Volume 2, Issue 10 - November 1995

Published: November 1, 1995

Local Boy Makes Good

derek john hill wins ferrari challenge international finale

much to the surprise of many more experienced, not least of whom was his father, world champion phil hill, derek john hill beat the best europe had to offer in the ferrari challenge international finale.

the reason for the surprise is that twenty year-old derek has only been racing for one year and that he had never seen the track at mugello or the car he was to race in. look to us ferrari challenge wrap-up for a write up of the final race of the us ferrari challenge series to see how derek fared in his 348 ride this year on this side of the pond. after that race in texas derek joined his dad on a trip to italy. phil hill was going over to race brandon wang's 1957 tr in a historic race coincident with the ferrari challenge international finale at ferrari's mugello race circuit so derek went along, sans 348, to see how he could do against the europeans.

derek in the pits at mugello in front of 3 of the american entries. gerry jackson's nicole miller-painted 348 is easy to identify.

a few other american 348 challenge drivers went over as well, and brought their cars, but neither us f355 winner peter sachs nor us 348 series winner george robinson were among them. not bringing his car could have been a blessing or a curse. unlike the us series, in europe lots of drivers race in f355s so the 348s are really outclassed. additionally, the us-spec 348s are even at a disadvantage to the european 348s due to about 200 extra pounds of bumpers and doors. fortunately, ferrari has an f355 car that they use as a loaner and they let derek use it for the weekend.

the american drivers contingent in italy (left to right) - mario bommarito (fna's liason for the americans), phil hill, larry wahl, bruce jamison, derek john hill, paul frame, and rick smith. not pictured are gerry jackson and steve earle.

the racers were grouped into four classes: eastern, western and southern europe, plus an american/japanese class. interestingly, because all the american and japanese competitors had 348s, derek was placed into the south european class. this would put young derek right in the middle of the notoriously aggressive italians.

derek's f355 derek's number 27 loaner f355 at mugello.

before the actual race weekend, the american and japanese competitors were given a chance to practice at the official ferrari test track - fiorano. this was where derek would have to acclimate to his new ride. and acclimate he did. all of the technicians and drivers were skeptical of dereks's abilities at first but after a few orientation laps to the new track and new car, he began whittling down his lap times. by the end of the session he was over 5 seconds faster than every other driver (though they were in 348s remember). remember - this is a kid who, despite his lineage, drove his first car race less than a year ago.

his parents didn't encourage him towards racing and hoped that he'd see "what an idiotic occupation car racing is." it seemed to be working. he began driving carts less than 2 years ago and his dad made certain that he wasn't in a competitive cart, in hopes that he'd get it all out of his system and get a real job. that was until he met andy evans in monterey last year at the fca national meet. andy asked him what he planned to with himself and quiet derek answered as most teenagers do with some sort of "i dunno" answer. andy offered him an opportunity to test drive a kudsu/buick world sports car at phoenix and derek wisely took him up on it. apparently, andy made some sort of side bet with leigh miller that if derek could achieve a predeter

Are You Active?

the following little poem was found in an scca newsletter, written by an unknown author, but it applies especially well to our club. now over 300 members, we seem to see a lot of the same faces at meetings and events.

are you active?
are you an active member
the kind that would be missed
or are you just content that
your name is on the list?

do you attend the meetings>br>and mingle with the crowd
or would you rather stay at home
and complain both long and loud?

do you give a little time
and help to make things click
or leave the work to just a few
and talk about the "clique?"

there's quite a program scheduled
that means success if done
and it can be accomplished
with the help of everyone.

so come to the meetings
and help with hand and heart;
don't just be another member
but take an active part.

think it over, member
are you right or wrong?
are you an active member,
or do you just belong?

