Quote:
Originally Posted by 450knotOffice
C'mon. Really?
F1 and every other pro racing series has had ALL of its drivers jumping curbs for ever. Now all of a sudden, this one single race has FIVE cars - four during the race - explode their left rear tire. Yet, it's the driver's fault. Uh huh.  |
Yeah, really. You might need to learn a little bit more about the sport. It ain't as simple as you think. The curbs weren't an issue last year, but they were this year. What changed? The tire carcass construction. Not an issue for last years tires, but it was for these. And it wasn't every curb on the track; a couple of them have been identified as problematic.
Note that in the race, the team engineers were increasing the tire pressures, to move the contact patch away from the inside edge (a function of the camber they run) and more towards the center. They also instructed the drivers to stay off of the curbs in certain corners.
The info is out there, if you want to look it up. You might start here:
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/108479
Damage from curbs is not a new issue, nor is it restricted to cars. The FIA has curb designs standards for races they sanction, the FIM has different standards for motorcycle races and they conflict in various ways with those of the FIA. It makes it tough for tracks that want to hold both top-level car and bike racing.
JR