Pilatus Photo Corner

Donna Nelson23 said:Is that the Nürburgring?

I wouldn't be so sure; there seems to be far too much activity in one spot for that to be the case.
Besides, when someone mentions "one of two corners," they might just be referring to the Avus.🙂

When you look at a photo like this, you realize just how much those drivers used to risk their lives back then—literally putting their heads in a bag... It’s almost impossible to wrap your mind around it today.

Let's open this up for a trial run. I would appreciate it if we could avoid any spam or debates concerning the letters.

let's kick off a new era with the most beautiful race cars ever made 👍

Good grief, what a gorgeous 🙂. I think I fell in love with them forever back then, quite unlike this modern-day garbage we see today.

mellowtiger83 said:Good grief, what a gorgeous 🙂. I think I fell in love with them forever back then, quite unlike this modern-day garbage we see today.

But honestly, this image hits even harder for me,
it's basically the pride of Italy, the pride of the whole Western world—the first ones to really go toe-to-toe with the Japanese manufacturers...
...and then just look at how many bolts are holding her together 😁

https://65.media.tumblr.com/397ede23...1t1to1_500.jpg 🙏😁

It’s all about the Japanese brands for me! 👍
Seeing Aprilia out in Valencia this weekend kind of brings back memories of those old Cagiva and Ducati setups.

http://www.f1-grandprix.com/wp-conte...8-1680x720.jpg

The most stunning 😍

Hey man, why does the guy in car number 26 have that low-drag front wing? Why didn't it just snap off like it did for Villeneuve?

I mean, why didn't he just let loose somewhere? Seriously. One day you're fine, and the next—boom—you're standing out there in a total downpour without him. Just stuck in the rain.

cosmiccyclist8 said:I mean, why didn't he just let loose somewhere? Seriously. One day you're fine, and the next—boom—you're standing out there in a total downpour without him. Just stuck in the rain.

If we're talking about Didier Pironi (28)—he had his spoiler and brake ducts sorted from the jump, whereas Villeneuve didn't (maybe intentionally, since he was always smashing, losing, or tearing them up at the chicanes just to avoid an extra pit stop). That’s why Pironi had the edge in that San Marino race; otherwise, he wouldn't have even been able to sniff Gilles, let alone catch him halfway through. Gilles would've cleared Arnoux before his car even gave up on him. As I recall, Pironi wrapped up that race by clipping Villeneuve and cruising to victory with a perfectly intact spoiler and brake ducts.☕

Has anyone already explained to you that those wings aren't actually that big of a deal during the ground effect era? It wasn't just Ferrari and the other teams—they’d be swapping them out here and there, too.

Take this car, for example—it utilized ground effect to its absolute limit. I mean, the entire chassis, starting right from the nose, was essentially transformed into one giant Venturi tube... Chuck even had to significantly beef up the chassis compared to the previous model just to handle the massive
downforce. It ran into issues under braking and through corners where it would act up because of sudden losses in
downforce. Despite grabbing 3rd place in the US Grand Prix, it was a nightmare to drive, so they ended up freezing the project. It looked promising at first,
but ultimately it just sent Lotus sliding backward.



edit: Just shave off a tiny bit of that rear wing... it's interesting how those wings are slowly losing their purpose entirely.😉

cosmiccyclist8 said:Has anyone already explained to you that those wings aren't actually that big of a deal during the ground effect era? It wasn't just Ferrari and the other teams—they’d be swapping them out here and there, too.

Take this car, for example—it utilized ground effect to its absolute limit. I mean, the entire chassis, starting right from the nose, was essentially transformed into one giant Venturi tube... Chuck even had to significantly beef up the chassis compared to the previous model just to handle the massive
downforce. It ran into issues under braking and through corners where it would act up because of sudden losses in
downforce. Despite grabbing 3rd place in the US Grand Prix, it was a nightmare to drive, so they ended up freezing the project. It looked promising at first,
but ultimately it just sent Lotus sliding backward.



edit: Just shave off a tiny bit of that rear wing... it's interesting how those wings are slowly losing their purpose entirely.😉

You can see it clearly here—even the aero curtains on the nose:

https://drivetribe.imgix.net/T-d9qX7dRKWhad_JspLjwA

cosmiccyclist8 said:Has anyone already explained to you that those wings aren't actually that big of a deal during the ground effect era? It wasn't just Ferrari and the other teams—they’d be swapping them out here and there, too.