Upcoming Events

these are old. click here for a current calendar of events

a new year is already upon us and that means planning a whole new series of events to keep those horses exercised. an "events meeting" was held on october 11th in an effort to assemble together many of the people who have time and/or ideas to offer towards next year's events. included below are the results of that meeting.

we want to continue with some of last year's formats and events - always with the possibility of improvement. we also want to regionalize the events committees so that we may get the most creativity and involvement.

our "general meetings," which really started out as board meetings, have grown to great importance and are the single largest reason for gaining new members. we want to always have these well planned and of interest to the membership and to rotate between regions. normally these happen the last tuesday of the month.

we decided to form groups based on the events rather then strictly by region - that is to say that while there will still be emphasis on creating regional events, it was felt that certain people will be more productive and have greater interest in specific duties. it was a unanimous decision. the new groups are shown below.

events: tom brockmiller
marshall leib
judi givant
don caverhill
cris vandagrif
competition: marv landon
michael lederman
alan woodard
technical: michael lederman
ride and drive: tino mingori
bill inglis
concours and show: wally clark
don west
alan woodard
gourmet and creative dining: judi givant
don caverhill
membership: murrary cogan
matt ettinger
newsletter: jeff littrell
jefflit@microsoft.com
advertising: tbd ?

US Ferrari Challenge Wrap-Up

as the ferrari challenge moved to texas world speedway and the final two events of the season, peter sachs had captured the 355 title, but the 348 class was still unsettled. george robinson was leading, but if derek john hill were to win both races, he would take the championship as well.

on saturday excitement was generated during the testing and practice sessions by two events: the ferrari 333sps entering turn one at 200 mh, and emil assentato spinning in his #96 car and tagging the infield guardrail. emil's car set the grass on fire, which then returned the favor by igniting the car. emil didn't realize his car was burning until joe safina yelled at him on the radio to "get out!!!" joe beat the workers to the scene with his fire extinguisher, earning the "junior fire chief" award. (ironically, within minutes jim kenton also spun through the infield, his car igniting yet another fire in the dry grass.)

it initially appeared that the crash and fire damage would eliminate emil from the event (and from his pursuit of the "best new driver" award), but rich peplin, his main rival, had lost an engine during practice in his #21 car. a lot of discussions, cooperative help from the miller motorcars and ferrari of beverly hills crews (assisted by technicians from at least two other dealerships), and the loan of a hoist from a gts1 team lead to assentato's undamaged engine in peplin's car and an agreement that each driver would compete in one race.

derek john hill and george robinson proved in qualifying that they were completely serious about the race and the title; both out-qualified peter sachs' 355, and were only .05 seconds apart with robinson on the pole. peter passed both 348s soon after the start, but the race, and championship, were decided when derek touched george under braking. robinson spun, giving the 348 lead to hill; his lead was short-lived, as chief steward roger lewis ordered a "stop and go" penalty for derek hill, restoring robinson to the 348 class lead. george's win clinched the 348 championship. peter sachs was the overall winner, and he was joined on the podium by robinson and derek hill and steve earle, second and third in the 348 class.

(one racing hint: after qualifying for saturday's race, four cars were weighed on the official imsa scales. three were found to be from 4 to 13 pounds underweight. while complaints were voiced (with some basis) that the scales were off, the fact remained that they were the official scales. the fourth driver, savvy in the ways of racing, had weighed his car on the official scales before qualifying, an option always available to competitors.)

the finishing order for saturday's race was used to set the grid for sunday, so winners peter sachs and george robinson shared the front row, followed by derek john hill and steve earle. although he had lost the championship, derek clearly intended to take home a win, and he passed both sachs and robinson into turn one to lead the first lap. on lap two, though derek spun in turn two, allowing the entire field to pass him. his drive from dead last back through the field to third overall and second place in the 348 class was one of the outstanding drives of the 1995 series. another exciting battle was the continuation of the season-long fight between paul frame and jim kenton; both had spun on saturday, but on sunday they stayed close throughout the 30 minutes, with paul slightly ahead at the flag.

