Japanese GP 2009 - Suzuka

[Richard]

Brawn, basically being a honda developed car, will be strongest here.

I doubt that nationality will figure much in the car design. It is after all a British car, built in Britain, by a largely British team ,with a German engine.

I also think the testing ban makes a difference. With unlimited testing, cars were developed on a local track, and that in turn meant the car was better suited to the local track. So a Japanese car built in Japan would have the advantage of testing at Susuka for hundreds of hours. But not any more.

[zgred]

[raceman]

WTF; don't get muddy on the track??? Japs, track is of tarmac, not of mud

[ISLAMATRON]

Some consider the term Japs to be offensive, maybe you should not call them that, even if it is a rather funny joke... You wouldnt like it if people around here would call you a "dot head" would you?

[ESPImperium]

New Paddock and main grandstand (note rain):













Breathtaking, im so glad were away from Fuji, altho it was a good track its isnt a great classic one. Altho, if Motegi got its act together and got a world class pit facility, im shure a race there would be fun. But Suzuka is the Japaneese daddy track now.

Also, something to note:



Toyota seem to be running a RVX-08-191 (as thats what the badge says) in the back of one of their cars, funny the 2009 engine is the RVX-09 and the 2008 engine is the RVX-09.

[ISLAMATRON]

I'd sell one of my wives to be at Suzuka for this race, beautiful pics

Container full of BMW engines dropped in Japan
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/n ... 0451.shtml

luckily the race engines dont seem to be included, but will the friday engines be ready to go in time or will they have to use the race engines thus racking up more miles on them.

Just when BMW was looking a little better (Heidfeld's Singapore problems notwithstanding) this happens.

[King Six]

I had no idea Suzuka was going through such a hefty upgrade. Can't tell too well just how much of the actual track layout is going to change, probably not much. More of a facilities upgrade than track change.

The angles may not have changed but it looks like they did a total resurfacing, and that can affect alot.

Yeah, looks like a complete resurface. Asphalt instead of Concrete? (or, well it looks like that from here, it's probably something more complex than that)

Should be a nice relief for the drivers after the supposedly very bumpy Singapore GP!

Anyway the circuit is looking great now. Top stuff there.

WTF; don't get muddy on the track??? Japs, track is of tarmac, not of mud

lol. Probably a mistranslation. You know, typical Chinglish. Except Japan not China, but you get the idea.

Trying to say "don't get mud on the track"

Oh wait, actually it's "Engrish" according to Wikipedia. They have terms for all of it

[Richard]

WTF; don't get muddy on the track???

Some say ... the local farmers near Suzuka engage harvest festival in the paddy fields in the first week of October and then cross the track to get home. The resulting mud is so sticky that it permanently stains the marshall's hi-vis uniforms so they no longer comply with FIA regs. As we all know, there is a world wide shortage of hi-vis uniforms due that silly management mistake in the 3M Scotchlite factory when they ordered the wrong gauge thread and knackered £73.6m of sewing machines (and you thought petrol in a diesel engine was bad!). So,if there are not enough hi-vis uniforms then there will not be enough marshalls, then there will be no race. And we all know that Alonso/Lewis/Flav/Schumi/Ron/Bernie/Max (delete as applicable) is to blame because they have shares in the factory, and deliberately caused the Scothlite shortage in order to cancel the Japanese GP which will enable their favoured driver to win the WDC by half a point on account of the sand storm they are also arranging at Abu Dhabi.

How do we know this? Because Nelson Jr got a job as a marshall in Japan (its the only way he can get to touch an F1 car)

tsk, do you guys not know anything ???????

[vasia]

Also, something to note:



Toyota seem to be running a RVX-08-191 (as thats what the badge says) in the back of one of their cars, funny the 2009 engine is the RVX-09 and the 2008 engine is the RVX-09.

I think you mean the 2008 engine was the RVX-08. Strange if in fact that is a 2008 engine, but I think the badge could mean one of two things:

1.) That the RVX-09 engine is actually identical to the RVX-08 engine, to the point that Toyota has not bothered updating the tags for this year

2.) Toyota might be using a different numbering system in this case, and that could in-fact indicate the 8th engine of the season on that car, which makes sense.

