|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
2 Feb 2007, 10:05 (Ref:1831687) | #26 | ||
Race Official
Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 15,734
|
Could it be on the verge of returning to the gai-jin heydey of the late 80's early 90's, when there were lots of promising drivers joining the Japanese hotshots?
|
||
__________________
"Double Kidney Guv'nah?" "No thanks George they're still wavin a white flag!" |
2 Feb 2007, 11:19 (Ref:1831755) | #27 | ||
Rookie
Join Date: Oct 2001
Posts: 93
|
Quote:
|
||
|
2 Feb 2007, 12:55 (Ref:1831825) | #28 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,503
|
Ide @ Arting ? i got a diferent information
have a look on this page (japanese) http://minolta.exblog.jp/ written Team A : Treluyer/Matsuda Team B : Motoyama/Krumm and i do not believe that Honda engine was less powerfull than Toyota as Arta Autobacs managed to set up a couple of pole position last season ... maybe the reason is just Dandelion is not an "official" Honda Team ... like Arta Autobacs and Nakajima... Last edited by META4; 2 Feb 2007 at 12:58. |
||
|
2 Feb 2007, 12:59 (Ref:1831829) | #29 | ||
Racer
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 447
|
At the beginning of the season the Honda engine was clearly inferior. The new engine introduced later evened up things but Dandelion got them very late since they were not an "official" team as you say so they didn't have time to test them properly.
|
||
|
2 Feb 2007, 13:21 (Ref:1831856) | #30 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,503
|
Then Well done Wirdheim , even if his best result he got it was at the second race of the seaon , he finished 2nd in Suzuka behind Duval and in front of Treluyer...
but well i hope for him and for the all the peoples involved he will be able to battle for the championship during the coming season , that would be very good any news about Richard Lyons and even Tora Takagi? |
||
|
2 Feb 2007, 13:21 (Ref:1831858) | #31 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,366
|
Any idea as to what kind of power outputt the top engines are producing? I remember at the beginning of 2006 a figure of 550bhp was being thrown about. Now seeing that the engines have been developed I would imagine they are fairly close to GP2 level?
|
||
__________________
Sportscar Racing fans of the world Unite! |
2 Feb 2007, 13:31 (Ref:1831868) | #32 | ||
Race Official
Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 15,734
|
I thought it was more than that as they are effectively IRL engines aren't they? Those chuck out about 650hp or so.
|
||
__________________
"Double Kidney Guv'nah?" "No thanks George they're still wavin a white flag!" |
2 Feb 2007, 13:42 (Ref:1831880) | #33 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,503
|
I still believe around 550Hp
just remember Formula Nippon is not IRL budget... |
||
|
2 Feb 2007, 14:16 (Ref:1831899) | #34 | ||
Rookie
Join Date: Oct 2001
Posts: 93
|
Quote:
|
||
|
2 Feb 2007, 14:18 (Ref:1831901) | #35 | ||
Rookie
Join Date: Oct 2001
Posts: 93
|
Quote:
Head on nail "secondo"! |
||
|
2 Feb 2007, 14:37 (Ref:1831924) | #36 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,503
|
so what about Motoyama then Obus??? is he retiring after his long career in formula nippon and his multiple titles???
|
||
|
2 Feb 2007, 14:47 (Ref:1831929) | #37 | |||
Veteran
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,366
|
Quote:
|
|||
__________________
Sportscar Racing fans of the world Unite! |
2 Feb 2007, 15:07 (Ref:1831942) | #38 | |||
Veteran
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,503
|
Quote:
|
|||
|
2 Feb 2007, 15:15 (Ref:1831954) | #39 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,366
|
Are we? The Lola that races in Formula Nippon is very similar to that of the old F3000 car, in fact its really a evolution of it. There was nothing wrong with the old Lola that ran in F3000 a few years ago, it was the engine that was the biggest problem. I would rate the Lola chassis in Formula Nippon as high as the Dallara in GP2. Lola are IMO the worlds best specalist chassis constructor. It would be interesting to see which chassis would go faster if both had identical engines. As it is I think national pride may be colouring both our judgement a little at the moment.
As you can see from the following link the Formula Nippon chassis is very advanced too. Formula Nippon has choosen to stick with a lower front wing though by the looks of things, as well as a 3 plane rear wing. Unlike GP2 which changed to a 2 element rear wing last year in order to make the cars slower as well as making it harder to find setups. http://www.f-nippon.co.jp/mk/index.html One important thing to remember is that unlike GP2 Formula Nippon isnt just a feeder series for F1, its also a alternative in much the same way as Champcar or the IRL is. A driver can have a good professional career in Formula Nippon/Super GT. Last edited by SALEEN S7R; 2 Feb 2007 at 15:24. |
||
__________________
Sportscar Racing fans of the world Unite! |
2 Feb 2007, 15:46 (Ref:1831974) | #40 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,503
|
"Lola are IMO the worlds best specalist chassis constructor" it is always funny to hear British peoples talking about theirs abilities...
