Rejectful exploits in other series

LucaPacchiarini · Post by **LucaPacchiarini** » 23 Jan 2010, 20:06

We mainly concentrate on F1, however, this is the ultimate topic for all the rejectful exploits in other series.

I'll start with Shigeaki Hattori

A dear old driver from a country so beloved in this site... I had just started following CART, in the late 90's, and this driver really impressed me with his ineptitude to avoid contacts with anysolid matter (walls, barriers, legs of the mechanics ... )

this is The Great Naoki Hattori Scorecard, taken from the nice DeepThrottle website: (visit it) :mrgreen:

it covers every crash of old Shiggy Hattori

1999 CART Season

Spring Training 12 laps into first session. Smacked outside Turn 4 wall. With no spare car, team packed up and went home.

Homestead First practice session. Coming out of Turn 4, lost rear end, slammed into outside wall. Registered a record 145 G's. Concussion forced team to pack up and go home.

Motegi 140 race laps. Most likely inspired by his home country's crowd, Shigeaki manages to completely keep it off the wall the entire weekend. Clutch failure ultimately caused his departure.

Long Beach 1) Sunday warm-up.
2) 21 laps into race. 1) While taking a look at his gauges, wrecks car against the wall during a shakedown run.
2) Puts his backup car into the wall during the race.

Nazareth 11 minutes into first practice session. Lost control while exiting Turn 2 at only 137 mph. Hard contact into outside wall. Entry was withdrawn. Team packed up and went home.

Rio Did not enter. By mutual agreement between Chief Steward, Wally Dallenbach, and team owner, Tony Bettenhausen, Shigeaki Hattori was told to skip Nazareth and Rio to get more testing time in order to become more familiar with the car.

Gateway Saturday warm-up. So close, yet so far. After successfully running numerous incident free laps in practice and qualifying, Shigeaki Hattori spins in the pre-race morning warm-up and suffers minor front-end damage. The team is able to make repairs, and Hattori finishes his first CART race completing 229 spin free laps.

Milwaukee 118 laps into race. Slides up high coming out of turn and brushes the wall, suffering damage to right side preventing him from finishing two races in a row.

Portland 1) All sessions leading up to the race.
2) Lap 8. 1) Spun numerous times.
2) After nearly the entire field had lapped him, Shiggy yells something on the radio, pits, and jumps out of the car. He informs the team he was sick and leaves the pits. Bettenhausen insists that CART officially lists the reason as "driver retired" and not make up some mechanical problem.

Cleveland Did not enter. Took the race off to get more testing time.

Road America Did not enter. Took the race off to get more testing time. Either that, or they are running out of money fixing the car...

Toronto 1) 72 minutes into Friday morning practice.
2) 7 minutes into Friday qualifying.
3) 19 minutes into Sunday morning warmup.
4) Lap 17
5) Lap 56. No major crash leaves the door open for a plethora of incidents throughout the weekend.
1) Slides into the run-off at turn 3. Did not hit anything.
2) Slides into the run-off at turn 3. Did not hit anything.
3) This time Hattori isn't so lucky in turn 3 and hits the tire barriers. He's able to continue.
4) Slides into the run-off area at turn 3 and stalls car. After several laps, he's restarted and rejoins race. There is no truth to the rumor that turn 3 will be renamed the Shigeaki Hattori Turn.
5) Brushes the wall sustaining suspension damage. Finally calls it a day.

US 500 Did not enter. Skipped his first superspeedway race. Thankfully.

Detroit Did not enter. Again, Shigeaki did not compete. He's taking all the fun out of this.

Mid-Ohio Did not enter. Still no Shigeaki. Looks like it might be time to retire the Scorecard.

Chicago 217 race laps. By George, I think he's got it! Well okay, he was slow, but Shigeaki never hit the wall for the entire weekend. The layoff must have done him so good.

Vancouver Did not enter. Most likely reveling in his "fine" performance at Chicago, Shigeaki might have thought, why push your luck. Whatever the reason, he sat out Vancouver to prepare for Laguna Seca.

