Grand Prix Masters

[irrational_i]

So I just returned from the first practises of the new Grand Prix Masters series.
Where to start.
Okay they have 8 2-seater Minardis. It was good to hear an F1 engine again.
Kyalami is kind of next to a hill with a building-filled business park next to it. Basically the F1 howl echoes all around you. It always amazes me how pure the sound is and how clear it is even from 1.5-2 kilometers away!

My seats turned out to be main grandstand. It sucks, but I will have to live with cars going in a straight line. I feel a bit cheated as ticket info was scarce and I could see no way to choose tickets for a specific place. I had to assume I could choose myself. "wrong". They didn't even mention seperate stands. But I get a lovely echo between the pits and the stand, as well as a good view inside.

The drivers I could spot inside:
Johnny Herbert, Hans Stuck, Ricardo Patrese, Rene Arnoux, Eddie Cheever, Patrick Tambay. I only went to the pits late - so I will spot the others tomorrow. 8)

The GP Masters themselves. The cars are very cool. They look like old F1 cars and have a similar sound. Much lower than modern cars. And the way they "splutter" on downshifts are impressive. Small-ish wings and slick tyres. I am hoping for good racing!
The sound is like a solid wall really. You can hear the power in those cars.
The old guys are a bit grey in the hair, but they are not holding back. I often heard the revs bounce of the limiter!

I was most impressed with Emerson Fittipaldi. Boy he was not hanging back at all. On the other hand neither was Nigel Mansell. He has a red "5" on his car. Had to laugh when I saw that. So many things are familiar. It was good recognising faces from racing familiarity and not from tabloid articles like nowadays. Flashback to the days you could get close to the drivers!

So in spite of myself I am quite excited about tomorrow's quali and sunday's race. The event must have a live broadcast as all cars had those "T" bars with cameras on top. I am taking my video camera with tomorrow so will hopefully have some pictures and vids.

Unfortnately there was nothing spectacular in the car park. My porsche was joined by 2 other SCs. Maybe better hunting tomorrow. I did pass a black Gallardo on my way to the track. Impressive-looking.

Here's looking forward to a day of sunburn. Hopefully the rain stays typical and only starts at 4-5 o'clock tomorrow. Its been overcast all day today.

Oh yes. The site. http://www.gpmasters.com/

[sameerrao]

I checked all the normal racing channels here are looks like it is not being broadcasted in the US. :x

Please take lots of pics and clip or two will be greatly appreciated

[irrational_i]

I found this. Hope it helps.
I have not read up about it thoroughly yet.

If they can pull this off with SA internet as it is I will be VERY angry as it will just mean private users are RIPPED-OF horribly with dark-ages internet. 8(

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2...08/147752.html

[luisinho]

it's like A1 grand prix...the idea is the same....

the money is far away from A1

[Svensson]

Video from the official site: http://www.gpmasters.com/video_audio...neTesting2.wmv

Looking forward to the first race, with commentary from Murray "The Voice" Walker!
I was a bit disappointed to read that the cars have modern flappy-paddle-gearboxes instead of true manuals though...

[irrational_i]

GP Masters - day2:

When I arrived this morning it was just in time for the end of the Investment Cars parade. So I saw 2-3 laps of Lamborghini Gallardos, Ferrari F40, 360 CS, Porsche GT3 RS. I must say the Gallardo's engine sounds very smooth. The 360 much more racey though. But sadly I think I like the V10 sound better. 8/

Anyway the masters. This time I spotted all the other drivers including Murray Walker. My family watched quali on TV and said it was just like old times and that Murray was doing a great job too! They all seemed to be having a ball. Although after a few laps in their cars certain drivers seemed VERY tired. I wonder if they will all manage to finish the race? Hope so.

The Minardi 2-seaters provided some passenger rides. A bit boring watching out-fly-in laps for 2 hours!

It was interesting to me that the minardis and the GP Masters cars seemed to shift gear in similar spots on the main straight. The Minardi shift was definitely quicker though!
I agree with Svensson that the paddle shifts are a small disappointment. But otherwise the cars run slicks at least.
During quali the old guys where really pushing it! Mansell got pole at 1xx. Remember AFAIK he holds the all-out record at 1:15:xx in a 1992 F1 Williams.
This still makes the GP Masters cars the 2nd quickest around AFAIK. The last place was Jacques Lafitte not too far behind. I think it will be fun.

They still have that good old car control that I feel many modern drivers lack. It was great seeing them control little slides and hear them feather the throttles. Remember these are 650bhp racers! I suppose you never forget how to drive.

Fittipaldi and Stuck where really impressive still but I will see tomorrow how they shape up!

Unfortunately my friend neglected to tell me I can't use his video cam, so no vids from today. But I have one for tomorrow! Hopefully I will catch the Investment Cars parade again with the same stuff.