Rotary valve engines: the F1 V10 that Penske’s engine shop built and the FIA banned
Rotary valve engines: in 2004 the FIA banned a V10 head built with Ilmor, the shop Penske funded. A century of oil-soaked plugs and one Spanish win.
FIA
MA-FIA 7
MA-FIA Chapter VII: Balance of Performance, or how to punish the kid who did their homework Chris Harris once said that the best motor racing is the kind where the best car, driven by the best driver, wins. Old-school logic. The kind of thing Clarkson would nod at while James May rolled his eyes. Here’s … Read more
MA-FIA VI
MA-FIA Chapter VI: When Being American Isn’t Enough This article is part of the investigative series “La Mafia de la FIA” by Not Enough Cylinders, documenting the structural failures of international motorsport governance. The 2,500-Car Wall To compete in IMSA’s GTP class, a manufacturer must produce more than 2,500 vehicles per year for worldwide sale. … Read more
MA-FIA V
F1 Academy, the Golden Cage There’s nothing more insulting than being gifted something you’d already earned. In 1975, Lella Lombardi scored points in a Formula 1 Grand Prix. Not in a women’s category. Not in a parallel championship. In the same Spanish Grand Prix where men risked their lives every Sunday. Sixth place. Half a … Read more
MA-FIA IV
MA-FIA IV: The Stolen Spectacle — Everything the FIA Took from You that You Should Never Have Lost 1,200 track limit infringements in a single Grand Prix. V10s at 19,000 rpm silenced by hybrid vacuum cleaners. Refuelling banned so the winner is now whoever exits the single pit stop first. And when drivers asked for … Read more
MA-FIA III
MA-FIA III: The Price of Racing — How the FIA Turned Motorsport into a Billionaire’s Theme Park €50,000 a year for your 8-year-old to race karts. €1.3 million per season in F3. Nearly a million for a rally car you can’t buy. And if you make it to F1, over a million euros just for … Read more
MA-FIA II: The e-Fuels Lobby
MA-FIA II: The e-Fuels Lobby — How F1 Became Saudi Arabia’s Trojan Horse 35 barrels a day of “sustainable” fuel. 9 million barrels a day of crude oil. And a PR machine lobbying the European Parliament so you can’t buy a petrol car in 2035… while they keep pumping oil until the end of time. … Read more