BMW Giving F1 engines to Sauber

[BMW POWER 2]

http://www.xtramsn.co.nz/motoring/0,,6306-...4137816,00.html

They give (one) of the most crappiset teams in F1 their engines????wtf????

Some say its all about the money... that true.

Maybe it'll boost Sauber, or be the fall of BMW's name in F1.

Whats do you guys reckon?

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BMW Agree Sauber Engine Deal

23/02/2005 01:17 PM - Reuters

Williams expect to lose their exclusive BMW engine supply next season after being told by the German carmaker that they have decided to power the Sauber Formula One team as well.

"(BMW motorsport director) Mario (Theissen) was very open about it," team boss Frank Williams told reporters at a pre-season lunch on Tuesday.

"He said 'we are going to supply engines ... each manufacturer will provide two teams and we have had two approaches -- one Sauber and another.

"They have decided to go with Sauber."

Williams, whose team agreed a new five-year deal with the Munich carmaker last year, said he had no problem with the decision.

"Our deal carries on, it is certainly a favourable deal."

Formula One's group of five carmakers announced after a meeting with teams last week that they would each supply a second team with engines if they signed up to their vision for the sport's commercial future.

The carmakers are planning their own series to replace the existing championship when a current commercial agreement expires at the end of 2007.

Champions Ferrari are on the other side of the fence after agreeing to stay in the existing championship to 2012.

Swiss-based Sauber, who are currently powered by Ferrari engines, confirmed on Monday that they had signed the manufacturers' memorandum of understanding. Red Bull and Jordan have yet to commit themselves.

[Grant 4]

It is done out of need. If F1 is going to continue, then it needs the better engine suppliers to supply more than one team.

Otherwise the minor teams in F1 will not be able to afford to stay, and then there will be no F1.

As it is teams like Minardi will stuggle to stay afloat during this current season (as they are still yet to find a major sponsor).

Cheers

[BMW POWER 2]

Ahh i see,

But Williams is scared they will loose the deal

But yeah, if theres no F1 i will be pissed

[Carl 3]

F1 has become the most boring motorsport on tele, it's a farce.

They give (one) of the most crappiset teams in F1 their engines????wtf????

Some say its all about the money... that true.

Maybe it'll boost Sauber, or be the fall of BMW's name in F1.

Whats do you guys reck

If that were true Ferrari should have gotten a bad name because Ferrari currently supply Sauber with their engines (although I believe previous season engines???) I don't think BMW will suffer any more than they currently do with their rather lacklustre performance.

2c.

[Gus 5]

will agree....F1 is super gay

its too much about the car now, with drivers playing a relatively minor part.....the guys never show any emotion either!

rally is kick ass to watch

[CaM 0]

yeah word that, I used to watch it, then I realised I wasn't 12 anymore..... It's not real racing to me-too much toward the cars, there doesn't seem to be any risk taking, no appeal at all, hell I'd even rather watch v8 superars, at least theres interesting bits, as gus said, rally rules, just wish TV3 would mac more ads forwrc when it's on, I always miss it!!!!!

whens rally nz?

[Grant 4]

whens rally nz?

7 - 10 April

[Carl 3]

Who here can't help but watch the rally car in that trush add, you know the one chaps, the chick is about to start talking about something women'ish then says this is for the lads and a little rally car pops up, can't take my eyes off it.

Rally NZ is the best, rally anywhere is the best, now you've got to have some balls to be that good. Not quite comparable to track racing in that it's a completely different set of skills but rally has got to be harder to do.

Interestingly, I found out from Ian yesterday that sitting the NZ Motorsport license takes half the time as sitting the Rally one and is considerably easier, would be interesting to know what's involved in rally licensing...why is it so much harder???

[CaM 0]

me too, go the corolla wrc car (i think, can't remember)

always wanted to get involved in rally, even as a co-driver, would be so cool.....

rally must have such a huge amount of skill, sh*t I know I don't have the concentration, would be sweet to get into should the oppourtunity arise

[*sic 1]

rally pwns all

[E34-535ti 5]

Interestingly, I found out from Ian yesterday that sitting the NZ Motorsport license takes half the time as sitting the Rally one and is considerably easier, would be interesting to know what's involved in rally licensing...why is it so much harder???

There's a lot more procedures and rules to follow in rallying but I don't think that actually getting the license is any harder??

Ask Glenn he did them both last night!!!!

[aliluya 0]

I reckon the snow rally is awesome ....

[CaM 0]

rally of sweden? yuh does rule, I missed it this time round though.

Fully dig monte carlo, running slicks mid winter in france, through patches of snow and all!

[Grant 4]

There's a lot more procedures and rules to follow in rallying but I don't think that actually getting the license is any harder??

Ask Glenn he did them both last night!!!!

The rally one is easy, it is an open book test, it is as good as impossible to fail.

Cheers

[Carl 3]

There's a lot more procedures and rules to follow in rallying but I don't think that actually getting the license is any harder??

Ask Glenn he did them both last night!!!!

The rally one is easy, it is an open book test, it is as good as impossible to fail.

