Tag: F1

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Race Report: Speed Circuit 2024 Kyalami

South African Grand Prix photo finish.

Nine teams completed in the South African Grand Prix at Kyalami. Ferrari and Surtees started in the first row followed by Elf Tyrrell and BRM. Embassy made its debut in the third row accompanied by McLaren. Shadow and Hesketh shared the fourth row. Brabham was alone in the fifth row.

Pace took and early lead followed closely by Lauda. Hill stalled on the start and fell behind. Fittipaldi launched his McLaren into 3rd place.

The Ferrari and the Surtees raced side-by-side for most of the 1st lap, but Pace in the Surtees held the lead. The rest of the field formed a conga line through the Esses.

Pace complete the lap first and picked up a bonus point. Beltoise catapulted his BRM into 3rd place and pressured Lauda. Hunt nursed his ailing Hesketh and fell back.

Beltoise slipped into 2nd, but Lauda soon recaptured the position. McLaren and Shadow fought for 4th.

While extending his lead, Pace completed the 2nd lap and gained another bonus point. Lauda pushed his Ferrari trying to close the gap between him and Pace. Revson, Scheckter, and Reutermann raced 3-wide down the front straight.

During the 3rd and final lap Fittipaldi spun twice and lost his position. Lauda caught up to Pace and they raced side-by-side through the Esses, the Bend and down the front straight. Although his was out of wear, Lauda charged through the kink at 140mph and crossed the finish line first for a photo finish win.

Beltoise the rest of the pack to take 3rd place. Reuterman, Revson, and Scheckter once again raced three wide down the front straight. Scheckter skid going through the kink. Revson finish fourth beside Reutermann. Race details follow:

1st Den H. (C. Regazzoni) 80/40/20/160/5 S
2nd Tom V. (C. Pace) 80/20/40/140/6 W**
3rd Ray R. (J-P. Beltoise) 60/40/40/160/5 S
4th Tori P. (P. Revson) 40/40/60/160/5 S
5th Dave M. (Reutermann) 40/60/60/140/5 S
6th Mike C. (G. Hill) 60/40/40/160/5 N
7th Chuck H. (J. Scheckter) 60/40/20/160/6 N
8th AJ H. (E. Fittipaldi) 80/40/40/140/5 S
9th Steve K. (J. Hunt) 60/40/40/160/5 S

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Race Report – Speed Circuit 2021 Monza

McLaren Owned the Starting Grid But Ferrari Owned the Race

McLaren driver’s held pole and 3rd positions dominating the first row of the starting grid at this year’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Brabham’s D. Hulme accompanied the McLarens on the first row. All cars in the first row were configured with weak downforce and setup to go fast on the straits. Meanwhile, the championship leader, J. Stewart, was all the way back on the inside of row 4. Team BRM, led by veteran manager Dan, made its first showing of the season.

Team McLaren dominates the starting grid at Monza!

At the Curva Grande the weak downforce cars displayed cornering instability. Team Tryell was first to capitalize on the McLaren’s weakness. Cevert took the lead heading out of the Lesmos and Stewart moved from 10th to 3rd.

Team Tyrell Challenges the McLarens through the Lesmos.

Cevert and Stewart worked in tandem and Stewart slipped into the lead. BRM and Ferrari pressed McLaren out of the Parabolica. The McLarens were fast on the straights, but to slow in the corners and ultimately outclassed by the strong downforce cars.

Can the besieged McLarens hold on?

Ickx slipped past the McLarens and held a position behind the Tyrells as they passed the line to begin the second lap. The Tyrells had spent 2/3 of their skill points in the first lap and this would negatively impact the team’s tactics for the rest of the race. The McLarens also suffered from bad luck.

Positions at the end of the first lap at Monza.

While Ickx maintained his position behind Cevert, his team mate, Regazzoni quietly maneuvered through the pack. The Ferraris linked up down the back stretch and eventually disrupted the Tyrells.

Regazzoni breaks through the pack at the Lesmos.
Regazzoni joins Ickx.
Ferrari dismantles the Tyrell tandem.

Breaking up the Tyrell tandem proved critical to Ferrari’s success. Stewart once again crossed the finish line first, but Cevert fell back and Stewart battled against team Ferrari on his own with 1 skill point and just enough wear to make it through the last lap. BRM, Brabham and McLaren had battle ferociously during the second lap and were nearly spend as well.

Lat lap into the Lesmos.

Regazonni used his teammate to slingshot past Stewart going down the back straight. Ickx got the inside position on Stewart going into the Parabolica. The Ferraris were first through the Parabolica and Stewart slip-streamed Regezonni to pull up along side the Ferraris. The leaders were three wide heading into the final corner of the race.

Leaders line up for the final corner.

Stewart should have won the race on the following turn. but he made a critical tactical error. The Ferraris went 160mph through the 120mph corner section and occupied the two outside lanes just past the corner blocking use of the 120mph section. If Stewart had gone 140mph he could have safely navigated the 100mph section, taken the inside space next to the Ferraris, and gone 180mph during the next turn crossing the finish line ahead of the Ferraris and won, but instead he plotted 160mph. He still had an opportunity to late brake down to 140mph, but did not. Stewart attempted going 60mph over the limit through the 100mph section and rolled a 6 on the chance table. He used us last skill chip to avoid crashing and spunout blowing his opportunity for victory.

Stewart spins in the final corner of the last lap at Monza!

