Champ Car's Bathurst Blast

[Rob]

What do people think. Would a Champ Car break Murph's Lap Record
around the Mountain?? If it did it would be unofficial as it's not during
competition, but realistically, would it beat that time??

I think, if it did it wouldn't be by much. It would be fast going down the
Mountain, but not sure how it would go across the top.

Thought most welcome.

[Michael49]

It would cream it.I don't know what Murphy's average speed is (someone can help here i'm sure), But the first average 160 kph lap was done by Neil Allen in a Formula 5000 in early '60's. That of cause was when Conrod didn't have the Chase.

Cheers Michael

[wayno]

Be interesting to see if it could get around the circuit with aero intact.

[VXfan]

I'd like to see a Champ car survive the dippper intact!:)
Cheers,
Tony.

[Richard Poole]

They get through the corkscrew at Laguna Seca alright. I think the Champ car would go under 2 minutes.

[VXfan]

They get through the corkscrew at Laguna Seca alright. I think the Champ car would go under 2 minutes.
Aha,I forgot about Laguna Seca,oh in that case,easily under 2 mins at Bathurst.:)
Cheers,
Tony.

[Nick Short]

These sorts of comparos are always interesting - I remember reading that a Group B Lancia Delta S4 rally car would have got something like 12th place in qualifying at one of the Grand Prix of 1986, after it was hustled round the track (that was quite surprising). Some tracks like Indianapolis or Le Mans are much more suited to the cars that are built for them, but circuits with tight corners and shorter straights even things out a bit more. Race Ferraris and Porsches used to race at Bathurst in the 60s and 70s, and their times would be interesting to know as well.

[Leigh]

The Champcars do a lap of Surfers 20% quicker than the V8's.

Champcar average speed of Surfers is about 180km/h vs about 145 km/h for a V8. Murph's lap of Bathurst averaged around 175km/h...

So assuming the Champcar wouldn't peak out down Conrod too early, I reckon a 1min 45-50 sec lap averaging about 200-215 km/h (124-130 mph) would not be out of the question...

Incidentally, Champcars average around 125 mph on some of the US tracks...

Cheers

[Nick Short]

I'd love to see Derek Bell and his Porsche 956 do a lap of Bathurst! At the Nurburgring (which is only a bigger Bathurst) he was cornering uphill at 170 mph!

[HRT 1-2]

I'd reckon the Champ Car would flog the time, I think it would be quick across the top and every where else, most of the up's and down's that would have tripped it up have been smoothed out over time!

Is this based on someone wanting to do it or just a "what if"?

[Holden2003]

Where's Craig Gore's team australia when you need it?

[bigdave]

team aus will be doing demo runs at the bathurst festival at easter.

i'd love to be there but can only afford one trip to bathurst this year.

[Rob]

Is this based on someone wanting to do it or just a "what if"?

No what if's. It's set to happen. Team Oz are planning to do some "demo"
laps in the Champ Car which Besnard drove @ Honda Indy a couple of
years ago as a part of the Easter Bathurst Festival.

[Dingo]

No what if's. It's set to happen. Team Oz are planning to do some "demo"
laps in the Champ Car which Besnard drove @ Honda Indy a couple of
years ago as a part of the Easter Bathurst Festival.
Are they likely to be going at enough speed to set a 2'06" lap, or is it a mere lap at the speed limit?

Would be more interesting to see an F1 or LeMans car around Bathurst...

[HRT 1-2]

Thanks for the response guys, yes that would be good to see but, alas one trip a year for me:(

[GRPIII]

The Champcars do a lap of Surfers 20% quicker than the V8's.

Champcar average speed of Surfers is about 180km/h vs about 145 km/h for a V8. Murph's lap of Bathurst averaged around 175km/h...

So assuming the Champcar wouldn't peak out down Conrod too early, I reckon a 1min 45-50 sec lap averaging about 200-215 km/h (124-130 mph) would not be out of the question...

Incidentally, Champcars average around 125 mph on some of the US tracks...

