hrd-hr30

makes Rosberg a complete dud based on this season's results then. Schumacher hasn't finished outside the top 10 this season, despite having started as low as 22nd with a DRS problem in Q at Bahrain. And he's lost his best race positions (P2, P3) to mechanical DNFs. And lost his Monaco pole to a 5 spot grid penalty. but people only see (or remember) what they want to... Let's see how Token shapes up to Rosberg next season... I don't reckon he'll be terribly impressive. No-one expected Button to have any answers for Hamilton at McLaren either, and look how that turned out. Hamilton hardly dominated him. He's the most over-rated driver in the field. Schumacher ain't done yet I don't reckon. He's said for some time now that he'd announce his decision in Oct. He's a control freak and would have announced his retirement before Merc signed Hamilton if he was stepping down. He's got something lined up.

In my opinion, I love that something Schumacher the ruthless did 6yrs ago still butt-hurts his haters. He tried to stooge Alonso out of pole in qualifying and got dumped to the back of the field for it. At the end of the day, it didn't hurt anyone but himself. Alonso still started from pole. What's to be so mad about all these years later? That Saturday saw the worst of Schumacher, and Sunday showed the best - coming from last (not even on the grid, but in pit-lane) to finish 5th, battling for 4th right at the end, on a track notorious for being impossible to overtake.

anyway, I'm hoping against hope Mercedes drop Rosberg who is on recent form the worse performing of their drivers, and we see Hamilton and Schuey go head to head next season in the same machinery. There will be tears! Even if token turns out to be faster I reckon the german will reduce his whining arse to tears at some stage during the season lol Brawn and Schumacher go way back. Car still needs development - no doubt Schumacher has more experience workign with a team to make a crap car better. Rosberg is simply not turning out to be the world beater people hoped for. Its an outside chance, but maybe Schuey isn't done yet...

or manipulate others into fearing for his safety or cause the ambos to rush to his assistance or decide to do it after some time thinking about it while trying to get going again - it was a spur of the moment decision when his car konked out to park it on the racing line instead of the inside of the corner where he was. Once that was done there was no taking it back. Old mate on the bike consciously decided to fake it after some time tryign to pick the bike up. Very different things - spontaneous versus calculated. yes, it was a @#$% act, but all he did was park his car in the most inconvenient spot, not decide to act like he'd been nearly killed, and keep the act up even when the ambos are carting him off! Its obviously not in the same league.

its similar only in the extent that they both wanted to stop the proceedings for personal gain. In every other particular they differ entirely. Schumacher's car stalled when he locked up coming into a corner. He was penalised for unsporting conduct for the split-moment decision to park the car on the racing line to interupt the session rather than stay out of the way. if Schumacher's incident was so bad, you wouldn't have felt the need to dredge up an obscure video of a bike rider pretending to be seriously hurt to make him appear worse...

links to Schumacher faking serious injury, stopping competitors out of sheer worry for him in light of a recent death of a high profile rider on the track, and continuing the charade to the point the ambos stretcher him away? yes, that's "basically" what Schumacher did alright.

If Ferrari re-sign Massa again, they deserve to continue to loose Constructor's Championships. Very surprised Hamilton is actually going to Mercedes! As for Schumacher - he's been out-performing Rosberg for some time now! Never let the facts get in the way of a good rant, eh?

that's not the way it happened at all. There was nothing but clear track to his left. And having started behind Hamilton, would have had a good view of the closing speed he had on him and should have known he was alongside. Their relative speeds were very similar for some seconds before the collision, which is a long time in the scheme of an F1 start.

sorry, not half, only 4/10ths were taken out on the spot. Koba's car miraculously survived the pile-up, albeit with quite a bit of damage. It still took him out of the points and ruined his race. I don't buy the excuse that he didn't realise the car he was passing and squeezing hard was right alongside him. That's why he was squeezing him ffs.

name the last time Schumacher caused pile up into turn 1??? he's been in the top of the list of positions made in the first lap since his comeback. Grosjean has been in the top of the 1st lap crashers. Don't get me wrong, his crash at Singapore was a bloody ordinary mistake that even a rookie shouldn't make, but he copped a 10 spot penalty which is more severe than normal because it was his second offence this season. But comparing it to Grosjean wiping out half the top 10 by deliberately squeezing a car off the road at one of the most pile-up prone 1st corners of the season is just stupid. They got different penalties because they were very different incidents with different events leading up through the season. "IF" doesn't come into it.

Schumacher didn't take out half the top 10. And a 10 grid spot penalty is not just a slap on the wrist.

you're towing to PI for the Z Nationals right? Probably going inland for the most direct and flatest route for towing? If you have dramas out there, no-one is going to want to touch a Jeep or Rover. Trust me, its a catch-phrase out west "Jeeps and Rovers - no good out here". On our Simpson trip, my mate had to get his Rover back to Toowoomba before anyone could diagnose it. We heard that phrase many many times between Charleville and Toowoomba, and that's not even very far west.

