"Mikeado" (mikeado)
08/11/2013 at 06:52 • Filed to: Trabant, Hungarian GP
4
39|
"Mikeado" (mikeado)
08/11/2013 at 06:52 • Filed to: Trabant, Hungarian GP | 4
| 39 |
Back in 1988, many things were different in F1. McLaren winning was a given, turbo V6s weren't something people moaned about, and the support races were evidently allowed to be a bit more... of the people. Because, you see, the humble Trabant - the car of choice for cash-strapped Hungarians of the time - had its own one-make support race at the Hungaroring. It's not quite Porsche Supercup, but there's pockets of decent action as the amateur drivers struggle to keep the ferocious 26bhp cotton-fibre bodied monsters on track with their F1-rivalling 600cc two-cylinder two-stroke engines. The video footage of the race is perfectly matched in terms of quality. It's black-and-white in 1988, and very grainy. Enjoy!
H/T to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
Just wear your damn mask...
> Mikeado
08/11/2013 at 08:18 |
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Interesting to see in the one-make Trabant Series some Trabants are more equal than others...
Sparf
> Mikeado
08/11/2013 at 08:31 |
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I'd imagine that must actually be pretty damn fun, sort of like gokarts.
JayHova
> Mikeado
08/11/2013 at 08:51 |
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Ermn...the Trabant had 26bhp in stock form...race prepped Trabbies had 60 to 80 bhp (out of their 2-cyl engine).
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Mikeado
> JayHova
08/11/2013 at 08:53 |
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Crikey! I'll amend the writing.
dmkinsey
> Mikeado
08/11/2013 at 09:01 |
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They have a helicopter shot of the Trabnt race?
immortalis
> Mikeado
08/11/2013 at 09:02 |
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According to the commentator, all cars are stock, no tuned cars were allowed to enter the race, and only amateur drivers were allowed to drive.
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Mikeado
> immortalis
08/11/2013 at 09:05 |
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Interesting. I'll un-amend it!
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Mikeado
> JayHova
08/11/2013 at 09:06 |
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Someone who understands the commentator has said that this is for amateur drivers in unmodified cars.
Máté Petrány
> Mikeado
08/11/2013 at 09:12 |
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Nice find!
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JayHova
> Mikeado
08/11/2013 at 09:14 |
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Rejoice at some two-stroke goodness:
And some more:
Old-Busted-Hotness
> Mikeado
08/11/2013 at 09:16 |
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This is freaking awesome. Way more fun than watching Vettel collect another trophy.
Also, driving a slow car fast is all about momentum, and keeping it. These guys must have had a ball, and I bet those Trabis (those that still exist) still have the numbers on the doors.
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JayHova
> Mikeado
08/11/2013 at 09:19 |
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Unfortunately my hungerian vocabulary is limited to one word...sör...which means beer.^^
But I've linked two videos of race-prepped Trabbies now and then and both seem to be faster, so the commenter might be right.
Highbury
> Mikeado
08/11/2013 at 09:30 |
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Porsche Supercup can't hold a candle to this.
BicycleBob30
> Just wear your damn mask...
08/11/2013 at 09:40 |
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I think that just shows the fantastic quality control at the factory..... Cars built on Friday afternoons probably have about half the horsepower 'cause no- one could be bothered to set them up right. I like the mass start... It's like watching 40 very small plastic ships being launched.
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BicycleBob30
> BicycleBob30
08/11/2013 at 09:43 |
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Oh, and no roll cages. I suppose not much can go wrong at 25 mph...
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Máté Petrány
> Mikeado
08/11/2013 at 10:10 |
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And as the Hungarian onboard, I confirm.
TwoWheelsAmazing
> Mikeado
08/11/2013 at 10:36 |
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So they can afford a helicopter to cover the race but not color cameras?
Jeff Miller
> Mikeado
08/11/2013 at 10:42 |
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the only race were the brake pedal was never used
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FEC
> Mikeado
08/11/2013 at 11:23 |
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I had to give up watching that. The commentator was way to over excitable. Like Murray Walker on speed.
