Villeneuve to drive for USF1 next year ?

[xpensive]

Point is that single brains can only do so much without the industrial infrastructure.

Relocate Adrian Newey and his team to the Carolinas and he would still be nowhere.

[Professor]

http://www.nccommerce.com/en/BusinessSe ... #Resource1

Aerospace Industry
• Boeing, General Dynamics, GE, L-3 Communications, Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman and Raytheon. There are nearly 200 companies in North Carolina that supply the aerospace industry by manufacturing products ranging from carbon and graphite products to fabricated metal products

The strengths of North Carolina's Automotive cluster include:
• Home to several leading truck manufacturers including Daimler, Mack and Volvo Trucks
• Home to the headquarters of two leading bus manufacturers - Daimler and Thomas Built Buses
• Home to leading heavy equipment manufacturers including Caterpillar and John Deere
• Home to leading racing and motor sports teams including 82% of Sprint Cup Teams, 72% of Nationwide Series Teams and 55% of Craftsman Truck Series Teams
North Carolina’s auto workers perform a variety of jobs for major manufacturers:
• Assemble school and transit buses for Thomas Built Buses.
• Manufacture heavy duty trucks for Daimler Trucks, formerly Freightliner.
• Build transmissions for AW North Carolina Inc.
• Produce construction machinery for Caterpillar.
• Make suspension components for ZF Lemforder.
• Assemble small engines for lawn mowers and power equipment for Honda Power Equipment Manufacturing.
• Manufacture power train equipment for Getrag Corp.
• Design high-performance race vehicles for NASCAR championship winners.

North Carolina has the third largest biotechnology industry in the nation with more than 520 bioscience companies, contract research organizations and device and life science-related companies. More than 56,000 workers, with skill sets ranging from bioprocess technicians to Ph.Ds including some are employed by this sector. Among the state’s largest biotech and pharmaceutical firms are GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Bayer, Biogen IDEC, Diosynth, Novo Nordisk, Wyeth and Baxter.

[Professor]

More than 550 U.S. and international companies in North Carolina provide a solid base for manufacturing materials, equipment, parts and molds. Our innovative and growing polymers industry stakes claims to:
• The seventh largest plastics manufacturing state in the nation for shipments.
• The eighth largest in plastics industry employment in the nation.
• Plastic and rubber is third largest export industry in North Carolina.
• Chemicals is sixth largest export industry in the state.

Alcatel, Americhem DuPont, GE-Polymerland, INVISTA, Kimberly Clark, Owens-Illinois, Southeastern Container, Southern Film Extruders and Wellman are among the state’s largest plastic, rubber and chemical related facilities.

IBM has its largest IT presence in the world in North Carolina. Cisco's second largest campus is in Research Triangle Park, and Microsoft's second largest domestic presence is in Charlotte. Other major players that have been drawn by North Carolina’s knowledge workers are:
• Cree
• Dell
• Google
• Lenovo
• Red Hat
• RFMD
• SAS

Specialized resources provide an atmosphere for innovation including:

• Nine research universities with three excellent engineering schools.
• The North Carolina Technology Association dedicated to growing and strengthening the IT industry.
• The Charlotte Research Institute located on the UNC-Charlotte Campus.
• The North Carolina Council for Entrepreneurial Development founded to stimulate the creation and growth of high impact companies.

[Professor]

• AAR manufactures specialized cargo systems designed for military aircraft in Goldsboro
• Antilles Seaplane LLC is developing the tooling and infrastructure needed to manufacture a completely new G-21 series
“Goose” seaplane – the only commercially viable, multi-engine amphibian available anywhere in the world – in Gibsonville
• ATI Allvac supplies specialty metals and alloys used in the aerospace and defense, chemical processing, oil and gas, and
electrical energy industries at its facilities in Monroe
• B/E Aerospace, Inc., the world’s leading manufacturer of cabin interior products for commercial passenger aircraft and
business jets, has a manufacturing facility in Winston-Salem
• Cessna operates a Citation Service Center at the Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro – one of only 10 in the
world – and offers airframe and engine maintenance, inspection and repair capabilities
• Commerce Overseas Corporation manufactures and supplies aerospace parts for US military aircraft from its Kinston facility
• Curtiss-Wright Controls manufactures aircraft parts including gears, transmissions and electrical triggering devices at its
Shelby facility
• DRS Technologies, a worldwide supplier of integrated products, services and support to military forces, intelligence agencies
and prime contractors, manufacturers and supports a broad range of systems for mission critical and military sustainment
requirements in its Elizabeth City facility
• FedEx will open a mid-Atlantic hub at the Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro in June 2009, which will be served
by 20-25 aircraft each day
• General Electric manufactures jet engines in Durham and Wilmington and remanufactures parts in West Jefferson
• Goodrich, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Charlotte, operates a major repair and remanufacturing operation in Monroe
• Honda Aero Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Honda Motor Co. Ltd., will establish its headquarters and jet engine
manufacturing operations at the Burlington-Alamance Regional Airport
• Honda Aircraft Company will build its new HondaJet in Greensboro
• Honeywell manufactures mechanical aircraft parts and equipment in Rocky Mount
• Kidde Aerospace and Defense makes aircraft and vehicle re protection and suppression systems in its Wilson facility
• Leistritz Advanced Turbine Components, Inc. manufactures turbines and turbine generators in its facility in Rural Hall
• Liquip International manufactures refueling equipment in Reidsville
• Moog Components Group, manufactures electronics and communications equipment, for industries including aerospace,
in Murphy
• Spirit AeroSystems Inc., the world’s largest independent supplier of commercial airplane assemblies and components, will
open a manufacturing plant at the Global TransPark in Kinston
• Synoptics, located in Charlotte, is a business unit of Northrop Grumman Space Technology and an industry leader in the
manufacture of solid-state laser materials and components
• TCOM operates the only Lighter-Than-Air (LTA) company in the world with a facility devoted to aerostat and airship manufacture,
assembly, ight test and training operations in Elizabeth City
• TIMCO Aviation Services, Inc., the largest independent commercial jet maintenance, repair, modi cation and overhaul service
provider in North America, is headquartered in Greensboro
• Triumph Actuation Systems makes hydraulics and pumps for jets at its engineering and technology center in Clemmons
• Turbomeca, a French company that makes helicopter engines, has its rst US manufacturing plant in Monroe
• Unison Engine Components manufactures turbine engine components in Asheville

[Professor]

Point is that single brains can only do so much without the industrial infrastructure.

