|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
19 Jan 2021, 16:11 (Ref:4030048) | #1 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,884
|
Purple Poles
Does anyone remember the "purple pole" spoof from about 1978 or 1979? It was published in either Autosport or Motoring News, I think. Better still, does anyone have a copy?
|
||
__________________
The older I get, the faster I was. |
20 Jan 2021, 17:50 (Ref:4030309) | #2 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,884
|
No? No-one? Surely some of the more senior forumites here will remember it.
It was a reflection of the fact that none of the designers seemed to understand why their cars were fast or slow, so they just tried to copy a successful car (nothing new about the pink Mercedes, you see). The writer suggested that if a car won a race with a 2 foot purple pole attached, at the next race everyone would have a purple pole. According to the article the Ensign (a notoriously cash-strapped team) used a broom handle painted with Dulux. No-one could see one on the Lotus but it was believed to be hidden inside the sidepod. The Renault turbo used a purple liquid inside a glass tube connected to turbo pressure, but it didn't work well as it didn't maintain the correct length as the pressure varied. various other versions were described, that I have forgotten now. |
||
__________________
The older I get, the faster I was. |
20 Jan 2021, 18:48 (Ref:4030324) | #3 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 5,652
|
Sorry but I don't remember this at all. I do remember being told a story about Lotus testing their F1 car at Brands Hatch a very long time ago and decided (for devilment0 to add Ribena (a blackcurrant cordial for those who don't know of it to the (clear) watering can that they were using to top up their cooling system which aroused a lot of suspicion at the time!
I don't know if this is true or not but is totally believable... |
||
__________________
Incognito: An Italian phrase meaning Nice Gearchange! |
20 Jan 2021, 20:25 (Ref:4030334) | #4 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 5,861
|
Quote:
Richard |
||
__________________
To paraphrase Mark Twain... "I'm sorry I wrote such a long post; I didn't have time to write a short one." |
20 Jan 2021, 22:33 (Ref:4030348) | #5 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 8,088
|
Quote:
There was also a lot of outrage, understandably, when Lotus mechanics were caught measuring a Williams chassis in one of the transporters during a qualifying session, not sure if it was the man himself. The teams were having a lot of trouble with locating the centre of pressure under the cars, and stopping them losing all downforce when they were sucked down too low and the air stalled under the car and suddenly stopped generating downforce. |
||
|
21 Jan 2021, 09:20 (Ref:4030400) | #6 | |||
Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,884
|
Quote:
|
|||
__________________
The older I get, the faster I was. |
21 Jan 2021, 09:25 (Ref:4030404) | #7 | |||
Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,884
|
Quote:
|
|||
__________________
The older I get, the faster I was. |
21 Jan 2021, 10:52 (Ref:4030420) | #8 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 5,091
|
I'd never heard of this purple pole thing but it turns up on a few websites, the most notable of which is Forix.
Quote:
|
||
__________________
Walk a mile in someone else's shoes. When they realise you have, you'll be a mile away and you'll have their shoes. |
21 Jan 2021, 12:06 (Ref:4030427) | #9 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 8,088
|
Quote:
http://www.allinsport.ch/history/instant-notoriety/ Must have been fascinating working for Lotus during that period, the good old days of F1. Care to add anything? |
||
|
21 Jan 2021, 20:20 (Ref:4030519) | #10 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 813
|
Quote:
It was done to make the liquid more visible.A test was underway to determine the real world pressures beneath the car due to persistent porpoising problems (Isn't alliteration great!).The tubes were connected to pressure tappings and at speed a valve was closed off to retain the fluid level until the pitlane was reached and a measurement could be taken with a rule. |
||
|
22 Jan 2021, 07:59 (Ref:4030567) | #11 | |||
Veteran
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 5,652
|
Quote:
|
|||
__________________
Incognito: An Italian phrase meaning Nice Gearchange! |
22 Jan 2021, 10:51 (Ref:4030595) | #12 | |||
Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,884
|
Quote:
|
|||
__________________
The older I get, the faster I was. |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Leffler, Green and Nemechek take poles. | Speeddemon555 | NASCAR & Stock Car Racing | 2 | 13 Feb 2003 15:53 |
Interesting statistic regarding poles (not the lapdancing pole variety) | av8rirl | Formula One | 36 | 6 Sep 2002 16:05 |
3 poles, 3 wins! What a result!!! | Les | National & Club Racing | 1 | 15 Jul 2002 09:09 |
Who will take more poles- Mikey or Monty? | BootsOntheSide | Formula One | 29 | 12 Jul 2002 13:54 |
purple dress lady ? | Sodemo | Touring Car Racing | 5 | 1 Jan 2001 23:56 |