Category: Cycling

A legend’s demise – The downfall of Sebastian Vettel

Sebastian Vettel was once a record-breaker. A maestro and four-time World Champion in his prime who surpassed heroes like Fernando Alonso, Alain Prost and the legendary Ayrton Senna with his ever-increasing tally of wins, he dominated the world of Formula 1 for almost half a decade and subsequently elevated himself to unimaginable glory at the pinnacle of motorsport. His ousting from the top spot looked unthinkable, and he was destined to become the greatest of all time.

But now, that’s all in the past.

After a comfortless start to the 2020 season riddled with retirements, collisions and downright disappointments all round, both Vettel and Scuderia Ferrari find themselves in an incredibly difficult position moving forward. Before the year even started, it was announced that the German would conclude six years of service with the team- leaving the legendary Italian marque at the end of the season, and judging by the … Read the rest

Pirelli explains 2021 rule changes’ likely impact on the tyres

The British Grand Prix saw several dramatic tyre failures at the end of the race – an issue Pirelli partially attributed to “the biggest forces ever seen on tyres generated by the fastest Formula 1 cars in history.” And with the same generation of tyres set to carry over to next year, Pirelli boss Mario Isola has welcomed news that the rules for next season will reduce the downforce on the cars, and therefore the stress on the tyres.

Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas and Carlos Sainz all suffered sudden deflations in the last few laps of the race at Silverstone, which prompted Pirelli to investigate what had caused them. A long stint on the same rubber and the extreme forces generated by the current F1 cars were determined to be behind the issues.

Originally the current tyre compounds – which first ran in 2019 – were to be retired at the end of this year, … Read the rest

Patent Patrol: Campagnolo’s curving wide-range derailleur, 13-speed cassettes, EPS buttons & more!

We’ve been hearing rumors and catching patents that suggest Campagnolo’s working on a 13-speed drivetrain for some time. Now, a fresh batch of four European patents suggest it’s pretty far along on some very advanced ideas. They range from a derailleur with a non-linear upper pulley path to a smoother shifting cassette, plus a more […]

The post Patent Patrol: Campagnolo’s curving wide-range derailleur, 13-speed cassettes, EPS buttons & more! appeared first on Bikerumor.

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Can Mercedes Win The Formula One Rubber Match?

Without question, Mercedes is again the dominant team in Formula One. They have the best cars, the best crews, the best engineers and the best drivers, led by six-time world driving champion Lewis Hamilton.

Evidently, there’s one area where there are sadly lacking and it’s a vitally important element to auto racing success. Mercedes is losing the rubber match to its closest competitors.

Tires are shredding on their cars and it’s threatening to endanger their chances of continuing their dominance of F1.

Hamilton and teammate Valtteri Bottas ran 2-3 behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in the most recent F1 race, the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone but tire blistering was a problem for both drivers.

Hamilton was victorious in the previous race, the British Grand Prix, also at Silverstone. However, he was forced to nurse his car to victory after suffering a puncture to his left front tire while … Read the rest

Austin Dillon cleared to return for Dover

Austin Dillon will return to the #3 Richard Childress Racing car for the NASCAR Cup Series‘ Dover International Speedway doubleheader. After missing last Sunday’s Go Bowling 235 due to COVID-19, he announced Thursday that he “is back”.

Dillon broke the news on Twitter by using a clip from the 1996 movie D3: The Mighty Ducks.

Dillon skipped Sunday’s race at the Daytona International Speedway road course after testing positive for COVID-19, the second Cup driver to miss time due to the virus and third in NASCAR’s national series. In his place, Xfinity Series driver Kaz Grala impressed by scoring a seventh-place finish in his Cup début.

Under NASCAR’s COVID-19 protocol, drivers who test positive must have two negative tests over a span of over twenty-four hours or exhibit no symptoms ten days after the first … Read the rest

Ferrari boss reflects on late changes to 2021 F1 aero rules

Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto confirmed that there’s “nothing to complain about” regarding the late changes to the 2021 aero rules that the FIA plans to impose on safety grounds. F1 teams were told in a letter issued during the build-up to the Spanish Grand Prix that there will be further cuts to downforce levels for 2021 in an attempt to reduce loadings to help Pirelli to run the same tyre specifications for a third consecutive season.

The move is a direct result of the tyres issues witnessed at Silverstone, amid concerns that Pirelli’s default response of raising pressures creates compromises such as overheating.

Changes to the 2021 floor regulations, which teams say will have a significant impact on the airflow over their cars, were already agreed earlier this year. No details have been agreed regarding the latest adjustments to the rules and it could be weeks before details … Read the rest

Review: Wilier’s Cento10 NDR elastomer suspension is a cobble crusher

Wilier’s Triestina Cento10NDR is an endurance bike that incorporates ideas on comfort, both new and old. The Cento 10NDR sits at the endurance end of Wilier’s race bikes – this is the bike that Niki Terpstra reached for in 2018 for Paris Roubaix – and that team Astana keeps in its arsenal for the cobbled […]

The post Review: Wilier’s Cento10 NDR elastomer suspension is a cobble crusher appeared first on Bikerumor.

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Q&A In The Paddock: Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton, or “6/7 of Michael Schumacher”, as he is today known, has won three titles in a row and at the moment has a total of six. But what does the champion think of his path to the all-time record?

Lewis competed in various racing series until the road brought him to Formula 1 in 2007. He started at McLaren. When the team heard about his transition, they said: “Crazy, he’s just a young kid”. Hamilton proved that the decision on his candidacy was right from the first race in Australia. The 2008 season, his second one with McLaren, was very successful, and Hamilton became the youngest world champion! Today Lewis notes: “Win that championship was breathtaking! But at 23, I was at such a young age that I could not realise what was happening and just enjoyed the victory as well as I could. We just kept … Read the rest

What They’re Saying After the Spanish Grand Prix – Team Principals and Engineers

Toto Wolff – Team Principal – Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team

Winner: Lewis Hamilton, Third: Valtteri Bottas

“I’m very happy for the team,” said Wolff.  “To have understood the difficulties from Silverstone, recover from them and come back with a great set-up and fantastic tyre management – that just shows the strengths of this team.

“A massive well done to all the people at the factories and here at the track for their hard work. Everyone pulled together and overcame what we have seen as our biggest weakness.

“Lewis was in a league of his own today; he controlled the race very well and did a brilliant job. He managed the tyres extremely well and ultimately his call to go to Mediums for the last stint was the right one. Valtteri unfortunately suffered a tricky start and lost a few places which is a shame, because he had … Read the rest

The ‘Power Unit gate’ weighs 70{3851c0879557ceb6c70cddb6630c7df9a9750acfd53fffec21979e603af26faa} of the Ferrari gap – analysis

A recent analysis made by funoanalisitecnica.com shows that the Power Unit gate weighs 70{3851c0879557ceb6c70cddb6630c7df9a9750acfd53fffec21979e603af26faa} of the Ferrari gap:

After the first six races, taking advantage of the little time that separates us from the Belgian GP, it is time to sum up the first part of the 2020 Formula One season. Except surprises the title is already decided, with Hamilton that will equal Michael Schumacher with seventh drivers’ title and with Mercedes taking the seventh consecutive triumph. But we focus this analysis on the team that is most disappointing and, alas, it is the much loved Ferrari . An analysis that, as you will read later, is not intended to be a defense of the Maranello team.

We have already heard many times this year is and how it has heavily influenced the “Power Unit gate”: 2020 for Ferrari was supposed to be a year of transition but the engineers … Read the rest