i do not follow you in the idea that formula nippon is similar to GP2... if you ask to any driver what would he choose between Formula Nippon and GP2 ... guess what will he choose?... European drivers are not coming to japan because of the level of competition... maybe for the money they can get to race but i believe if they had the choice they would prefer to stay in Europe all depends if you think on a short or long term career... Last edited by META4; 2 Feb 2007 at 15:51. |
||
|
2 Feb 2007, 15:50 (Ref:1831978) | #41 | |
Rookie
Join Date: Oct 2001
Posts: 93
|
...and 90 minutes of hard, fair and competitive racing. There was a suggestion from some of the Japanese drivers last year that the organization should implement servo as a steering aid but that was rejected by the FN organization.
|
|
|
2 Feb 2007, 15:54 (Ref:1831979) | #42 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,366
|
GP2 is for aspiring young drivers who still want to make it into F1, or drivers who have made it into F1 and have basically been kicked back out but who are still sniffing around hoping they will someday make it back, ie Pizzonia and Pantano. A driver cannot make a professional living in GP2, in GP2 you pay for your seat. For drivers like Pizzonia and Pantano thats ok though as they already have money. The others in the series wont stay long, they will normally either make it into F1 or fail and go into Champcar/IRL/DTM. Some go to Formula Nippon to make a living driving professionally for manufacturer backed teams.
Basically GP2 is for young talent or guys still trying to break back into F1 whereas Formula Nippon is for professional drivers and some up and coming young stars. Really Formula Nippon has the same status as Champcar in Japan and the cars I think you will find are as quick as a GP2 car. Yes they have a bit less power but I think you will find they have more areodynamic grip. |
||
__________________
Sportscar Racing fans of the world Unite! |
2 Feb 2007, 15:54 (Ref:1831980) | #43 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,503
|
yes Obus ... you get one point on that one
Do not misunderstand me i am not trying to say formula nippon is a bad serie... and i totally agree with you SALEEN on "Basically GP2 is for young talent or guys still trying to break back into F1 whereas Formula Nippon is for professional drivers and some up and coming young stars." Last edited by META4; 2 Feb 2007 at 15:59. |
||
|
2 Feb 2007, 16:20 (Ref:1831996) | #44 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,503
|
the only problem in japan is the risk to be dropped from the European radar
i reckon all the european drivers who came in japan are trying hard to keep their drive... but drivers who go to japan have to consider to stay in japan until the end of their career it will be difficult to move into any other serie , look at Richard Lyons... but maybe we should come back at the main subject of this thread Last edited by META4; 2 Feb 2007 at 16:28. |
||
|
2 Feb 2007, 16:29 (Ref:1832006) | #45 | ||
Rookie
Join Date: Oct 2001
Posts: 93
|
Quote:
|
||
|
2 Feb 2007, 16:30 (Ref:1832007) | #46 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 508
|
Quote:
|
||
|
2 Feb 2007, 16:40 (Ref:1832013) | #47 | |||
Veteran
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,503
|
Quote:
i completly agree with you the level of drivers is pretty good in japan , the fact is teams have theirs own sponsors so they can choose good drivers and even pay them , there a few drivers who are paying in formula nippon (average or bad drivers) so that means there are a lot of very good drivers but from a technical point of view it is not as high as European standard like GP2 , all my respect to japanese peoples who are involved in this serie if you consider the fact as formula nippon is a National serie whereas GP2 is an european serie racing ... |
|||
|
3 Feb 2007, 10:03 (Ref:1832443) | #48 | |||
Race Official
Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 15,734
|
Quote:
Then the CART surge of the late 90's with JV's, Zanardi's and Montoya's successes in getting across to F1 arguably surpassed Nippon as the place to be if you wanted to get to F1 away from the mainstream European ladder so to speak. I would hazard a guess that if CART hadn't have become so strong, those 3 would have done Nippon instead? I think you're right about the comparison between Nippion and GP2. I suspect the cars are similar on pace but whereas Nippon used to be significanty faster than its F3000 cousin, the current GP2 is probably on the a simialr perfromance level. Last edited by chunterer; 5 Feb 2007 at 08:32. |
|||
__________________
"Double Kidney Guv'nah?" "No thanks George they're still wavin a white flag!" |
3 Feb 2007, 10:52 (Ref:1832459) | #49 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,503
|
it is quite funny when you see drivers like Nakajima and Hirate getting full drive paid by Toyota in GP2 , that means even in japan peoples do not consider formula nippon as a F1 racing serie feeder
would be good if some drivers like Alx Danielson ,Jose Maria Lopez or Franck Perrera could get drive in nippon this season even if we need to keep in mind it is a japanese serie so done for japanese drivers... Last edited by META4; 3 Feb 2007 at 10:56. |
||
|
3 Feb 2007, 18:21 (Ref:1832678) | #50 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,366
|
Formula Nippon a Japaneese series for Japaneese drivers? Partly yes, but as has been said the grid is full of International talent. Formula Nippon is no more a Japaneese series for Japaneese drivers than GP2 is a European series for European drivers. IMO.
|
||
__________________
Sportscar Racing fans of the world Unite! |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Formula Nippon | O'Schumacher | National & International Single Seaters | 1 | 4 Apr 2002 03:12 |
Formula Nippon | tomasengefan | National & International Single Seaters | 13 | 27 Nov 2001 11:23 |
formula nippon | ringo | National & International Single Seaters | 2 | 18 Oct 2001 23:36 |
Formula Nippon | Nigel | National & International Single Seaters | 1 | 20 May 2001 02:46 |