Ickx crossed the start finish line first and was followed by Regazzoni and Cevert. Stewart recovered from the spin and just barely beat Shenken across the finish line to take 4th place.

One – Two victory for Ferrari!

Then Githen suffered a horrific crash in the last corner. He survived, but may not be well enough to race in the next and final race of the season.

Gethin crashes in the final corner of the last lap at Monza.

Race details follow:

1st Steve (J. Ickx) 60/60/20/180/4 S
2nd Steve (C. Regazzoni) 60/60/20/180/4 S
3rd Den (F. Cevert) 60/60/20/180/4 S
4th Den (J. Stewart) 60/60/20/180/4** S
5th Terry (T. Shenken) 60/40/40/160/5 S
6th Terry (G. Hill) 80/40/40/160/4 W
7th Travis (D.Hulme) 80/20/40/160/5 W
8th Dan (P. Rodriguez) 60/40/20/180/5
9th Ray R. (R. Peterson) 40/60/20/180/5
10th Dan (J. Siffert) 80/40/20/180/5
11th Ray R. (N. Galli) 60/40/40/160/6
CR5 Travis (P. Gethin) 60/20/40/160/6 W

Stewart is only three points ahead of Ickx in the championship. Hulme could make a comeback. Ferrari is leading the constructors competition. The final race at Watkins Glen is looking to be a nail-biter. Hope to see you at the race!

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2021 Speed Circuit Car Design Complete

I completed design on and started 3D printing the cars for our 2021 Speed Circuit season. The cars are inspired by the vehicles raced in the 1971 Formula 1 season including the Brabham BT34, BRM P160, Ferrari 312B2, Lotus 72C, March 711, Matra MS120B, McLaren M19A, Surtees TS9B, Tyrrell.

I designed the cars in Blender v2.83.4, a free program, and sliced them in Cura v4.7. I’m printing the cars on a Creality Ender 3 with a .2mm nozzle set at .08mm layer height. You may find photos of the completed prints in a later article.

Blender screenshots of the 1971 F1 Cars:

  • 1971 Brabham BT34
  • 1971 BRM P160
  • 1971 Ferrari 312B2
  • 1971 Lotus 72C
  • 1971 March 711
  • 1971 Martra MS120B
  • 1971 McLaren M19A
  • 1971 Surtees TS9B
  • 1971 Tyrrell

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Race Report – Speed Circuit 2020 Kyalami

First Race of the new decade!  Strong Down-Force Cars Dominate Kyalami.

Because of the incredible turn-out, teams were allowed only one car in Kyalami race.  The new down-force rules were introduced.  Four out of eight teams opted for normal down-force settings.  On the other hand, Tyrell used weak down-force and Ferrari, Volkswagen, and Lotus opted for strong. 

The eight cars that lined up on the starting grid were managed by veteran players and there were no rookies in the field. 

Kyalami 2020 Starting Grid

Tyrell’s Jackie Stewart and Owen BRM’s Jacky Oliver lined up on the front row.  With its  acceleration and speed advantage the Tyrell car looked like a sure winner, but the car would be plagued by instability in the corner sections throughout the race. 

During the first lap, Oliver began to pull away while the pack bunched up in The Esses.

Kyalami Lap 1 The Esses

Lotus driver Jochem Rindt took advantage of his car’s superior down-force setup to charge through the corners and catch Oliver on the front straight, but Oliver crossed the line first to earn a bonus point.

Kyalami Start of Lap 2

During lap 2, Rindt took the lead and Volkswagen’s Pete Lovely slipped by the field of competitors.  Ferrari also dodged through the pack.  The strong down-force cars set a blistering pace.

Kyalami Lap 2 Clubhouse Bend

At the beginning of lap 3 Rindt, Lovely, and Ickx sprinted away from a wear depleted field. 

Kyalami Start of Lap 3

During the last lap, many players ran out of wear and luck. Oliver and Beltoise battled for fourth place and then Beltoise spun at Sunset Bend. 

Kyalami Lap 3: Beltoise Spins

Meanwhile, Rindt took the lead through the Esses with Lovely and Ickx in hot pursuit.

Kyalmi Lap 3: Battle for 1st Through the Esses

Lovely made a daring move in Leeukop Bend and passed Rindt.

Kyalami Lap 3: Lovely make a lovely move.

Lovely and Rindt ended up dead even after the kink and heading toward the finish line.  The Ferrari was the only car near the the leaders.

Kyalami Lap 3: Leaders head to head through the Kink.

Rindt powered his Lotus ahead of Lovely to win the race.

Kyalami 2020: Win for Lotus

Final race results follow:

1st Den (J. Rindt) 60/60/20/180/4* S
2nd Ray G. P. Lovely) 60/40/40/160/5 S
3rd Steve (J. Ickx) 80/40/20/160/5 S
4th Terry (J. Oliver) 80/40/40/140/5
5th John H. (D. Gurney) 80/20/40/140/6
6th Dan (Beltoise) 80/40/20/160/5
7th Ray R. (Amon) 60/20/20/180/6
8th Travis (J. Stewart) 80/20/60/140/5 W

The race was completed in 27 turns with an average speed of 128.148 mph.

Thanks for the turn out and a fun night of racing.

Special kudos to Steve for painting the new cars and providing a new printing of the classic Kyalami track.

Next race is planned for Monaco in February 2020.