Somethingwittyer likes noisy
> Mikeado
08/11/2013 at 11:33 |
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How many cars are on the grid?!?! There must be at least 50!
seanomatopoeia
> Mikeado
08/11/2013 at 11:34 |
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The car the Hungaroring deserves.
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Mikeado
> Somethingwittyer likes noisy
08/11/2013 at 11:41 |
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Looking at the helicopter shot of the first corner, I count 40. So you were pretty close!
TheApeWithNoNAme
> Mikeado
08/11/2013 at 11:57 |
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About 4 minutes in, the announcer starts talking about the truck race which is about to start after the Trabant. Now that's something to fucking see, gents. It is hard to express what a redneck country Hungary is. Also: He's really doing a nice job of announcing the race and not just mailing it in.
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TheApeWithNoNAme
> TwoWheelsAmazing
08/11/2013 at 11:58 |
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Get this: It was probably shot in color, but broadcast in B&W. Color feed went to Western Europe. All the boys drinking Unicum in Gyor got to see it in B&W.
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merged-450547912-my6ab
> Mikeado
08/11/2013 at 13:00 |
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Funny, I though GTIs were the only car that lifted their inside rear wheel in a corner...
M.L. Lapid
> Mikeado
08/11/2013 at 13:42 |
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-> This is more fun to watch than F1 is currently running. It's like Best Motoring but legit!
-> Imagine a Spec race before the actual (F1) event in todays times?
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Mikeado
> M.L. Lapid
08/11/2013 at 13:58 |
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"Imagine a spec race before the Grand Prix in today's times."
(unless "spec race" means standard production cars)
Reborn Pyrrhic
> Just wear your damn mask...
08/11/2013 at 16:02 |
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In communist eastern Europe that was usually the case. Some were more equal than others...
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Just wear your damn mask...
> Reborn Pyrrhic
08/11/2013 at 17:04 |
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I was hoping someone would get the "Animal Farm" reference. Close enough.
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Reborn Pyrrhic
> Just wear your damn mask...
08/11/2013 at 18:58 |
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It's been years since I read Animal Farm, but now I see it!
lumberpile
> Mikeado
08/11/2013 at 23:30 |
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the fact this is black & white in 1988 just makes it feel all that much more authentically soviet-era
Simplify, then add beer
> Mikeado
08/12/2013 at 02:18 |
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More body roll than a broken step at Fat Camp...
shackledtodesk
> Old-Busted-Hotness
08/12/2013 at 03:57 |
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What I find interesting is watching the line the lead driver is taking vs. almost everyone else in the race. There's a good reason he's pulling away and it's not just because his Trabant is more equal than others. He's using the whole track and doing a good job of it.
RS Hole, I forgot my password for 8 months
> Mikeado
08/12/2013 at 07:42 |
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"And a dog has wandered onto the track...
And the dog has won the race!"
towman
> TheApeWithNoNAme
08/12/2013 at 13:51 |
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What, this?
That is not Hungarian specialty, that is the FIA European Truck Racing Championship.
There is a possibility that I was actually at this race on the video with my dad, we went to lot of races except the F1, Hungarians could not afford it at the time.
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TheApeWithNoNAme
> towman
08/12/2013 at 14:17 |
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No. I didn't mean it was exclusive to Hungary. Those races, though, are a fucking yeoman farmer's wet dream.
aeternitas
> Mikeado
08/12/2013 at 16:23 |
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i'll leave this here, for your consideration: "Rennpappe" gallery
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speedypee
> Mikeado
08/12/2013 at 17:43 |
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Trabant racing looks super-duper, but I'll take Citroen 2CV racing any day. It is actually brilliant. They race at all the big-name circuits in Britain including a 24 hour race at Snetterton. They only need to brake once during a lap around Donington so it is a flat-out slipstream-arama. Sometimes it's even live on TV!
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Mikeado
> speedypee
08/12/2013 at 17:52 |
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Awesome!
"And in second place is... everyone else."