They're the things RIchard should be looking at, not bloody Kias and Falcons... For Matt's budget, a NM onwards petrol Paj would be an option, but not quite as capable off road as the Patrol/Cruiser. Much more modern and comfy though. I'm led to believe these petrol Pajeros don't use any more fuel than the diesel trol or cruiser either. You won't get better than 12l/100 from a NA diesel in the big trucks or about 14 turbo'd.

I have 2 Rover-tragic mates that have owned 3 of these things. Even the Rover tragics won't touch the V8s. The TDi is either on or off with their power - there is nothing under the boost threshold and when on boost they only go OK-ish. That off boost issue is noticeable even just driving normally, so I imagine it will be pretty intrusive when towing. The TD5 engine is apparently the one to get. Both are very good on fuel. But very unreliable. The amount of broken stuff these guys have changed is incredible - including rear diffs, and these guys don't tow and have only done a handful of serious off-road trips with us - they're normally broken, or limping around nursing problems so they can't go too far afield... Have also had them break-down repeatedly on trips. When they do come, the open diffs, low ground clearance and small tyres will get you stuck well before either the GQ or 80. Rover tragics will crap on about their brilliant A arm suspension and how well it flexes, which is great in theory, but in practice a GQ flexes every bit as well, and gets further when the going is tough. 80s are OK off road too, but their rear LSD is preload only (no cam/ramps) and they give up before a GQ as well. 10K will get you a good GQ 4.2 with aftermarket turbo. That will make more grunt than a Disco, and they're the most reliable old thing around. Or buy a non turbo and a $3000 DTS turbo kit. I sometimes just unbolt the rear seats and throw a matttress in the back of my GQ - you have to build up the area where the seat was to make it flush with the rear floor, but an outdoor furniture cushion and a boogie board does the trick. If you got one with rear drawers, that would go pretty close to being flat with the seats folded down. Or you could make your own rear drawers level with the folded seats. Not sure about 80s or the Disco, but I don't think any of these old things have fold-flat rear seating. Disco won't be long enough to get a mattress in the back even in the seats do fold flat. 80 series is a bit more modern looking and wider/roomier inside. Probably has the edge in comfort. But the GQ TD42 is the better engine - that's the last time Patrol had a better engine than Cruiser! My 2c - save yourself the headaches and get a Jap 4WD - 80 series or GQ doesn't matter all that much.

best comparison I can find is 2F MX5 racers who say the track changes equal just over a second.

I can't remember what sort of state your 32's in! What needs doin? I'm so desperate for a speed I'm taking the Soarer to QR toworrow - stock, automatic, open diffed, speed limited, crappy street tyred barge. Probably won't hit the speed limiter there anyway lol

I'm normally highly disininterested, but watched quite a bit of them at EC and Sandown. I think my lack of track driving since selling the 180 is manifesting itself in strange ways!

the V8s were at EC a while ago now. Sandown was last weekend. They're on a different brand of tyre since last time they were at EC, as well as now using 2 different compounds. I don't think it's a good yardstick for how much time the track changes yeild. but FWIW Lowndes did a 1:29.2493 for the new V8 Supercar record.

Grosjean has had 7 incidents with other cars in 12 races. Paint it whatever way you want but he is ahead of Maldonardo on that scoreboard.

the driver and his engineer choose their setups. So if Webber chose a shorter top gear or a bit more downforce or whatever it was (could have been that Vettel just got a better tow the time he set that higher trap speed?), it's not RBR screwing him over.

of course he was lucky to get out of it without car damage. The point was about his spatial awarness and his reactions to it what's happening in split seconds, not to mention the composure to get immediately back on the wheel as soon as they've cleared his car, in contrast to a bloke who'd have you believe he didn't realise the car he was passing was even there...

Grosjean has had several fist lap incidents this year which I'm sure is a factor in their decision as well. And if you actually have that little spatial awareness to know Lewis was there but think he's not alongside you when he has benn for several seconds, then you probably shouldn't be in F1. Here's Kobayashi's spatial awareness for comparison! http://imgur.com/a/ETPea

I don't think its too harsh. Running someone off the track at the back half of the top 10 at the start just before people are braking for a 1st gear hairpin endangers everyone in front of them. It was far more dangerous than causing an avoidable collision with one car in the middle of a race when the field is all spread out, and that's why the penalty is more severe. All the drivers know tight slow 1st corners are dangerous for this very reason. You don't need clowns like that taking stupid risks that put everyone in front of them in harm's way.

Mclaren have been on the podium twice in a row now. Well, the Soft tyre has been used in every GP except Malasia (Rd2). And the compounds in the last 2 races have been Medium and Soft - the same compounds used the last time we saw the terrible deg and falling off the cliff at Valencia in 27degree ambient and 45C track temps. The last round at Hungary using those same compounds was 33 ambient and 45C track temp. No-one fell off the cliff. In Valencia randoms such as Schumacher finished on the podium, both Force Indias and Mercs made the top 10. That's tyre induced randomness. In Hungary it was basically all the top teams in the top 10 - both Red Bulls, both McLarens, both Lotii, both Ferraris. The randomness and falling off a cliff is gone. If there's a better explanation for that sudden change after Valancia, I'm all ears.

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