the 1995 season ended with one of the best races of the year; george's win gave him a perfect 600 points, emil assentato's 11th place finish (with engine problems from his engine in rich peplin's car) assured him of second place - by only 10 points over peplin - in the best new driver standings, and derek john hill clearly demonstrated that he is a driver with a bright future. all-in-all, an exciting and successful season.

as the top places in the championship were settled by the end of the first race on satur

Ferrari Stammtisch

by: ron adams

every month in munich, germany, there is a little known ferrari meeting. it is called a "stammtisch." in german, its translation means "special table for a regular gathering." but here in particular, its meaning changes to "a very neat meeting every month of ferraris and their owners to have dinner."

but what makes this particular ferrari meeting so unusual is that it is not the ferrari club of germany that organizes this, but the local ferrari dealer of munich. yes, the dealer! how did this ever happen? personally, i 'm not quite sure, but as i am told, many years ago, in order to thank customers for their business, the dealer, "sport & tourenwagen", started to have a cocktail party every month in their showroom.

sport & tourenwagen the sport and tourenwagen ferrari dealership in munich - if only the american dealers thought similarly....

as this evolved, the party of wine and cheese turned into a drive from the dealership through the bavarian countryside to dinner. with each new stammtisch, sport & tourenwagen has taken their customers to restaurants at castles, biergartensm or lakeside country inns. and as i look back at my sunset trips through the countryside, they have been the most spectacular ferrari drives i have ever experienced.

needless to say, it didn't take too long for this monthly gathering to attract the attention of ferrari owners from other cities (and dealers). and of course, everyone is invited. these days, a stammtisch during the summer draws upwards of 40-50 ferraris. in the past years, i have seen a variety of ferraris. i have met with bewildered new owners with the latest ferrari has to offer to well known collectors with cars not sold new since the 1950s.

so, every time i plan a trip back to europe, i try my best to hit that second wednesday of every month, even if i drive my rental car at the end of the group.

about the author: ron adams is a ferrari owner, enthusiast, and model car collector. when not at home in arizona, he's often touring the bavarian countryside on one of his frequent trips to germany.

More Web Sites

in last month's issue of sempre ferrari, as well as at the general meeting at microsoft in september, i introduced you to the internet's world wide web. this month, i've included addresses (or urls) for some more ferrari-related sites.

most importantly, however, sempre ferrari is on the net! as a sample and test for the fca, i've put together the beginnings of an internet presence for the fca. it includes general club information, details on the various regions, an area for prancing horse, information on the current ferrari models, and (of course) sempre ferrari online. you can find issues from july of this year. they differ from the printed version in that the pictures are color, there are sometimes more pictures, and the online version is available long before the printed version hits your mailbox. this may change in the future, so as not to cannibalize membership, but for now that's the way it is. let me know what you think.

http://www.bhs.com/fca the ferrari club of america (in test)
http://www.autoweek.com autoweek magazine
http://www.sover.net/~hemmings/hmn.html hemmings antique motor news
http://www.ftech.net/~t-rac/ t-rac- autoracing accessories and motorsport equipment
http://www.tnnet.com/thoroughbred/home.htm wholesale car parts
http://www.eng.hawaii.edu/contribs/carina/f1/profiles/alesi.html jean alesi career profile
http://www.nettuno.it/italsel/ferr_ing.htm ferrari f1 on cd-rom
http://www.imsaracing.com/fc/fc.home.html ferrari challenge
http://www.usbusiness.com/exotic-lit.html maranello literature, ltd
http://www.laguna-seca.com/ laguna seca raceway
http://mailserver.hillandknowlton.com/ferrari/ferrari1.html shell sponsorship of ferrari f1
http://www.interactive.line.com/nicole/ferrari1.html nicole miller ferrari pages
http://www.nando.net/newsroom/sports/oth/1995/oth/car/feat/car.html racing news
http://www.webcom.com/autodir/ all things automotive directory