Cheers

I know someone who failed the rally license, passed the written test for the motorsport one though, so I don't think it's that easy.

[Guest Spargo]

Sauber had been one of the better second string teams circa, 1998, but now... they're a bit lame.

They've alway been my fave "love to see them do well" team, and this can only help them.

Emma, Ferrari wasn't exactly hurt by them were they?

Theory time: BMW has been disapointed so far with Williams' lack lustre chassis and inability to fully tap the rampant power their engines produce, hence the need to "tone down" the engine slightly, to make the car more driveable.

Now, with a second team, BMW can afford to go nuts with crazy engines, as sauber will never realistically challenge for points... Some engine ideas work, some don't, thats a given. With effectively two different engines, and aerodynamics packages they have access to, BMW learn twice in a season what any other team will.

Long story short, if BMW DO buy Sauber, as has been suggested (any team, but sauber now makes a damned good choice) That effectively makes every single team in F1, f**ked.

They have their own driver training school (formula BMW), so in theory, BMW will be invincible in F1 in about 5 years time.

[kiwi535 538]

superbikes and all the moto gp classes,if you want to see close racing watch the 125 moto gp bikes,not on very often man theres ussually 10 of em scrapping for the same peice of track.Actual moto gp bikes are fairly boring cos valentino rossi is so dominant,at least had the guts to leave the dominant team(honda) and go to prolly the next best(yamaha) to make some interest for us all!

[E30-323ti 66]

There's a lot more procedures and rules to follow in rallying but I don't think that actually getting the license is any harder??

Ask Glenn he did them both last night!!!!

The rally one is easy, it is an open book test, it is as good as impossible to fail.

Cheers

I know someone who failed the rally license, passed the written test for the motorsport one though, so I don't think it's that easy.

[OT]

As Sam said, I did the National Rally & National Race licenses last night.

Both tests have the same No. of questions on there relevant sections of the Motorsport Manual, both are open book, so, as long as you are familiar with the manual they are a piece of cake!!

I'll be Sam's Rally Co-Driving B!tch this season, O'dear!!

And I'll try and fit in a few Intermarque rounds with the E30 (provided I get it back together).

[/OT]

F1 is boring to watch (racing wise), but the technology/engineering that goes into them is pheominal, they are definitely amazing though!!

[Carl 3]

F1 technology is where it's at, that's the driving force behind car manufacturer's producing better engines and technologies that eventually filter into road cars albeit dumbed down a little.

Paul, motor gp is really fun to watch, I was glued last year when Valentino switched bikes, he truly is the best rider which he proved by switching to the lesser powered Yamaha, now there was some good entertainment as the riders chop and change leadership so quickly.

Also, you get some really spectacular crashes and near misses on the bikes, like the guy that power wobbled, fell off, managed to hold onto the handels and somehow get back onto the bike just in time for the next corner, all class

Sam, good point about BMW and Sauber, will be interesting to see if they do make some crazy as engines, but do Sauber have the drivers to unleash their potential???

[E34-535ti 5]

Sam, good point about BMW and Sauber, will be interesting to see if they do make some crazy as engines, but do Sauber have the drivers to unleash their potential???

Jacques Villeneuve isn't to bad behind the wheel... pity that with the modern F1 cars he can't drive with the spectacular style of his old man.

[cainchapman 0]

F1 is the business. Get up close to an F1 car and you will see that there is no better form of car and then try to take a photo of one at full speed.

I agree on the Bike GP, Valentino is the Mike of bikes. It's just a shame that we will never see him in F1 cars. That would be phenomenal.

Ferrari should give their motors to Minardi. They deserve a hand and they are Italian too (in essence)

[Gus 5]

valentino rossi is the man.....more dominanance than schumi! (well schumi didnt change teams did he?)

f1 cars make probably the best sound on the planet....i dunno if dave and andy ever got my msg from when i called them from silverstone....i couldnt hear anything on the phone!

[BMW POWER 2]

Wow, didn't look at it like that, it looks like BMW is making a good move.

Michael Schumacher said hes self doubting himself for the 2005 season, i reckon he's loosing it. He said that someone will come along one day, who drives faster than him and he'll just have to deal with it.

Michael Schumacher + Invincible BMW team = Kickassness

[Guest Andrew]

valentino rossi is the man.....more dominanance than schumi! (well schumi didnt change teams did he?)

f1 cars make probably the best sound on the planet....i dunno if dave and andy ever got my msg from when i called them from silverstone....i couldnt hear anything on the phone!

I love that badass video of rossi driving the new M5 with some basketball star round a race track and drifting the hell out of it hah

[shadowninja 0]

F1 has lost some of its shine... mostly because of the dominance of Schumi at the top. Who has a chance of beating the best driver, with the best car, with the best pit crew??? One of the mags I read recently hit it on the head... that until Schumacher gets too old, too bored or too rich [or hit by a bus] he'll be in the same spot for years to come.

I have no quibbles with technology sharing... you'd be surprised at how much of that goes on between Ford & Holden camps for the V8 supercar series too. If BMW can get some decent money from supplying engines to other race companies, thats more money they can sink into R&D for their NEXT generation engines.