[ISLAMATRON]

More on the engine front...

According to this
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/n ... 5352.shtml

Heidfeld already has used his 9th engine, at Singapore, a very strategic move since he was already placed at the back of the grid for being underweight in qually.

So he gets a ninth engine and essentially no penalty, because somehow the rules are interpreted that you only get a penalty in the 1st race that the 9th engine is used.... totally absurd in my book.

[siskue2005]

I had no idea Suzuka was going through such a hefty upgrade. Can't tell too well just how much of the actual track layout is going to change, probably not much. More of a facilities upgrade than track change.

The angles may not have changed but it looks like they did a total resurfacing, and that can affect alot.

Yeah, looks like a complete resurface. Asphalt instead of Concrete? (or, well it looks like that from here, it's probably something more complex than that)

Should be a nice relief for the drivers after the supposedly very bumpy Singapore GP!

Anyway the circuit is looking great now. Top stuff there.

List of changes
1. The Whole Grand stand is New....capacity increased massively with VVIP seats aswell....and upgrade to latest facilities
2. The whole Pit complex is New more accomodation more area for logistics
3. There is a underground road , right beneath the start straight
4. The whole S/F road is new and resurfaced

There was link to Suzuka remap to some other forum (planet-f1 forum)
with lots of list of all changes and also lots and lots of pictures from the past 2 yrs when work was going on.
Anyone have that link?

[modbaraban]

This is amazing. Suzuka is a rare (sole?) combination of ultra-modern facilities + classic circuit layout.

[ESPImperium]

This is amazing. Suzuka is a rare (sole?) combination of ultra-modern facilities + classic circuit layout.

And not a Tilke design in sight as well.

All we need is Silverstone to get some new pit facilities and we have a second track. There are more tracks id like to see updated as well, but lets hope this is the beginning of something for the "Classic 10" of platinum and gold tracks/events as i like to call them, whitch are;

1] Monaco [platinum]
2] Silverstone [gold]
3] Monza [gold]
4] Montreal [gold]
5] Spa [gold] (If there could be more facilities in terms of hotels near it, and not a few goldie oldies that dont like the disruption and noise)
6] Nurburgring [gold]
7] Hungaroring [gold]
8] Magney Cours [gold] (Albeit the track locale has mainly downsides)
9] Hockenhiemring [gold]
10] Suzuka [gold]

Those tracks need to have gaurenteed fixtures on the shedule for a WDC and Constructors title to be deemed valid across the generations in my opinion.

[tarzoon]

Adding to the expectation of F1 back in Suzuka...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWl4Iffi62s[/youtube]

[King Six]

More on the engine front...

According to this
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/n ... 5352.shtml

Heidfeld already has used his 9th engine, at Singapore, a very strategic move since he was already placed at the back of the grid for being underweight in qually.

So he gets a ninth engine and essentially no penalty, because somehow the rules are interpreted that you only get a penalty in the 1st race that the 9th engine is used.... totally absurd in my book.

And As if they didn't have enough Engine problems...

http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/n ... 0451.shtml

A transport container carrying eight BMW Formula One engines has been dropped at the Suzuka circuit.

Auto Motor und Sport magazine reports that the engines were to be used in Friday practice by Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica, as well as being potential replacement units in the event of engine failures.

It is reported that the engines to be used in the race by the BMW Sauber drivers were not in the affected container.

On the way into the paddock at the Japanese GP venue, the container reportedly fell off a truck after it grazed a bridge.

"It was the worst damage (to F1 equipment) that we've ever seen," team boss Mario Theissen is quoted as saying.


Inside the container, the crates which enclosed the engines were destroyed, but the engines not obviously damaged.

"What I am most worried about are the valve trains," Theissen admitted.

How the hell did they manage to do that. Don't hit the bridge is probably the first rule given to truckers and the second rule given to road designers (make sure trucks don't hit the bridge) [-X