Virginia City Hillclimb Report

the virginia city hillclimb is one of those rare, special phenomenon in life that represents a throwback to a simpler, less litigious time. a regular and cherished occurrence for over 20 years now, the hillclimb combines tradition with technology to make something truly unique. take an old wild-west gold rush town that needs tourist revenue, place it on a 5 mile stretch of old road, mix it with local charites, spice it up with high-horsepower, and stir with a bunch of crazy car owners and viola! - you have the virginia city hillclimb, the fca pacific region's most cherished event.

virginia city resides atop a hill just outside carson city in nevada. the town used to be accessed via a five mile stretch of road that switches back and forth up the hill with over 20 less than 35 mph turns. nowadays, there is a new road, called gold hill, that is much more direct but not nearly as fun. the existence of this alternative by-way, however, allows the local police to shutdown the old road to let adrenaline-seeking ferrari owners bonsai up it for time and then cool back down gold hill at a more reasonable 35 mph for attempt after attempt. this year's event occurred september 30th and october 1st.

saturday morning started with the annual o.b. challenge foot race up the hillclimb course. bill canihan won the race with a time of 43:10 up the 5.2 mile uphill course. it was a beautiful day for racing - clear and 68 degrees with a light breeze and all the participants were raring to go. first, the virginia city chamber of commerce requested a parade of the hillclimb participants through the town, complete with numbers and stickers on the cars. townspeople cheered and waved as we went by and the parade ended at the bottom of the hill.

the driver's meeting started with a reminder of how special an event this is and, after a late start, the hillclimb got underway. the event ran smoothly and everyone got a few practice runs to familiarize themselves with the hill before the timed runs on sunday.

at the end of the day a car show was organized that included both the shelbys and the ferraris. this was followed by a banquet at the delta saloon which featured a "comstock style" buffet, complete with barbecue ribs, roasted chicken and chili. a full day was topped off by line dancing that was enjoyed by all.

sunday was another beautiful, clear sunny day about 72 degrees. the day went smoothly and everyone got plenty of runs. i was able to beat my previous best time of 4:08 with a time of four minutes flat. best of all, ferrari emerged victorious when amir rosenbaum took the hill this year with a time of 3:29. unfortunately, we also had the dubious honor of a 456 gt sauntering up the hill in almost six minutes, putting a firm lock on last place as well.

another tradition of the hillclimb is the sunday night awards banquet. here, class ribbons are given out for 3rd place and up. the big wheel award, which is given out for the largest screw-up of the weekend, was won this year by a shelby club member for his spectacular spinout. as tradition dictates, he had to ride the big wheel across the stage in front of everyone at the banquet.

but the real fun was amir rosenbaum. he is known for his hilarious commentary from the stage at the banquets but this year he was in rare form, slicing into the blue-collar shelby owners without mercy. the shelby club attempted a pathetic rebuttal but failed. you had to have been there - and hopefully next year you will!

results of ferraris at the 1995 fca virginia city hillclimb

1 amir rosenbaum 512 tr 3:29.87
6 frank adams 348 tb 3:44.09
12 steve westrate f355 3:49.91
14 bob teal 308 gts 3:52.00
15 joe reitmeir 308 gt/4 3:52.29
19 william dussell 308 gtbi 3:54.97
21 william canihan 308 gtsi 3:55.63
22 jeff garrett 308 gt/4 3:56.40
23 jim condon 365 gt4 bb 3:57.12
24 johannes huwyler 308 gt/4 3:58.65
26 gary s

Oldtimer's Corner - Goldoni Part II

by: ed niles

after roberto goldoni and i realized that we could have some fun and make a little money bringing cars to the us from italy, we cranked up the volume. soon, we were importing 3 to 5 cars a year from italy (mostly rome), and re-selling them in the us. we were accomplishing all this on a very modest budget, so there were times when we were simply unable financially to take advantage of an opportunity.