Laguna Seca 1) 36 minutes into Friday morning practice session.
2) 6 minutes into Friday qualifying.
3) 28 minutes into Friday qualifying.
4) Saturday. 1) Spins at Turn 8 making light contact with the inside wall with the nose of his car.
2) Spins at Turn 6 and stalls on outside of track.
3) Spins exiting Turn 3 hitting the outside wall nose first.
4) In an unprecedented and long overdue move, Chief Steward, Wally Dallenbach, revokes Shigeaki Hattori's license for the remainder of the season, "because his performance did not meet the standards of a Champ Car competitor." Thus, putting an end to all the fun Deep Throttle fans have been enjoying.
THE END

2000 IRL Season

Texas 207 race laps Starts 26th due to rained out qualifying which is then based on points, works his way all the way up to an 8th place finish one lap back, and beats Eddie Cheever who finishes on same lap. Wow, this IRL stuff is pretty easy.

Pikes Peak 1) Lap 80.
2) Lap 174. Ahh, that's better.
1) Spins on backstraight coming off of Turn 2. No contact. Resumes racing.
2) Eventually parks it due to handling problems.

Atlanta 206 race laps Starts 18th having qualified between IRL poster boys, Davey Hamilton (17th) and Billy Boat (19th). Good thing the Shig has all that sprint car experience. Finishes 9th, two laps back.

Kentucky 199 race laps Starts 17th and finishes 9th, one lap back. Another top ten finish against oval racing's best...

Texas 207 race laps Starts 15th and finishes 7th, one lap back, beating IRL powerhouses, Jeff Ward, Buzz Calkins, and Jaques Lazier. Good thing the IRL is the toughest racing out there...

2001 IRL Season

Phoenix
192 race laps Starts 24th, 12+ mph slower than the pole position, and just one spot behind IRL savior, Al Unser, Jr. Finishes 13th, 8 laps back. Hmmm, maybe the competition is finally taking the Shigster seriously...

Homestead 193 race laps Starts 21st, 8+ mph slower than the pole position, and two spots behind Al Unser, Jr. Finishes 15th, 7 laps back. Can't go wrong cruising around in the IRL.

Atlanta 198 race laps Amazingly, qualifies fifth, against the self proclaimed best oval drivers in the world, ahead of such luminaries as Sam Hornish, Jr., Buddy Lazier, Scott Sharp, and Al Unser, Jr. Finishes in 8th place, two laps down, but then only 12 drivers were still running at the end, with three of them limping home many, many laps down.

Indianapolis 1) Testing lap 174
2) Day 6
3) Bump Day The famed Brickyard seems to bring out the best (the best?) in everybody.
1) Spins 180 degrees and hits the outer wall exiting Turn One while testing at the track that supposedly hosts the greatest race in the world.
2) Does a half-spin in the short chute between Turns 1 and 2, sliding backward, before the car spun back forward in the same direction of the initial spin. In atypical Shiggy luck, he makes no contact.
3) Gets bumped out of the field. Tries not once, but twice, to get back in, but fails, leaving the worldwide hordes of Shigeaki Hattori fans absolutely devastated.

Texas 1) Practice
2) 198 race laps 1) Does a quarter spin exiting pit lane for his qualifying run.
2) Despite only being given one lap to qualify, he qualifies fifth -- fifth I tell you -- against the drivers that couldn't even finish on the lead lap at Indy against the CART drivers and teams. Alas, an early mechanical problem spoiled any chance of some more fun, but he still finishes 10th, thanks to hardly anybody left running, two laps down.

Pikes Peak 1) Saturday second practice session
2) Qualifying The old Shigeaki Hattori we have learned to love returns.
1) Scraped the outside wall exiting Turn 4.
2) On his second qualifying lap (after his first lap was good enough to place him seventh(!) on the grid) backed into the wall in Turn 2. Was not cleared to race for "precautionary reasons."

pretty impressive, uh? :mrgreen:

Post other ridicolous exploits of drivers in other series

watka · Post by **watka** » 23 Jan 2010, 23:35

Yeah, I've seen that scorecard, pretty impressive!

Scott Speed in ARCA is rejectful just because of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALaybkkS0mg

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 23 Jan 2010, 23:50

Ah yes, good old Shiggy. I believe I've referred to him as a prime example of rejectdom in the past.

thehemogoblin · Post by **thehemogoblin** » 24 Jan 2010, 03:19

watka wrote:Yeah, I've seen that scorecard, pretty impressive!

Scott Speed in ARCA is rejectful just because of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALaybkkS0mg

Irony: Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. is from Olive Branch, Mississippi... aren't olive branches supposed to symbolize peace?

Jordan · Post by **Jordan** » 24 Jan 2010, 04:33

May I preemptively add Nelson Piquet Jr.'s foray into NASCAR Camping World Truck series 2010 to this list?

