June 30th, 2009 at 03:55am Under Motorbikes
An MCN reader has told how police gave him a warning under anti-social behaviour laws for filtering - and confiscated his bike the second time round. Reginald Austin, 45, from Liverpool, says he was overtaking slow-moving traffic in Prestatyn, North…
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June 30th, 2009 at 03:55am Under Motorbikes
Nearly 100 fewer motorcyclists were killed in 2008 than the year before, latest government figures show. Rider deaths fell 16% in a year from 588 in 2007 to 493 last year. In casualty reduction terms it puts motorcyclists ahead of…
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June 30th, 2009 at 03:55am Under Motorbikes
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Very nice TV ad from Honda for their CBR1000 motorcycle, featuring Nicky Hayden and a bunch of masks.
It’s well done, specially the imagery.
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June 30th, 2009 at 03:55am Under Motorbikes
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Got a rug rat? Need to bring it somewhere? Here’s the prefect solution!
A motorcycle pram… excellent!
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June 30th, 2009 at 03:55am Under Racing
Gary Brabham drives the catastrophic Life L190 at Phoenix in 1990
The Life L190* – in all probability the worst F1 car ever – will be demonstrated by Derek Bell at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.
The W12-engined car failed to progress beyond pre-qualifying in 14 attempts in 1990, and was typically around 20 seconds off the pace at most tracks.
It will take a place alongside some of the greatest Formula 1 cars ever, including the McLaren-Honda MP4/4, which won 15 out of 16 races in 1988.
A Goodwood spokesperson confirmed the car will run with its original W12 engine, which in 1990 proved incapable of powering the car for more than a few laps at the time. “The car might actually be in rather better condition now than it was 19 years ago” he added.
Ex-F1 driver and five times Le Mans winner Derek Bell jumped at the chance to drive the car because of its peculiar history.
Life’s Grand Prix effort in 1990 came about following the failed attempt of F3000 outfit FIRST to make the F1 grid in 1989.
Having failed to raise the money to compete FIRST sold its cars to Life Racing Engines, run byItalian Ernesto Vita. He was developing an engine created by Franco Rocchi, a former Ferrari engineer who had built a power unit around the unconventional W12 layout.
In fact, Rocchi’s engine was not a ‘true’ W-configuration, which has four banks of cylinders, as in the modern Bugatti Veyron. Life’s faux-W12 had three banks of four cylinders, two in V-formation and a third horizontal bank nestled in between.
In theory it would offer the power of a twelve-cylinder engine while using no more space than a conventional V8. But even in the days following the banning of turbo-chargers, when the field switched to normally-aspirated engines en masse, no team was interested in running Life’s radical power plants.
So the team bolted it into the old FIRST chassis – not the work of a moment, the car had to undergo considerable modifications to shoehorn the W12 in - and showed up at the first round of 1990 in Phoenix, America.
Reigning British F3000 champion Gary Brabham was picked as a driver, though he would not get to do much driving. The ignition box failed on car number 39 after three laps of pre-qualifying, barely enough time to get heat in the tyres. Not that the team had brought any tyre temperature gauges anyway, or, for that matter, spare ignition boxes, so their weekend was over.
At Brazil the car threw a connecting rod shortly after leaving the pits. Brabham failed to complete a lap, and wisely chose not to waste any more time with the team. Italian veteran Bruno Giacomelli took his place.
On the few occasions Giacomelli managed to coax a time out of the L190, it showed lamentable performance. At Silverstone it failed to pre-qualify by 19 seconds. The Formula Three cars which were also competing that weekend were only three seconds slower. That was the car’s strongest showing.
The long straights of the Hockenheimring brutally exposed the car’s power deficit. It was around 64kph (40mph) slower through the speed traps than any other car. Estimates placed the Life W12’s power output at around 375bhp, around half of that enjoyed by the McLaren-Hondas.
They later abandoned the W12 for a more conventional Judd V8. Efforts to remould the bodywork around this new engine were not entirely successful - the new engine cover flew off the car on its first lap of Estoril.
