car win as official keeping score put him a lap down because they where racist.

This is the reverse story of Lewis Hamilton.

The world of motorsport is full of privileged people. It takes money time and talent to be good at any sport. I still think the best athlete is the one who is poor to the point they can not get involved. And they don't have Mercedes Benz throwing money to help them do it.
 
All speculation.

And wealthy / poor is all down to context. One person's wealthy is another person's poor.

Having sponsorship and backing doesn't change your backgroud or upbringing. Nobody throws money at people for the sake of it, they have to prove themselves first, and they have to prove themselves without the backing of Mercedes Benz or anybody else.
 
F1-MCLAREN-PARTNERS-WITH-SPONSOR-GULF.jpg

F1-MCLAREN-PARTNERS-WITH-SPONSOR-GULF-2.jpg

Looks like Paul Riccard run off. May be a little blurry at speed. And may irritate drivers coming up to pass.
 
But you have to admit there are drivers with money and little if any talent buying there way into the sport. There are no Japanese drivers on the grid but there was one they would have a Honda engine.
 
But you have to admit there are drivers with money and little if any talent buying there way into the sport. There are no Japanese drivers on the grid but there was one they would have a Honda engine.

But Lewis Hamilton isn't Japanese. And he's not limited to 'little if any talent'. And I don't think he bought his way into the sport.
 
All speculation.

And wealthy / poor is all down to context. One person's wealthy is another person's poor.

Having sponsorship and backing doesn't change your backgroud or upbringing. Nobody throws money at people for the sake of it, they have to prove themselves first, and they have to prove themselves without the backing of Mercedes Benz or anybody else.
I think the strength of the team is in design and personnel, there are a lot of people behind the seens that make that team work. The only thing Lewis can not manage well is tires as they are made for all the teams and not just him.
 
I think the strength of the team is in design and personnel, there are a lot of people behind the seens that make that team work. The only thing Lewis can not manage well is tires as they are made for all the teams and not just him.

I was under the impression he managed his tyres pretty well - I can't remember any instances where he's got through tyres more quickly than anyone else.

In fact it seems the dual axis thing on the Mercedes this year is intended more for tyre management than anything else.
 
I was watching a political post on facebook (Don't recall name of persons post but it is irrelevant) A caller said i had a Lewis Hamilton Tattoo removed. This person who seems to be a educated reporter of politics claimed he new someone who grew up with Lewis and said he was privileged in his up bringing and not poor like he says. Mercedes threw billions at him to get through go carts and into F1.
Lewis rants about being Vegan and saving the planet. Yea and how many miles dose he clock in his private jet (pre virus)
It was claimed many sponsors wanted him because of his ethnic identity.

Its the reverse of Willy T Ribs who tested for Tyrell and was told he was to slow. Probably due to sponsors threatening to pull the plug if he drove the car. He was stripped of a stock car win as official keeping score put him a lap down because they where racist.

This is the reverse story of Lewis Hamilton.

The world of motorsport is full of privileged people. It takes money time and talent to be good at any sport. I still think the best athlete is the one who is poor to the point they can not get involved. And they don't have Mercedes Benz throwing money to help them do it.

I feel like you're digging Hamilton out because he got backing? How is that fair?

He earnt the right to to get that backing if he had the talent, surely that must be the case as he has gone on to be very successful? You also appear to be applying that he got the chance because he is black? I think you're quick to forget that many do not because of their skin colour.

It's funny how people twist things to fit their views on certain topics, not just this but with everything in life. People see what they want to see.

Hamilton is a talent, he might not be my cup of tea but I respect what the man can do.
 

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