Reasons

1.) It's Nelson Piquet Jr.
2.) I'm assuming here, but guessing he's never gone camping
3.) " " driven a truck
4.) " " watched a NASCAR race
5.) Just think about it.

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 24 Jan 2010, 11:28

Actually, Piquet has driven a truck before - he tested a NASCAR truck prior to signing up for the series. Regardless, the fact that it's Piquet should be proof enough, especially if he tries to pull his, 'Oh, all these inexperienced drivers' schtick when he gets wrecked by somebody like Mike Skinner.

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 24 Jan 2010, 11:39

BlindCaveSalamander wrote:Actually, Piquet has driven a truck before - he tested a NASCAR truck prior to signing up for the series. Regardless, the fact that it's Piquet should be proof enough, especially if he tries to pull his, 'Oh, all these inexperienced drivers' schtick when he gets wrecked by somebody like Mike Skinner.

Cynon (Quote from a long long time ago) wrote:I want to see what happens to Piquet when he tries to rough up Ron Hornaday, Todd Bodine, Mike Skinner, and Matt Crafton. Especially Skinner, who looks like he can stuff Piquet's candy ass into a garbage can.

That pretty much sums it up

May I aslo suggest this guy as a honourary reject just for that Epic brain fade? :lol:

thehemogoblin · Post by **thehemogoblin** » 24 Jan 2010, 11:55

BlindCaveSalamander wrote:Actually, Piquet has driven a truck before - he tested a NASCAR truck prior to signing up for the series. Regardless, the fact that it's Piquet should be proof enough, especially if he tries to pull his, 'Oh, all these inexperienced drivers' schtick when he gets wrecked by somebody like Mike Skinner.

I do believe Cynon's picture pertains to this and a very hilarious comment... viewtopic.php?f=2&t=910&p=24899

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 24 Jan 2010, 14:40

Wizzie wrote:
BlindCaveSalamander wrote:Actually, Piquet has driven a truck before - he tested a NASCAR truck prior to signing up for the series. Regardless, the fact that it's Piquet should be proof enough, especially if he tries to pull his, 'Oh, all these inexperienced drivers' schtick when he gets wrecked by somebody like Mike Skinner.

Cynon (Quote from a long long time ago) wrote:I want to see what happens to Piquet when he tries to rough up Ron Hornaday, Todd Bodine, Mike Skinner, and Matt Crafton. Especially Skinner, who looks like he can stuff Piquet's candy ass into a garbage can.

That pretty much sums it up

May I aslo suggest this guy as a honourary reject just for that Epic brain fade?

I've always thought that Wirdheim incident was totally epiccally fail with a big fat LOL. Like this: :lol:

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 24 Jan 2010, 19:06

Wizzie wrote:May I aslo suggest this guy as a honourary reject just for that Epic brain fade?

This is why I suggested Test Drivers should have their own section...so he and Chanoch Nissany could have their own profiles

coops · Post by **coops** » 24 Jan 2010, 19:30

watka wrote:Scott Speed in ARCA is rejectful just because of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALaybkkS0mg

Have to disagree my friend, Scott Speed deserves a medal for that one. Thats the kind of passion that was lacking during his F1 career.

Great clip.

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 25 Jan 2010, 18:26

coops wrote:
watka wrote:Scott Speed in ARCA is rejectful just because of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALaybkkS0mg

Have to disagree my friend, Scott Speed deserves a medal for that one. Thats the kind of passion that was lacking during his F1 career.

Great clip.

Agreed. I think Stenhouse's actions were far more rejectful. The ARCA officials should've penalised Stenhouse, if not outright disqualified him, in my opinion, because you could see he had a chance to back out of Scott Speed, and didn't, which started the whole thing. That is just inexcusable driving on his part, stuff I would only expect to see in Mario Kart, and he only has himself to blame in the end for Scott's retaliation. To be fair, though, Scott could've been the bigger man, and not tried to pay Stenhouse back, though I can certainly say I'd probably do the same myself, if not more.

The best part is that neither won the championship; instead, it went to Justin Allgaier.

coops · Post by **coops** » 25 Jan 2010, 19:28

Good points.

And an excellent signature by the way.