Relocate Adrian Newey and his team to the Carolinas and he would still be nowhere.

I may be wrong, as I am just a Red Neck, but that seems to be adequete industrial infrastructure.

[DaveKillens]

I was very sceptical about USF1 when they first popped up on the radar screen. All too often I have seen teams making all kinds of wildly optomistic claims only to fall well short of their stated goals.
But over the months, USF1 has proven that they are serious about competing in Formula One. In fact, they tried to get in the hard way, before the door was swung wide open when Max announced an increase of teams for 2010. So they are slowly earning my respect.
Truth is, Jacques is really hurting for a serious ride. He's tried a lot of different racing series, but nothing has worked out. So for him to be able to get back into Formula One for the third time is something he craves. I believe his salary requirements are much lower than they once were. He needs to drive, teams don't need him, supply and demand, he has to accept any reasonable offer or a replacement will be found.
From USF1's perspective, it makes sense. For a start-up team, having a driver with experience is a valuable asset. Just look at the contribution David Coulthard did for Red Bull. So although it's foolish to assume Villeneuve can be as relevant as Coulthard was, his experience at this time and place is important and invaluable.
Yes, he's not a citizen of the USA, but on the surface he's close. His name is recognizable, and for the US fans, being Canadian is more acceptable than being, for example, from France.
Yes, Jacques did win his WDC in a vastly superior car. But then again, so did Mario Andretti. So did Damon Hill, Jody Schekter, Nigel Mansell, and even Michael Schumacher won a few titles with a superior car.
Right now, it's a decent fit to marry USF1 and Jacques together because despite his negative aspects, he will contribite to this team that neds to learn a lot.

I am a firm believer that there is ample people with the required skills and talents in the USA to make USF1 a success.

Of course Jacques' best days are behind him, and I consider it very unrealistic to expect him to even win a race. But I think he's still good enough to participate in the big show.

[xpensive]

My most serious apologies professor, it seems this area has developed considerably since I was frequenting the same area back in 1997. With this most impressive list of high-tech companies, USGPE should be in good shape for 2010.

Having said that, I still believe that Koenigsegg-Saab will kick their asses in 2011.

[DaveKillens]

Bit of a twist to the plot suddenly, it appears Wurtz is on USF1's list of experienced drivers.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsp ... 167410.stm

Peter Windsor told BBC Sport he was aiming to employ an experienced driver and an American rising star when his new team make their debut next season.

"We have spoken to Alex," he said. "Any new team coming into Formula 1 needs to look at drivers with experience.

"Alex Wurz could perhaps be able to operate at our rate of learning."

So if Jacques is stating he has a ride next year in Formula One, which team, or is he just blowing smoke up our butts?

[natef1]

Well, Jacques sucks, so it wouldn't surprise me if he blows.

sorry, cheap shot

[Professor]

it seems this area has developed considerably since I was frequenting the same area back in 1997. With this most impressive list of high-tech companies, USGPE should be in good shape for 2010.

Having said that, I still believe that Koenigsegg-Saab will kick their asses in 2011.

They will still have the same struggles getting to the grid as anyone else, and their success will be slow coming, if at all. Bur Charlotte is as good a place as any in the US to make that attempt.

Wurtz, if teamed with someone like Alex Rossi, would probably meet the team's objectives. American's don't really care about nationality when it comes to drivers. Castroneves, Montoya, Villeneuve, Dario, Papas, Kannan, etc. were all readily accepted by the American race fans. Mario Andretti was born in Italy.

[natef1]

Windsor today said he thought the team could get points next year.

:^o

[Professor]

Windsor today said he thought the team could get points next year.

:^o

That sounds a little like craig Pollock, and we all know how that turned out!

[xpensive]

With potentially 26 cars on the grid next year, while considering the reliability of today's cars, every point will be a struggle for everyone. No luck-ins anymore I guess.

[Professor]

The team from Charlotte (I too do not like USF1 as a team name. Nationalism has no place in the modern order)will not score points unless something unusual happens, like the FIA penalizing 18 cars and drivers.

They can build a car, but they will not do anything unique with their chassis, and can only hope to avoid embarassing themselves and their believers. I am a fan, but not a believer. I do expect them to produce a reasonably good first generation car.

The other suspect element is Cossie (owned by Americans). Who has any idea of the strength or weakness of their lump? We will see.

My frustration comes from those who think that the midlands of England is the only technology centre on the planet that can produce race cars. They have done great work over the years, but to conclude that a team will fail if they are located in North Carolina is narrow minded. They may fail, but for every success from the Midlands, there are 3 failures.

It is tiresome to hear the anti-american rants. I am not the government, and only 50.2% voted for Mr. Bush. Half did not support him. Please do not lump us all together and regard us vis a vis our government.

You can hate American government interference in the world, but that has nothing to do with me or the F1 team from Charlotte.

[ISLAMATRON]

For the people, by the people... isnt it?