So it was Mario's set up?

[cameraman]

Okay, if you read this:


The team went into the race weekend with a set-up based on this year's testing at Portland and Micklewright was pleased that Allmendinger liked the set-up he was given.

"We had already decided some time ago subsequent to tests we had done at Portland and other information we had gleaned since then what we felt was going to be the best direction for set-up," Micklewright said. "Of course, the first time any of us had anything to do with A.J. was on Thursday when we fitted him into the car. We didn't make any changes to the set-up and it changed very little during the course of the weekend.

"Basically, we said, 'We don't know what you want and you don't know what we want.' We said, 'This is where we are, go ahead and drive it.' Which he did with great aplomb. He tried to help us understand what he was doing and how he was doing it. He made the most of what we gave him and seemed to be fairly pleased with it."

Since PT's car was terrible and AJ's wasn't then the set up for the car must have come from Mario's testing. So Mario put together a very fast car in Houston and it seems his set up was very fast at Portland. Yet Forsythe says they canned him because of engineering differences with Paul's car which has comprehensively sucked this year.

Granted Mario is more than capable of doing stupid things but it also seems that he and his engineer were a pretty good set up team.

Is Mario's ex-engineer (can't remember his name) still with FCR?

[Wheel-Nut]

What were Mario's test times?

[cameraman]

Well off of Tracy's times in all four sessions.

But if it was Tracy's set up - why was Tracy sooo much slower than AJ?

[oddlycalm]

We'll never know the entire story, but one thing we do know is that Tracy has never done well at Portland. We not only have the historical qualifying and race results, but we have his comments over the years. Tracy isn't alone as there are a few good drivers that were never able to get a rhythm going at Portland.

It's also the one race of the year where you can expect the unexpected going back to the first year when Unser Jr. won his first here. More recently we have da Matta in that PKV sled last year, Papis dominating in a season he didn't do anything else notable except crash into his team mate repeatedly, etc., etc.

oc

[grungex]

Is Mario's ex-engineer (can't remember his name) still with FCR?Michael Cannon--yes, he was AJ's engineer for Portland.


But if it was Tracy's set up - why was Tracy sooo much slower than AJ?They started both cars with Tracy's set up, it's hard to say why AJ got faster and Paul didn't. Different driving styles certainly affect the outcome. Here's what Neil said:

"Changing track conditions was one of the things we really struggled with Paul this weekend," Micklewright commented. "We were struggling on Friday and made some changes. On Saturday morning with the conditions as they were, we actually had made some very significant progress getting the car to Paul's liking. But come the afternoon, the sun came out, the temperature went up, and Paul's car just turned into a piece of junk, for whatever reason. It's something we're still trying to understand.

[Fio1]

In the PT collumn in Autosport he said that Mario was trying to get the car back to 2003 specs, while Forsythe spent all this money on wind tunnel and so forth over the off season to improve the car. Basically, they were going in the opposite direction. Which means, that two cars not working with each other on set-up is like having two sepperate teams inside a team. And, what's the point of having two cars if they don't work with each other. :saywhat: That's the reason he was let go. I'm sure having AJ available expedited the situation.

[Andrew Longman]

Michael Cannon--yes, he was AJ's engineer for Portland.

They started both cars with Tracy's set up, it's hard to say why AJ got faster and Paul didn't. Different driving styles certainly affect the outcome. Here's what Neil said:

Yes, it only makes sense to start on the same set up. Gerry said they dumped Mario because they wanted to run more similar set ups to make better use of the more data. And Paul said Mario wanted to run not only a different set up but an old one that didn't take advantage of other developments.

[Insomniac]

Michael Cannon--yes, he was AJ's engineer for Portland.

They started both cars with Tracy's set up, it's hard to say why AJ got faster and Paul didn't. Different driving styles certainly affect the outcome. Here's what Neil said:

I always wonder what would happen if you just swapped seats between cars and let the drivers go out in the other's car what would happen. :)

[Wheel-Nut]

They started both cars with Tracy's set up, it's hard to say why AJ got faster and Paul didn't. Different driving styles certainly affect the outcome. Here's what Neil said:

Perhaps PT has become nothing more than a mid-packer.

[Steve99]

I always wonder what would happen if you just swapped seats between cars and let the drivers go out in the other's car what would happen. :)
I think AJ's times would be off, since he couldn't reach the pedals. :)

[pferrf1]

In the PT collumn in Autosport he said that Mario was trying to get the car back to 2003 specs, while Forsythe spent all this money on wind tunnel and so forth over the off season to improve the car. Basically, they were going in the opposite direction. Which means, that two cars not working with each other on set-up is like having two sepperate teams inside a team. And, what's the point of having two cars if they don't work with each other. :saywhat: That's the reason he was let go. I'm sure having AJ available expedited the situation.

Seems like the '2003' approach worked well for Mario this weekend!

[rabbit]

Mickelwright said this weekend that the great thing about AJ and PT was that they like almost identical setups, very much unlike PT and Mario. For example, at Milwaukee there was a six-inch difference in the wheelbase on PT's and Mario's cars. :eek: That makes it kind of tough to share information.

[Wheel-Nut]

How do they change the wheebase? Length or width?

[devilmaster]

Seems like the '2003' approach worked well for Mario this weekend!

More than likely he is now driving a 2002 or 2003 tub..... a 2003 setup on a 2003 car

[grungex]

How do they change the wheebase? Length or width?
Wheelbase=length, which can be adjusted by changing the front and/or rear wishbones.