Quote:
Originally Posted by mapezzul
The F1 lineage in the M3 is a load of nonsense- That car is more about ALMS and always has been. The marketing guys got you good. A throttle body per cylinder has been in existence for ever in any form of racing- the thing they should have done was gone direct injection.
BMW has not transferred tech from F1, except in for making the engine block (early 90s tech). The rest was a marketing exercise; and as Footie said- The sport is not like it used to be. The N52 engine being magnesium and aluminum has more tech in it than the ///M3 block, and that has nothing to do with F1 or racing.
There is no longer the ability to develop new things in F1 and the KERS was the last thing to develop- the reason BMW wanted the KERS was so that some on of the F1 development will yield tech for production cars (other manufacturers also wanted this) and to make the sport a bit greener.
ALMS yields just as much in terms of street product as F1- minimal, it is cheaper to operate and has a large following outside the US with US numbers increasing. The IMSA/ALMS push for being green is also a plus. I have had this discussion with the guys from BMW Motorsport and they have said that street cars contribute more to the race cars than vice versa (traction control being one of them).
I am a huge motorsport fan and F1 over the last few seasons has been a bore and really comes down to tire strategy than anything else.... and since you can't change the aero on your own car every week F1 yields nothing.
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Well I may have succumbed to the clever marketers that BMW employs but the M school had more to do with my buying an M3 than any brochure or ad.
You clearly haven't been paying much attention this year as the rules changes, the emergence of Brawn GP, and the absence (until recently) of McLaren and Ferrari on the podium has made it one of the most exciting seasons in the last few years. Plus last years drivers' championship was decided at the last turn in Brazil. No one except BMW wanted KERS. And the tech that BMW abandoned was directly responsible for the results of the Belgian GP. BMW abandoned KERS for like the 2nd or 3rd start of the season. Guess why? They employ one of the heaviest pilots on the grid. Corporate types shouldn't dictate race strategy for marketing purposes. Otherwise the team spends development efforts on counterproductive tech.
I do like ALMS and without Audi, I guess someone else can win this year.
The "normal" bimmers that people buy may have higher tech engines but M cars are exciting and without ethusiasts to by them BMW will become the first choice of housewives and little old ladies. Good luck BMW.
BTW with the movable front wing introduced this year the driver can change aero at anytime not just between races.