my activities created some criticism as well as modest envy. criticism came in the form of a sharp letter from mrs. otto zipper (remember, otto was one of the early los angeles ferrari dealers), who accused me of taking advantage of my position as membership chairman in the foc to sell ferraris, thus cutting into some potential profit of the zipper family.

but some of my friends saw that i was having a good time, and wanted to get into the act. one such friend was gordon culp, a young engineer, inventor, butterfly collector, and world class classical guitarist from the san fernando valley. gordon, in his way, was a real renaissance man, with many and varied interests. but understanding the practicalities of the real world apparently was not his long suit. let's just say he was left-brain challenged.

it happened this way: goldoni told me about a most unusual ferrari which was for sale in rome, and because i did not have the resources, i asked gordon if he was interested. he responded with an enthusiastic affirmative, asking me to tell goldoni to put a deposit on the car. after goldoni had done so, gordon went to his bank to borrow the money to complete the purchase. the first question out of the banker's mouth was, "do you have a california pink slip?" gordon's face fell. for the first time, he realized that he might not be able to complete the purchase.

if gordon was dejected, goldoni was heart-sick! he had made a substantial deposit on the car with his own funds, on my assurance that gordon was well known to me and reliable! i was in the middle. what to do? what to do?

i scrambled around among my friends, and when i got ahold of dick merritt, i hit the jackpot! merritt said he had a partner, gary wales, who could raise the money for a car. together, they ended up buying the car, and saving my fannie, not to mention goldoni's.

the car in question was already well-known in europe. its serial number is 2819 gt, which tells us that it started life as a "comp 61" short wheel-base berlinetta. the car ran, in its original configuration, in the 1961 tour de france, coming in second overall with gendebien and bianchi, after which it was sold to count giovanni volpe's scuderia sss (or serenisima) and under his ownership it came in 3rd. overall in the montlhery 1000 kilometers with trintignant and vaccarella.

1961 will be remembered as the year of the "palace uprising" at ferrari. some of the top engineering people were unhappy with uncle enzo, partly as a result of his refusal to consider a mid-engined gt car, and left, along with world champion driver phil hill, to form ats (automobili turismo e sport). because volpe was one of the backers of ats, he suddenly found himself on that well-known list at ferrari, unable to complete the purchase of a second 250 gto for competition in the 1962 season (he had purchased 3445 gt through some friends).

since ing. g. bizzarrini was one of the top engineers who left ferrari for ats, and since count volpe was both the owner of scuderia sss and a major backer of ats, it was only natural that volpe and bizzarrini would put their heads together and "remanufacture" 2819 gt. bizzarrini, with the help of neri and bonacini for the mechanical work and several other modena craftsmen for the body work, disassembled 2819, fabricated a dry sump system for the engine, moved the engine further back and lower in the chassis, and replaced the three carburetor manifold with 6 carburetors. when the mods were completed, the engine was essentially th

Original Ferrari Art - Phil Hill and Enzo circa 1960

phil and enzo
phil hill and enzo ferrari circa 1960.
original artwork graciously contributed by member dave maestrejuan (714) 529-9341..

Buying an Older Ferrari - Part 2

last month chris was contemplating blowing part of his new inheritance on a 330 gt 2+2 (s/n 8679), and was having john bagioli of fiorano motors check it out....

friday afternoon i got the first of several reports from john. he had checked out the car but not yet driven it. compression check shows a range from 145 psi to 125 psi. not bad considering the age of the car; a range of 10psi is preferable. some of the spark plug wires have the wrong style terminal on the end; easily remedied.

there's something wrong with the water pump. on this car, the pump is down low on the front plate, driven by the crankshaft. the impeller (which drives the water) is sealed away from the rest of the engine to avoid intermingling of the oil and water. there is a "weep hole" in the pump, where the beginnings of leaking water will appear. this hole has been epoxied up on the car - the question is why.