Take this car, for example—it utilized ground effect to its absolute limit. I mean, the entire chassis, starting right from the nose, was essentially transformed into one giant Venturi tube... Chuck even had to significantly beef up the chassis compared to the previous model just to handle the massive
downforce. It ran into issues under braking and through corners where it would act up because of sudden losses in
downforce. Despite grabbing 3rd place in the US Grand Prix, it was a nightmare to drive, so they ended up freezing the project. It looked promising at first,
but ultimately it just sent Lotus sliding backward.



edit: Just shave off a tiny bit of that rear wing... it's interesting how those wings are slowly losing their purpose entirely.😉

The Ferrari cars were built specifically to run those wings and the brake tube. They weren't the same kind of cars as the one in this photo. How can you claim spoilers don't matter in Formula 1 ??? They are huge. If you lose a rear wing or both, you’re basically an airplane taking off at high speeds. Even getting the setup right for those early team spoilers was a total headache—and Chuck even saw Roland Ratzenberger die because of a wing part failure, whether you call it a spoiler or a flap. Elio de Angelis also lost his downforce and went airborne... At high speeds, it's a catastrophe. What you're calling a "miniature" rear wing isn't small; it's just lowered due to the specific setup for certain teams. That was standard practice back in the American CART and IndyCar series... Wings actually keep the car glued to the track—once they fail, the car gets catapulted into the sky. Senna had two different rear spoilers—upper and lower—on him at Imola when he died; he was heavily equipped with every possible front and rear wing/spoiler combo because that's just what Imola requires. And both Gilles and Didier drove at Imola where Gilles didn't have a complete front set, while the cars were identical and Didier had everything ready.




At Imola, everyone runs all kinds of spoilers—that's just the nature of the track, and it's dangerous as hell. Pironi's and Villeneuve's cars were designed to carry wings that were a fundamental part of their aerodynamics.

Senna used several different types of front and rear spoilers,
like the "boomerang" rear wing and the flat "razor" ones, which Williams used in every way possible to try and fix the grip, stability, and handling of a car that was also a dedicated "downforce car."

Giving up. I might as well stop trying.

btw that Williams 👍 livery is honestly so cool 👍 and what a beast that car was—that Renault V10 was an absolute gem 👍 though it could be a total nightmare to drive sometimes, super twitchy and wild, but God, Hill managed to tame it beautifully. He snatched that championship by the skin of his teeth using 👍

cosmiccyclist8 said:Giving up. I might as well stop trying.

btw that Williams 👍 livery is honestly so cool 👍 and what a beast that car was—that Renault V10 was an absolute gem 👍 though it could be a total nightmare to drive sometimes, super twitchy and wild, but God, Hill managed to tame it beautifully. He snatched that championship by the skin of his teeth using 👍

Nah, it’s not wasted—you’re spot on. On certain cars built that way, you can choose whether or not to run a front wing or a brake-tube. To me, it just looked weird how Villeneuve had nothing sticking out the front while Didier had everything, even though the cars were basically identical. Honestly, everything was shady back then. Even in the year Schumacher won his first title, he had some kind of plank under the car for extra downforce, and he probably used some version of traction control too, even though it was banned that season. The weirdest one has to be that Tyrrell with six wheels;

That crazy Lotus with six wheels----

Or the March with six wheels, but four in the back.....



There’s that mysterious Lotus "Six-seater" somewhere...

HERE IS THE PERFECT CAR FOR VILLENEUVE—THE LEFT ONE HAS NO FRONT WINGS TO TEAR OFF, IT'S COMPACT, AND HAS 4-WHEEL DRIVE IN THE BACK... WHILE THE RIGHT ONE IS FOR PIRONI, WHO LOVES ALL THE WINGS, FLAPS, AND SPOILERS....
IT'S A WILLIAMS CAR....

Here’s a lineup of the absolute weirdest cars ever built...
1-LIGIER J55 1976.- Jacques Laffitte

2. BRABHAM BT 26 - 1968. Jochen Rindt..- just look at that spoiler, man...

3. MARCH 711 1971. Ronnie Peterson..

4. EIFELAND 21 1972 Rolf Stommelen---

5. BRABHAM BT46B---NIKI LAUDA
6.-Tyrrell P34-----

Dana Perez6 said:Here’s a lineup of the absolute weirdest cars ever built...
1-LIGIER J55 1976.- Jacques Laffitte

2. BRABHAM BT 26 - 1968. Jochen Rindt..- just look at that spoiler, man...

3. MARCH 711 1971. Ronnie Peterson..

4. EIFELAND 21 1972 Rolf Stommelen---

5. BRABHAM BT46B---NIKI LAUDA
6.-Tyrrell P34-----

It is the Ligier JS5, not the J55. Truly one of the ugliest machines ever built.