What good luck, I managed to catch the last half of the race last night Well done McLaren!

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

Yes it was a good day for Kimi, too bad for David though, he apparently had an electrical problem which forced him out on lap 3. The TV coverage from the local broadcaster was a tad dis-jointed as usual.Congratulations Team McLaren!!! Let's make it 3 in row

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Democracy dies in darkness, you have to kick at the darkness till it bleeds daylight

If he had been driving a Diesel he could have ignored that electrical problem....

hahaha imagine a highly tuned diesel in an grand prix car... black smoke all over the place :p

and it probably wouldnt sound too sweet on the starting grid...

Diesel race cars have been done...Clessie Cummins built a diesel-powered racer for a big race (don't rememebr which, but it may have been a Grand Prix) in the early '30's...the car did quite well, mainly due to it's not needing to make one pit stop during the entire race.

There's actually a Diesel Hot-Rod Association nowadays, although it's mainly dedicated to modified diesel pickups...there is a guy out there wiht a Dodge diesel pickup that's been modified to the point where it can outrun a stock Corvette.

Each time they came around to lap him it might be a problem... depending on which way the wind was blowing....

"modified to the point where it can outrun a stock Corvette"

HOW ?

Let's see...larger, faster-spinning turbocharger, all over-sized Aeroquip fuel lines, propane injection, nitrous injection (only time I've ever heard of nitrous on a diesel), and computer controls to tell the ECM (it's a 24 valve, so has an eelctronic injector pump) to change the wastegate usage (he's running over 40 psi boost ) and to add in extra fuel, along with a different set of injectors. The Cummins 6BT is a stout engine (possibly even stronger than the almighty 616/617); he's had these power settings for quite a while and yet hasn't blown a piston or the head gasket. I don't remember the exact numbers, but I think he's in the 700 horsepower range, and, I believe, is at over 2000 ft-lbs of torque. It's a dedicated racing rig; he actually has slicks in the back, and doesn't use it for towing or whatnot anymore...

He's also got a free-flowing intake and exhaust; I don't think his EGT's are that high (he drives sensibly for the most part)...he carefully monitors EGT's and turbo boost, and last I knew, hasn't had a problem yet, and he's been at these levels for at least 2 1/2 years...

If you head over to www.diesel-central.com or www.turbodieselregister.com, his handle's HVAC. He's local to me; I've actually ridden in his truck once...it's a very nice setup.

WOW! Now that's a seriously bada$$ diesel engine! Producing that kind of power, it's amazing that he hasn't had any failures yet. I imagine he won't see the 300,000 or 600,000-mile lifespan that many MB diesels acheive, but then that's obviously not what he's going for...Wow...700 hp diesel! I'd LOVE to drive that for a while.

Mike

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1979 300 SD
350,000 miles
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1982 300D-gone---sold to a buddy
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1985 300TD
270,000 miles
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1994 E320
not my favorite, but the wife wanted it

www.myspace.com/mikemover
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www.myspace.com/doubledrivemusic

That's a pretty good bet but the 6BT in stock form can break the 1 million mark...a guy had his '94 Dodge for sale on eBay a few months back with over a million miles on the odo. The rest of the truck isn't exactly built to Mercedes specs, but I would put the 6BT on the same level with our engines.

And people wonder why I want to put a Cummins in my F-250...

Yes that was a good race for McLaren!

Kimi, as usual was as cool as ice. Though he seemed a little nervous during the post race interview. He deserved that win, I am sure that he is going to gain strength as he mature further.

The new qualifying rule really adds a new level of excitement to the whole F1 experience, I think I like it so far. The planning on the second day of qualifying seems crucial, where as before qualifying was pretty straight forward and somewhat predicable according to practice sessions.

I am definitely looking forward to the next race! Looks like this is going to be a exciting season for many teams. And what a incredible performance for Team Renault and young Alonso, there cars are only going to improve and so is he.

Anybody else notice how Ferrari was NOT outright spanking everyone else out there?

Anyone planning on attending a F1 race this season?