john found some water in the oil. he mentioned it to andy, who ventured that it could be condensation from the car not having been driven much. fine, they drained the oil and refilled with new; he wants to put 20-30 miles on the car and check the oil again. if no water, great. if some water, the pump needs to be investigated; if it's not the pump, it might be head gasket (big bucks).

there is some damage to the front subframe; nothing major, could be repaired for $300-400. might be connected with the bent-up lower front valence i noticed.

the center donut in the driveshaft needs to be replaced. someone apparently had it out and didn't put all the safety cotter pins in properly; it sounds like it's not possible to just put the pins in. don't fully understand this. the left rear spring shackle has something screwy with it, but it mostly needs to be adjusted, not replaced. the steering box leaks oil, no big surprise on a car this age. there's some gear oil dripping from the right side of the differential.

the gas tank has been welded up; there was some water near it, but not fuel; he thought that there might be a water leak there and the car had just been washed. doesn't seem to be a hazard, he'll check it again.

the car has been sprayed with undercoating but he saw no apparent frame damage. rear suspension is in ok shape; bushings are old but good, probably original with 70k miles of wear. the wheels need to be repainted - they were painted improperly such that the silver paint is not sticking to the aluminum (we noticed this). the front suspension could use a rebuild, but there's no hurry; it won't fall off but it's worth starting to accumulate parts for.

the radiator is bulging, but not leaking; this might be related to the bent up subframe and valence. clutch slave cylinder is leaking and needs to be rebuilt. right wheel bearing should be repacked and adjusted.

a/c blows freely and cold. left window doesn't work. handbrake cable isn't attached properly. brake pads are new, tires are new, rotors are ok. hoses seem in good shape.

john's biggest concern was the water pump. he suggests that it needs that, a good tune up, new valve cover gaskets (to avoid most of the oil leakage), the center donut and the clutch slave cylinder. down the road, fix the terminals on the spark plugs, paint the wheels and rebuild the front suspension. he rates it as a likely decent driver (not having driven it) but that it's a long way from winning a concours... which is just what we were looking for.

that evening, i heard from him after he'd driven it. he said that they roared around, the car pulled strongly to 5500 in all gears (!), and there was no water in the oil. car didn't overheat; even at idle, temp never went above 90 celsius. a little bit of timing chain noise, a tick from the left bank, some blowby at the oil filler cap, but no smoke out the exhaust.

steering was very stiff, and he suspected that the steering box needs to be rebuilt. since that was apart, the front suspension should be done,

Formula One Update

the 1995 title may have been decided at the european grand prix in germany as michael schumacher drove to a terrific win, taking alesi in controversial fashion on the penultimate lap.

on race day there had been overnight rain and the track was damp for the race. for the race all but two teams elected to fit wet tires. the two teams were ferrari and mclaren, believing that the slicks would be an advantage after 10 or so laps.

so it was. on lap 11 there was less than a second between the top 3 cars and the tides had now completely changed. jean alesi set the fastest lap in 4th place spurring the williams and benetton pits into action. on the next lap hill and schumacher ducked into the pits, hill taking 9.5 seconds and schumacher 6.6. the only front runner who had not stopped was coulthard who pitted the next lap, 9.6 seconds. all of this meant that alesi was in the lead now.

on lap 21 there was a massive scrap for 2nd and 3rd places. coulthard was being hounded by schumacher, who was being harassed by hill. coulthard slid a bit and that was enough to let schumacher through into second place, hill followed on lap 22. berger also took coulthard but pitted on the same lap, hand raised in air. rejoining 5th, just ahead of irvine.

hill started a charge against schumacher on lap 30, setting the fastest lap just as alesi entered traffic. alesi made his pit stop on lap 34 taking 14 seconds and rejoining in 1st with a 5 second lead. schumacher also pitted taking 7.7 seconds. hill instantly started playing catch up with alesi - by lap 40 he was 1/2 a second behind. but schumacher, in 4th, was now lapping a second a lap quicker than hill after he had pitted. coulthard pitted on lap 40 taking 12 seconds and coming out in 4th, schumacher now in 3rd.