FloProAct · Post by **FloProAct** » 25 Jan 2010, 22:27

BlindCaveSalamander wrote:That is just inexcusable driving on his part, stuff I would only expect to see in Mario Kart

He'd fit right in with Bernie's F1 Vision then?

watka · Post by **watka** » 25 Jan 2010, 23:36

BlindCaveSalamander wrote:
coops wrote:
watka wrote:Scott Speed in ARCA is rejectful just because of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALaybkkS0mg

Have to disagree my friend, Scott Speed deserves a medal for that one. Thats the kind of passion that was lacking during his F1 career.

Great clip.

Agreed. I think Stenhouse's actions were far more rejectful. The ARCA officials should've penalised Stenhouse, if not outright disqualified him, in my opinion, because you could see he had a chance to back out of Scott Speed, and didn't, which started the whole thing. That is just inexcusable driving on his part, stuff I would only expect to see in Mario Kart, and he only has himself to blame in the end for Scott's retaliation. To be fair, though, Scott could've been the bigger man, and not tried to pay Stenhouse back, though I can certainly say I'd probably do the same myself, if not more.

The best part is that neither won the championship; instead, it went to Justin Allgaier.

Yeah, the bigger man and all that.

I think the real rejects here is the ARCA series itself, and dare I say it, oval racing in general.

gnrpoison · Post by **gnrpoison** » 26 Jan 2010, 01:12

Ultimate Reject Corner? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdCDkfEKkUI

and a brilliant move by Alesi in I think Speedcar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5awDdwwXPzg&feature=related

Captain Hammer · Post by **Captain Hammer** » 28 Jan 2010, 05:37

Rejectful Moments in V8 Supercars

Phillip Island, 2009: Cameron McConville suffers a huge accident at the end of the main straight, crossing over the infield and very nearly taking out another car on another part of the circuit. McConville blames a part-time driver he was trying to pass, but the replays show said driver moving off the racing line to allow McConville through and for some reason, McConville decides to go all the way around him instead of staying on the racing line.

Phillip Island, 2009 (part two): After the Bahrain round is cancelled, a second race at Phillip Island is arranged. During the race, a miscommunication between the safety car driver and race control sees the safety car stop on the fastest point of the circuit waiting to pick up the leader. To make matters worse, when the leader emerges from the pits, the safety car does not respond, leading to several other cars banking up - as everybody else is charging down the main straight. Did I mention the safety car was on the other side of a blind crest so that no-one could see it?

Phillip Island, 2006: It's the final race of the season, and two men can win the title - Craig Lowndes for Ford and Rick Kelly for Holden. Unfortunately, what should have been a great battle is marred by some of the most unsportsman-like behaviour by the Holdens all weekend. Firstly, Mark Skaife forces Craig Lowndes to run wide at one of the most difficult and dangerous points on the circuit, despite Skaife being on his outlap and Lowndes on a flyer. Lowndes survived. Then, Garth Tander spends most of the first race blocking Lowndes to that Kelly can catch up. Lowndes survived again, but he wasn't so lucky the third time. In the first laps of the final race, Lowndes and Kelly come together. Lowndes is very nearly taken out of the race. But the replay shows that Rick Kelly takes a line going into the corner that will either see him run off the outside of the circuit, or straight into Craig Lowndes. Both Lowndes' and Kelly's cars are damaged, but Kelly fares better and is able to cruise to a cahmpionship victory that he never deserved.

Bathurst, 2006: The first race after the legendary Peter Brock's untimely death, and the race is being held in his honour, with the winner's trophy renamed as the Peter Brock Trophy. It's one of the most emotional races the sport has ever seen, with almost every driver looking to dedicate his victory to the memory of the man. Mark Skaife is one of the loudest claimants of this honour ... but has barely made it around the first corner when he crashes out of the race. Even more Rejectful is the attitude of many Holden fans openly calling for the race to be rigged so that a Holden driver would win. The victory finally goes to Craig Lowndes, who was fittingly Brock's protege.

Homebush Bay 2009: Pretty much everyone blows it at the bottom corner at some point or another. It's a narrow, uphill double-apex left-hander with a tricky camber on the outside that claimed more scalps than pretty much any other corner in the entire season.

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 28 Jan 2010, 08:28

Captain Hammer wrote:Homebush Bay 2009: Pretty much everyone blows it at the bottom corner at some point or another. It's a narrow, uphill double-apex left-hander with a tricky camber on the outside that claimed more scalps than pretty much any other corner in the entire season.