Cheers
yes whilst a champ car has a great top speed, as it would have a bathurst.
at a track like surfers its very tight, stop start, heavy braking, as much as a v8 supercar has awesome brakes, its nothing compared to the champ cars.
bathurst being a very fast circuit would suit a comparsion better for the v8 than surfers.
i sure the champ car would still be quicker but theres certain parts of the track it would have problems, like the dipper.
cant see besnard going to quick over the mountian, gore wouldnt be happy with a bent car.

[brchi17]

Are they likely to be going at enough speed to set a 2'06" lap, or is it a mere lap at the speed limit?

Would be more interesting to see an F1 or LeMans car around Bathurst...

To be honest I couldn't find anything saying whether it was a demonstration or a parade lap, so it could be interesting. I'm sure that given time the indycar would well & truly smash Murph's lap, but are they going to do a proper run of a couple of laps or simply one or two in a congo line of other vehicles.

That said it would possibly be a hard track to set up for considering that they'd need to raise the ride height to cope with the places like the dipper, Reid park etc & this would have adverse implications for places like Conrod & mountain straight were they'd want the car super low to reduce resistance.......

As for a time I've got no idea but I'd suspect something around the low 1m50s, mainly because I felt it was a good number to say :D

My question to everyone is, would people regard a time set in a demonstration run as a REAL record......???

cheers. :)

[spoonster05]

It would be interesting to see what sort of a time a Champ Car could do but IMO lap records can only be set during official race meetings and a demonstration run would not count..

[singer]

Over the years several US drivers have attempted to compete & complete a full Bathurst meeting.

To my knowledge ( Correct me if I'm wrong ), none have withstood the challenge that Bathurst presents to drivers

[spoonster05]

The only one that springs to mind is Scott Pruett who finished 11th with Alan Jones and Jason Bright in 1997

[wayno]

Caertainly not Rutherford and Guthrie! LMAO!

[Nivola]

Nick I would rather see Stefan Bellof in any groupC sports car.

Going across the top fully gased to get downforce. "Big Balls Needed" I think

[Kenseth17]

I'd like to see a Champ car survive the dippper intact!:)
Cheers,
Tony.
Just what I was thinking.It would be way ahead in time till that part of the track and then wobble down the mountain with all sorts of bits hanging off.....

[Nick Short]

Bellof, Ickx, anyone - I mentioned Bell because I'd just been watching him on my In-Car 956 DVD! Pedro Rodriguez in a Gulf Porsche 917K would also be interesting, especially in the wet!

As for the Dipper, it looks like a sharp drop when it's filmed with a telephoto lens on TV, but if you walk it it's quite manageable. I wouldn't think it's any steeper than the Corkscrew at Laguna Seca, anyway, and that's easily taken by all sorts of stiff-chassised, zero ground clearance cars.

[singer]

Bellof, Ickx, anyone - I mentioned Bell because I'd just been watching him on my In-Car 956 DVD! Pedro Rodriguez in a Gulf Porsche 917K would also be interesting, especially in the wet!

As for the Dipper, it looks like a sharp drop when it's filmed with a telephoto lens on TV, but if you walk it it's quite manageable. I wouldn't think it's any steeper than the Corkscrew at Laguna Seca, anyway, and that's easily taken by all sorts of stiff-chassised, zero ground clearance cars.

Ickx has won Bathurst with Moffat in 77 however I thought this thread was reffering to Indy/Champ drivers.

I still don't think any Indy/Champ car driver has come close to winning.

[Nick Short]

It was a reference to comparisons with other motorsports, cars and drivers - Ickx was more famously a sports car driver for Porsche, and that's why I mentioned him. I think it would be interesting to transfer all sorts of other motorsport disciplines to Bathurst and see how they go.

[GRPIII]

It would be interesting to see what sort of a time a Champ Car could do but IMO lap records can only be set during official race meetings and a demonstration run would not count..
theres been afew times that the lap record has been broken, but in unoffical timing.
farmer fury or gary scott broke brocks pole time from 84 in the turbo charged bluebird in pre-warm up for hardies hero's in 84, in more recent times bright was the first to dip into 2.08 in the vx in sats warmup in 2001? when the pole times were still 2.09's.