Mo Nunn talking Sense

[The Snout]

http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=4926

Chaps, have a read of this article on Mo Nunn and what he thinks about where Champcars should go. It's an interesting and good read if you take the time.

[Flatspot]

It's an interesting opinion and its also interesting to see that his way is precisely the thing that many on this forum complain about with the IRL. Low horsepower and high downforce making the cars easier to drive but producing the ability to pass and some close racing (I still think TG is a jerk and won't support his series). If CART wants to keep ovals on the schedule they definately need to do something to fix them.

I like the idea, and even more I like the idea he has on tires. Introducing more driving strategy (saving the tires and the car) means the drivers have to think more too. Both CART and F1 could learn from this.

Mo Nunn is no dummy and he's played this game for a long time.

[Jay]

I'm not so much for the lower horsepower, but more downforce could be good, as would softer tires. Of course this would make for faster cars...but also more passing.

Remeber Zanardi a few years ago in that Target car and how he could bully his way past anyone? That's where I'd like to get back to!

[Liz]

Yes, I'd like to get back to the cars they had around 1995. I don't want them to slow the cars down any further. If I want to watch slow cars, I can step outside my office any hour of the day or night. I think the former Gil de Ferran once said that the cars were supposed to be hard to drive, because this was the one series where a driver could show all his skills in mastering a of a car. [That was of course before he defected and became one-sided.]

Maybe what we need is a better class of drivers.

[mac]

I don't know about reducing power. He's using the Zanardi era as an example. At that time, Champ Cars were at their fastest. Their times would have been very comparable to F1. Anyone remember Big Mo setting that 240 mph lap at Fontana? From the mid to late '90s was some of the best racing I've ever seen. Back then, the cars were at their absolute fastest. My gripe is that they tampered too much with that successful formula - what was one of the most challenging series ever.

[greg.n]

They had to cut the power becuase oval speeds were getting too high. but if they don't race on ovals or at least not super speedways...

[brightline]

Maybe another thing that can be done is to try and get a second tire manufacturer back in the series and get a good tire battle once more. Tire manufacturers competing with one another want their product to go faster, which means a little less consistent, softer tires. Thus separating the field and creating opportunities for overtaking. Correct me if I'm wrong but wouldn't that add the X factor especially with a spec engine. Those classic mid 90's battles often figured heavily on which firestone or goodyear compound you were on.

[macdaddy]

We're all looking forward to more manufacturers. However, Pook's gotta find a bandaid for the short-term. 2005 seems like a long way away, but the future's so bright, I gotta wear shades!

[trow]

We've got to slow the cars down on the straightaways," Nunn said. "The car has to stay on the straight for a longer period of time. They accelerate from A to B too fast and that doesn't help overtaking. One way to do that is to reduce horsepower; the other is more downforce, and I think they're doing that for next year. We're going to run the same wings on short ovals as on road courses and I think that will be a gain. I think we need 700 horsepower and more downforce.

Hmmm, sounds like an innovative strategy for some great racing!

[Lee Janotta]

Hmm... The extra downforce will only work if special attention is paid to making sure that the cars don't lose front grip in another car's wake, as happens in Formula 1.

I also disagree with the idea of less power... There's no such thing as too much.

Frankly, what Morris is proposing is exactly what Jacques Villeneuve was criticizing the IRL for.

The tires, though... I'd like to see a set with more lateral grip in the front than the rear, that would start to go off it pushed too hard for about 2/3 race distance, but were hard enough not to get too badly flatspotted during lockup. Preferably something that provided good turn-in but let the rear wiggle a bit, and would come back and bite you if you abused them.

[macdaddy]

There is now a similar interview with Jim McGee. Makes for another good read. He speaks of the advantages to a single engine manufacturer, the new fuel-mapping regs, the abolishment of traction control...

http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=4932

He seems to concur with Nunn, at least about short ovals:

"It will make for much better racing. I think running the road course wing package on the short ovals with 700 horsepower, I think we'll put on some good races for the fans on the short ovals."