I remember watching both races that weekend on TV while talking to a friend on Messenger about it and we counted about 30 crashes at various parts of the track over the 2 days. Holdsworth attributed about 10% of that total alone :lol:

(Sad thing is I'm actually a fan on GRM)

Oh and you forgot Murphy's attempt at going side by side into the Cutting in 2005. (Anyone who seen a lap around Bathurst on the TV and/or ze internet know that 2 in 1 at the cutting will not go. Heck even 1 into 1 doesn't work sometimes :lol:

)

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 28 Jan 2010, 16:45

Captain Hammer wrote:Rejectful Moments in V8 Supercars

Phillip Island, 2009: Cameron McConville suffers a huge accident at the end of the main straight, crossing over the infield and very nearly taking out another car on another part of the circuit. McConville blames a part-time driver he was trying to pass, but the replays show said driver moving off the racing line to allow McConville through and for some reason, McConville decides to go all the way around him instead of staying on the racing line.

So it's McConville's fault Steve Owen was aggressively blocking him, then closed the door on him once McConville was already starting to pull alongside him?
I used to call the Autobarn car 'Team Dumbass' because Paul Dumbrell and Steve Owen are the biggest idiots in V8 Supercars - despite driving Holdens.
So I suppose this means Cameron has something against Jenson Button then, that prompted this post?
If he'd gone the other way he'd have gone off, its a right hand turn and the corner radius gets tighter further through the corner...unless the other car is a tortoise you can't pass around the outside there.

midgrid · Post by **midgrid** » 28 Jan 2010, 22:02

Another Safety Car problem, this time in the WTCC at Pau last year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADIfsfNVrvE

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 29 Jan 2010, 00:03

midgrid wrote:Another Safety Car problem, this time in the WTCC at Pau last year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADIfsfNVrvE

I've been standing up as a Conspiracy Theorist for this for a long time now...notice how Engstler in the BMW is speared into by the Safety Car, a Chevrolet Cruze.
This promoted Alain Menu to 1st, and would eventually win the race in, you guessed it - the lead factory Chevy Cruze.

RejectSteve · Post by **RejectSteve** » 29 Jan 2010, 05:07

kostas22 wrote:
midgrid wrote:Another Safety Car problem, this time in the WTCC at Pau last year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADIfsfNVrvE

I've been standing up as a Conspiracy Theorist for this for a long time now...notice how Engstler in the BMW is speared into by the Safety Car, a Chevrolet Cruze.
This promoted Alain Menu to 1st, and would eventually win the race in, you guessed it - the lead factory Chevy Cruze.

Seeing as General Motors couldn't do anything right in 2008/09, this would have been the only way to promote their product - while also following the company policy of crashing and burning...

... I'm standing.

watka · Post by **watka** » 30 Jan 2010, 13:56

Marco Apicella has twice driven for a team which has retired on the first lap of the Le Mans 24 Hours. In 2007 he crashed in practice, but in 2009 he was actually driving the 1st lap.

MinardiFan95 · Post by **MinardiFan95** » 31 Jan 2010, 10:42

The most rejectful V8 Supercar drivers:
David Thexton: A New Zealander businessman who purchased a V8 Supercar team after seeing an ad in a motorsports magazine before the 2003 season. His best result was 16th at Bathurst (only due to the fact he finished the race) in '03 before being booted out of V8 Supercars mid '04. He later went on to race Carrera Cup without success.This article published by V8X before the 2003 season explains just how rejectful Thexton was, even before he raced V8 Supercars.
Garth Walden: The owner of the 32nd team licence in 2007 and 2008 who never actually raced in an event in those two years, which prompted V8 Supercars to revoke the teams licence. However, Walden did race at two rounds in 2004 at Queensland Raceway (a race I was lucky enough to attend, but only because Alex Yoong was racing in the 2nd tier series) and Bathurst. The Walden team had the dubious honour of being the first retirement at Bathurst that year.

Bleu · Post by **Bleu** » 06 Jun 2011, 18:17

GT1 World Championship at Silverstone:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zv_j84t0Bw

Ferrarist · Post by **Ferrarist** » 06 Jun 2011, 19:33

Bleu wrote:GT1 World Championship at Silverstone:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zv_j84t0Bw

And what is Mücke doing?

Seriously, it's sad to see that the once promising FIA GT1 World Championship turning into a rejectful championship.

jpm · Post by **jpm** » 06 Jun 2011, 20:14

Bleu wrote:GT1 World Championship at Silverstone:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zv_j84t0Bw

Darn you beat me to it! I was sat at the Loop, therfore I could see the preliminary crash occur at Becketts, but I had no idea until I got home and saw the race online what Mucke had done. The German version of the BRDC have been reccomended to revoke his racing license! Oooh dear.