disaster struck for hill on lap 41. trying to take alesi at the chicanne he went onto the grass and his front wing was torn off. he slowly struggled into the pits for a stop taking 32 seconds. berger also pitted - to retire, as ferraris seem to do so often now.

schumacher really wanted the win now and started a charge after he pitted on lap 53. scattering fastest laps. his championship rival hill made a mistake on lap 59, his car mounting the curb and spinning off into the tire wall at over 100 mph. schumacher was gaining on alesi, who was on much older tires. on lap 64 schumacher drew alongside alesi, alesi made him back off but schumacher forced his way through. this was the penultimate lap and schumacher went on to win the race. we got second.

the final finishing order was: schumacher, alesi, coulthard, barrichello, herbert, irvine.

formula 1 standings

Physics of Racing - Part 4: No Centrifugal Force

part 4: there is no such thing as centrifugal force

by: brian beckman

one often hears of "centrifugal force." this is the apparent force that throws you to the outside of a turn during cornering. if there is anything loose in the car, it will immediately slide to the right in a left hand turn, and vice versa. perhaps you have experienced what happened to me once. i had omitted to remove an empty pepsi can hidden under the passenger seat. during a particularly aggressive run (something for which i am not unknown), this can came loose, fluttered around the cockpit for a while, and eventually flew out the passenger window in the middle of a hard left hand corner.

i shall attempt to convince you, in this month's article, that centrifugal force is a fiction, and a consequence of the fact first noticed just over three hundred years ago by newton that objects tend to continue moving in a straight line unless acted on by an external force.

when you turn the steering wheel, you are trying to get the front tires to push a little sideways on the ground, which then pushes back, by newton's third law. when the ground pushes back, it causes a little sideways acceleration. this sideways acceleration is a change in the sideways velocity. the acceleration is proportional to the sideways force, and inversely proportional to the mass of the car, by newton's second law. the sideways acceleration thus causes the car to veer a little sideways, which is what you wanted when you turned the wheel. if you keep the steering and throttle at constant positions, you will continue to go mostly forwards and a little sideways until you end up where you started. in other words, you will go in a circle. when driving through a sweeper, you are going part way around a circle. if you take skid pad lessons (highly recommended), you will go around in circles all day.

if you turn the steering wheel a little more, you will go in a tighter circle, and the sideways force needed to keep you going is greater. if you go around the same circle but faster, the necessary force is greater. if you try to go around too fast, the adhesive limit of the tires will be exceeded, they will slide, and you will not stick to the circular path - you will not "make it."

from the discussion above, we can see that in order to turn right, for example, a force, pointing to the right, must act on the car that veers it away from the straight line it naturally tries to follow. if the force stays constant, the car will go in a circle. from the point of view of the car, the force always points to the right. from a point of view outside the car, at rest with respect to the ground, however, the force points toward the center of the circle. from this point of view, although the force is constant in magnitude, it changes direction, going around and around as the car turns, always pointing at the geometrical center of the circle. this force is called centripetal, from the greek for "center seeking." the point of view on the ground is privileged, since objects at rest from this point of view feel no net forces. physicists call this special point of view an inertial frame of reference. the forces measured in an inertial frame are, in a sense, more correct than those measured by a physicist riding in the car. forces measured inside the car are biased by the centripetal force.

inside the car, all objects, such as the driver, feel the natural inertial tendency to continue moving in a straight line. the driver receives a centripetal force from the car through the seat and the belts. if you don't have good restraints, you may find yourself pushing with your knee against the door and tugging on the controls in order to get the centripetal force you need to go in a circle with the car. it took me a long time to overcome the habit of tugging on the car in order to stay put in it. i used to come home with bruises on my left knee from pushing hard a

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for sale: 1984 400i. black on black. automatic, 16,211 miles. private collection. excellent condition, maintained weekly. call evenings. jason (818) 353-8536.

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