Here’s a summary of Life’s brief F1 record showing their best lap time in pre-qualifying and the gap to the fastest pre-qualifier:
| Track | Rank | Time (gap) | Notes |
| Phoenix | 8/9 | 2′07.147 (+34.855) | Gachot (Coloni) last with a 5′15.010 |
| Interlagos | 9/9 | No time | |
| Imola | 7/8 | 7′16.312 (+5′49.737) | Giacomelli took over; Tarquini (AGS) set no time |
| Monte-Carlo | 9/9 | 1′41.187 (+14.053) | 16s slower than back row of grid |
| Montreal | 9/9 | 1′50.293 (+21.985) | 25s slower than back row of grid |
| Mexico City | 9/9 | 4′07.475 (+2′42.194) | |
| Magny-Cours | 9/9 | No time | |
| Silverstone | 9/9 | 1′25.947 (+15.693) | Best performance |
| Hockenheimring | 9/9 | 2′10.786 (+25.273) | 40mph slower than any car in speed traps |
| Hungaroring | 9/9 | 1′41.131 (+19.913) | |
| Spa-Francorchamps | 7/7 | 2′19.445 (+21.504) | Onyx cars withdrawn |
| Monza | 7/7 | 1′55.224 (+28.297) | |
| Estoril | 7/7 | No time | Switched to Judd V8 engine |
| Jerez | 7/7 | 1′42.699 (+20.229) |
After the Spanish Grand Prix the team decided not to take on the Japanese and Australian rounds, and hasn’t been heard of since. The car eventually fell into the hands of a collector, which is how it has come to be demonstrated at Goodwood this year.
There’s no denying the cult appeal of F1’s famously hopeless F1 teams, and Life’s effort was surely first among them all. I did ask Goodwood if they were considering a special category for F1’s worst cars, but unfortunately it seems this is a one-off.
I am genuinely looking forward to seeing this obscure and, yes, disastrously uncompetitive F1 car turn a wheel. Given its track record I will be sure to nab a spot as close to the start line as possible, certainly before it encounters any gradient.
*I have seen conflicting accounts of the model designation, including L190, F190, W190 and 190. I’ve gone with L190, which seemed to appear the most often, but if you can offer a good reason for an alternative designation, please let me know.
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June 30th, 2009 at 03:55am Under Racing
Lewis Hamilton: The Full Story (Audio book)
Regular readers will know Mark Hughes’s book “Lewis Hamilton: The Full Story” was the best-rated of the many Lewis Hamilton biographies that started hitting the shelves two years ago.
It’s now been released as an audio book on CD which includes a new chapter on his championship victory last year. It’s narrated by Jonathan Legard and comes on two discs.
For your chance to win one of five copies, send your answer to this question along with your name and address to competition@f1fanatic.co.uk:
When and where did Lewis Hamilton score his first Grand Prix win?
Terms and conditions: No alternative prize will be offers and in the event of a dispute the editor’s decision is final.
Read the review of the book: “Lewis Hamilton: The Full Story” (Mark Hughes, 2007)
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June 30th, 2009 at 03:55am Under Racing
The Sunday Times ran a story suggesting that Max Mosley’s most recent tirade warning teams that he may not step down in October is merely polemics with a desire of seating Jean Todt as his successor as FIA President. The teams have hinted that this is not a desirable situation. …
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June 30th, 2009 at 02:34am Under Racing
Not the biggest day for F1 news - but some good news for American followers:
The Chairman replying to the fans
Luca di Montezemolo has got good news for F1 fans in America: "As far as the tracks are concerned where the races are held, the historical ones have always had a great fascination; for Ferrari and for all the other teams it will be important to get back to North America."
Gracia: Mosley could run for re-election
Spanish Motorsport federation head Carlos Gracia: "I believe Max Mosley has a lot of support and I would think twice before running against him, because I don't want to take any risks that may damage Spanish motorsport."
These are links I’ve bookmarked using Delicious. You can see my Delicious profile here.
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June 29th, 2009 at 11:36pm Under Racing
Dr. Mario Theissen, BMW boss, has politely commented on the 2009 regulations. The intent, as FIA President Max Mosley put it, was to increase passing and improve the show. It was also the intent to cut costs this year as well. In both categories the regulations have failed but cost cutting gets…
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June 29th, 2009 at 10:56pm Under Racing
It seems the new team, Manor Grand Prix, is feeling a little unsure about their involvement in next years F1 competition now that Max Mosley’s budget cap concept has been all but buried. John Booth, Manor GP team boss, has hinted that until he sees the actual revised Concorde Agreement, it…
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