But in terms of racing fail, this effort by Matt Neal, trying to better JR Hildebrand by crashing out at the final corner of the final lap (and take out our team-mate from the lead at the same time) has got to be my all time number one. Just incredible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6so8be16mL4

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 06 Jun 2011, 21:16

jpm wrote:But in terms of racing fail, this effort by Matt Neal, trying to better JR Hildebrand by crashing out at the final corner of the final lap (and take out our team-mate from the lead at the same time) has got to be my all time number one. Just incredible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6so8be16mL4

Especially since it handed victory to Neal's arch-rival Jason Plato of all people.

Cynon · Post by **Cynon** » 07 Jun 2011, 06:03

jpm wrote:
Bleu wrote:GT1 World Championship at Silverstone:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zv_j84t0Bw

Darn you beat me to it! I was sat at the Loop, therfore I could see the preliminary crash occur at Becketts, but I had no idea until I got home and saw the race online what Mucke had done. The German version of the BRDC have been reccomended to revoke his racing license! Oooh dear.

Rubbing is racing when it comes to fender cars.

He would have gotten away with it if it was NASCAR -- unless he wrecked Kyle Busch, because as any NASCAR fan knows, there's one rule for Kyle Busch and one rule for everyone else... :roll:

I kind of like reject championships, might get me to watch GT1.

If you want to see how to properly destroy someone after they wreck you ... just watch the Scott Speed in ARCA clip that was already put in this thread.

Sauber010 · Post by **Sauber010** » 07 Jun 2011, 07:46

Captain Hammer wrote:Rejectful Moments in V8 Supercars

In my opinion the most reject-worthy incident in V8 Supercars would have been Paul Romano driving into the drivers side door of an heavily-damaged Rod Forbes.This happened at Phillip Island (again!) in 2002. Romano admits it himself, saying;
“Rodney had hit me up three or four times over the course of the year through silly manoeuvres,”
At Phillip Island he T-boned me, which I was shocked at.
I think in hindsight I knew my career was coming to an end and I suppose I’d had enough of him.
I’ll be honest; I’ll be man enough to admit that I lost my cool and gave him what for.
I realise that I shouldn’t have done it, it was a bad thing to do.” (speedcafe.com)
There is only one view of the crash available as I'm aware, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs9r3VzcJ7c&NR=1

Romano received a penalty which made him the only driver to end a V8 Supercar championship in NEGATIVE points.

Faustus · Post by **Faustus** » 07 Jun 2011, 09:36

Try this, it's a great article:

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/ ... -all-time/

Jeroen Krautmeir · Post by **Jeroen Krautmeir** » 07 Jun 2011, 10:14

I've just finished my 1999 CART adventure, and immediately, I can say Shigeaki Hattori, although I see the starter of this thread has already mentioned him.

The Mountain Man · Post by **The Mountain Man** » 07 Jun 2011, 13:19

Speaking of racing, but on two wheels I can think of a supremely rejectful exploit: Honda's attempt to compete with an oval piston four stroke bike (NR500) in the late '70s-early '80s.
Man was it a complete waste of time and money! At the time two stroke GP machines from Suzuki and Yamaha were all but dominating the series so Honda (which had withdrawn from GP racing in 1968) did the sensible thing and came back with a four stroke. Apparently this stemmed from Soichiro Honda's legendary contempt for two stroke engines, which he only saw fit for lawnmowers and other gardening implements. Legend has it that when Honda-san discovered his R&D department was working on a two stroke motocross engine (which materialized in the superb Elsinore model range which gave Honda many laurels and plenty of cash) he threw a fit of gigantic proportions.
The original plan was to have a 500cc V8, inspired by the famed Moto Guzzi racer of the '50s (which almost sank the company) but soon Honda engineers discovered the new rules mandated a maximum of four combustion chambers. At first plans were drawn for a V8 using adjoined combustion chambers but these were soon shelved as it would have proven a tuning nightmare. Soichiro Irimajiri, the mastermind behind such amazing bikes as the RC166 racer and the CBX1000 six cylinder, came up with the oval piston concept, allegedly while stuck in a traffic jam and looking at a traffic light housed in an oval casing.
When importers around the world were informed about the decision to run a four stroke oval piston racer they were taken aback to say the least. Their advice to either run a development season in a national championship or initiate a parallel two stroke back up project were shelved.
The bikes were ready for the last races of the 1979 and were first fielded at Silverstone and then at Le Mans. And how incredibly rejectful they were!
At Silverstone the two bikes qualified at the very back of the grid and the two riders (Mick Grant and Takazumi Katayama, no relationship) had problems push starting the bikes because they revved so high (20,000 rpm) and the engine had such internal attrition that it often shut down on a closed throttle. Katayama got his bike started first, started losing oil immediately (he had to withdraw a few laps later) and Grant fell on the same oil at the Copse. As Grant walked away his bike (whose engine was almost entirely magnesium) caught fire providing no small amount of amusement to the British press.
But the supreme moment of rejectdom came at Le Mans where, due to the larger number of entries, both Honda's failed to qualify. According to contemporary rules, riders who hadn't made the cut could position their bikes at the back of the grid as back up in case somebody else had technical difficulties. When it was clear all entrants would be able to start, the Honda teams refused to remove their bikes. To this day nobody knows what the Hell Honda was trying to accomplish. Race stewards had to threaten heavy sanctions to get the bikes removed.
You would think this was the last you heard of these contraptions but you would be wrong.
Honda threw a ton of money to make the bike competitive, building new frames and completely redesigning the engines.
The 1980 season was marked by supreme rejectdom with a string of DNF and DNQ (mostly because spare engines had run out before the race) though the bike managed to finish two races in 15th (Silverstone) and 12th place (Nurburgring Nordschleife) at the hands of the stalwart Katayama.
1981 saw even more money threw at the hopeless NR500 and, thank to the genius of one Freddie Spencer, Honda was almost rewarded. In what can only be described as a move dictated by sheer desperation, Honda decided to field an NR500 at the AMA F1 race in Laguna Seca: back in those days it was customary for US GP riders to ride a couple races in the F1 series in their home country on GP-spec machines. Honda gave their bike to their most promising AMA rider, 19 years old Freddie Spencer who had already signed a contract to race a 500GP machine for Honda in 1982. In a miracle which science had failed to explain Freddie was actually able to win the first heat ahead of Randy Mamola and Kenny Roberts, both riding two stroke GP machines. But as you may expect, his engine blew during the second race.
Since Katayama was beginning to be demotivated to say the least by the continuous mechanical mishaps of the NR500, Honda offered Spencer his seat for the Silverstone GP.
Spencer had problems push starting his bike ( :roll:

), did a fabulous recovery but when he was hot on the tail of the leading quartet, his engine blew in a huge cloud of smoke.
It worth to note that Honda put the blame on Spencer's riding style: the American rider had complained during qualifying his bike lacked drive outside of turns. The quickest fix was to shorten gearing considerably. This way Spencer regularly exceeded 22,000 rpm, putting a lot strain on an engine which wasn't very reliable to begin with.
At this point, luckily, cooler heads prevailed. Honda recognized if even the supremely talented Spencer couldn't bring a victory to the NR500, nobody could. Also company accountants had started to complain about how much racing activities were costing and, finally, importers around the world were demanding some success on the track. A two stroke crash program was initiated, resulting in the very competitive V3 engined NS500 which gave Spencer and Honda the 1983 world championship. It's also ironic to note Honda two stroke GP racers went on to become pretty much unbeatable in the '90s.
The NR500 wasn't immediately relegated to the scrap heap: it was used as a "rolling laboratory" to test technological solutions in races around the world, often ridden by another supremely talented rider (Ron Haslam).
Hope I haven't strayed off topic but to me this is as rejectful as it gets.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 07 Jun 2011, 15:33

BlindCaveSalamander wrote:
jpm wrote:But in terms of racing fail, this effort by Matt Neal, trying to better JR Hildebrand by crashing out at the final corner of the final lap (and take out our team-mate from the lead at the same time) has got to be my all time number one. Just incredible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6so8be16mL4

Especially since it handed victory to Neal's arch-rival Jason Plato of all people.

The most rejectful part was in the post-race TV interview when Jason Plato just got out of the car, grumpy as hell, and all he could do was complain about the performance of the Hondas, despite having just won at their expense and closed to within a few points of the championship lead!

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 07 Jun 2011, 17:36

dr-baker wrote:
BlindCaveSalamander wrote:
jpm wrote:But in terms of racing fail, this effort by Matt Neal, trying to better JR Hildebrand by crashing out at the final corner of the final lap (and take out our team-mate from the lead at the same time) has got to be my all time number one. Just incredible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6so8be16mL4

Especially since it handed victory to Neal's arch-rival Jason Plato of all people.

The most rejectful part was in the post-race TV interview when Jason Plato just got out of the car, grumpy as hell, and all he could do was complain about the performance of the Hondas, despite having just won at their expense and closed to within a few points of the championship lead!

Yeah, but it is Jason Plato, he could conceivably complain about everything and anything.

Faustus · Post by **Faustus** » 07 Jun 2011, 18:08

BlindCaveSalamander wrote:Yeah, but it is Jason Plato, he could conceivably complain about everything and anything.

Unfortunately, too true. I had the misfortune of working with him for one race, when he helped out Bob Berridge at Spa in the 2002 FIA Sportscar race. The team I was with was sharing pits, equipment and personnel so I had the misfortune of having to deal with Gonzo.

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 09 Jun 2011, 00:48

Faustus wrote:Try this, it's a great article:
http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/ ... -all-time/

Just read it - the whole lot. And I thought Jean-Denis Délétraz was clueless... right up until I read what's written here about Jean-Pierre Frey. Is Switzerland officially the most reject-friendly nation in the world? There's these two, Andrea Chiesa, Gregor Foitek... and the only thing saving Rrrrrmmmmnnn Grrrrjjjjnnn is that he decided to race for France in F1.

I need to know if Rahel Frey is related to the Indy reject legend. Same surname, same nationality, 31 years' difference, and just look what she's getting up to in DTM this year... father and daughter, surely?

dnhrudi · Post by **dnhrudi** » 09 Jun 2011, 03:13

my candidate for rejectfullness Jean Pierre Frey, the 2 solid years of non qualification in F3000 (in 86-87, a record), his brief dreadful foray into CART, his denial for an entry into the indy 500, etc etc, pale into insignificance compared with his creation of one of the most rejectfull team names ever created......Dollop. The man deserves some kind of prize.

Cynon · Post by **Cynon** » 09 Jun 2011, 03:24

The entire NASCAR career of John Wes Townley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbrmE0HQrWE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i780-Pp4 ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mapr0Ypog9Y

^ Typical JWT weekends.

I will now quote his Wikipedia page, which I didn't edit myself, but it explains enough...

John Wrecks Weekly (born December 31, 1989 in Watkinsville, Georgia[1]) is a former NASCAR Nationwide Series driver. Although currently not driving for the team, Weekly is still under contract with Richard Childress RacingScrubbing The Floors. Weekly lost his ride for being involved in too many one-car accidents.[citation needed]

Weekly drove in the American Speed Association prior to joining NASCAR. He began racing in the Nationwide Series in 2008 when he drove in three races and had three DNFs. He also ran 7 Craftsman Truck Series with a best finish of 18th at both The Milwaukee Mile and Talladega Superspeedway. He returned to the Nationwide Series in 2009 and qualified for 26 races. He finished 16 races and finished 23rd in points.

Weekly no longer drives for RAB Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Tony Townley notified team owner Robby Benton that Zaxby's is discontinuing their partnership due to shitty performance. No additional info was supplied.

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 09 Jun 2011, 11:38

Cynon wrote:The entire NASCAR career of John Wes Townley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbrmE0HQrWE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i780-Pp4 ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mapr0Ypog9Y

^ Typical JWT weekends.

I will now quote his Wikipedia page, which I didn't edit myself, but it explains enough...

John Wrecks Weekly (born December 31, 1989 in Watkinsville, Georgia[1]) is a former NASCAR Nationwide Series driver. Although currently not driving for the team, Weekly is still under contract with Richard Childress RacingScrubbing The Floors. Weekly lost his ride for being involved in too many one-car accidents.[citation needed]

Weekly drove in the American Speed Association prior to joining NASCAR. He began racing in the Nationwide Series in 2008 when he drove in three races and had three DNFs. He also ran 7 Craftsman Truck Series with a best finish of 18th at both The Milwaukee Mile and Talladega Superspeedway. He returned to the Nationwide Series in 2009 and qualified for 26 races. He finished 16 races and finished 23rd in points.

Weekly no longer drives for RAB Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Tony Townley notified team owner Robby Benton that Zaxby's is discontinuing their partnership due to shitty performance. No additional info was supplied.

When a guy has in his Wikipedia page the name John Wrecks Weekly instead of his own real name enough is said!