More money than skill-Page 2: Grassroots Motorsports forum: Grassroots Motorsports Magazine

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May 9, 2011 10:30 a.m. Tyler H Dork

I don't begrudge people for having money and nice toys. I was just discussing this topic with a buddy at the track last weekend. What would we do if we had some of the FU money that some of those guys had? Personally, I probably wouldn't track an ultra fast car because I enjoy pushing a car on the track, and a supercar has to be driven at ludicrous speed to push it...those stakes are too high for my taste and just a hair beyond my ability.

If I had FU money: I would want a nicely balanced, light, 250-300hp track car and a good tow rig. Then I would buy some nice vintage cars to have something shiny to putt around town in.

I would say there is a positive correlation, per capita, to driving ability and money. Not because they have money, but because they are afforded more opportunity to get on track and get experience. The paddock talk at the track this weekend was all about the GTR that went into the wall at CMP, not the Subaru that stuffed it in the same weekend.
May 9, 2011 10:48 a.m. Travis_K SuperDork

i think that the common theme here is that people who do burnouts on the street are idiots. If the guy driving the Koenig manhood enhancement edition Ferrari had just driven around the corner like everyone else did he wouldnt have driven into the side of the Mercedes. Same with the other video of the silver one almost hitting a group of people standing to the side of the road. Or the video of the GTO hit and run that was posted a few years ago. Or the guy wildly flailing his GTO all over the freeway at 90 mph that came within about a foot of clipping my rear bumper (while i was in the far right lane) last week.
May 9, 2011 10:50 a.m. TR8owner Reader

In reply to Tyler H:

If you look at those videos these drivers are not wiping out on a track at high speed. They're spinning doing basic things such as rounding a slow corner or spinning off in a strait line while under acceleration. I'd suspect these guys have very limited experience with any kind of motorspost or fast driving but all of a sudden probably decided they wanted to buy a Ferrari as a status symbol. Its like putting a Cessna pilot behind a fighter jet without proper training.

I don't begrudge anybody who has the means to buy a Ferrari, but personally, if that was me in those youtube videos, I'd feel more than just a bit embarrassed, but I'll bet some of these guys still just don't get it.
May 9, 2011 11:20 a.m. pinchvalve SuperDork

Joshua wrote:

There is a direct correlation between the amount of money you have and your driving ability.

Cold. Hard. Fact.

Joshua might have a point. When you're broke, you are always driving around in crappy little econoboxes or old tanks. Their limits are so low that you can safely drive at 10/10th all the time. Plus you're always late for work or the welfare line or being chased by the cops, so you have a lot of experience in driving fast.

When you have money, you buy cars with much higher limits, and your chauffeured lifestyle hasn't prepared you for it.
May 9, 2011 1:16 p.m. dculberson Reader

captainzib wrote:

404 Crash Not Found.

All I saw was a spin.

It's a pretty low res video, but he did hit the parked Mercedes. You can see the Merc move from the impact.
May 10, 2011 8:31 p.m. MrBenjamonkey HalfDork

ransom wrote:

I think what chafes about some of these supercar incidents as opposed to some dork curbing a Paseo is that the irresponsibility is combined with waste and yes, probably a smattering of jealousy.

If you can afford to drive a Ferrari and only drive it at 6/10ths if that's where your skill level is, fine. The problems start arising when you drive at 8/10ths and only have the skill for 7/10ths, and the fallout can affect other people. I guess that's where it starts to bug me a little. If you only have the skill to tootle along, what were you doing before you had Ferrari money? Why did you go out and buy a Ferrari if you had so little interest in driving up to this point?

I guess that part is kinda like what keeps me from picking up a Gretsch Anniversary in smoke green. If I made it a priority, I could buy one these days. But apart from having to give up other purchases, one of the main arguments against it in my head is that I'm just not that good a guitarist, and I would be a bit embarrassed to have it. I may yet do it, and it'd probably bring me some joy, but even if I play it badly, I'm not going to destroy it or hurt anybody...

Man, that was rambley... If you can afford a 1300hp Lambo, and it'll bring you joy, go for it. But there's something sad and irritating about an object of such beauty being treated in a manner that suggests the owner doesn't really appreciate what they have, either in terms of respecting or enjoying its raison d'etre...

The other part also is just being ostentatious. As a metaphor, I have much more respect for a beautiful woman who dresses one or two notches less revealing than she could get away with than a not so beautiful woman who dresses several notches more sexy than she should.

Same thing with cars, people who buy Ferraris want everybody to look at them. If they're the driving equivalent of fat chicks, it's really no surprise that people resent/mock them.
May 11, 2011 1:37 a.m. Joshua Reader

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:

Joshua wrote:

There is a direct correlation between the amount of money you have and your driving ability.

Cold. Hard. Fact.

Most professional racing drivers were rich enough to race cars so I'm not really sure which way you were going with that.

Per capita... I bet Ferrari owners are no worse than the average performance car buyer... it's just that nobody takes a picture of a wrecked Suzuki Swift and post pictures to Facebook with captions like "Rich kid can't drive".

I meant it half as a joke, OBVIOUSLY racing drivers are a huge exception. The last time a Ferrari showed up at our local autocross it DNF'd every single run. I know a guy who lapped an R8 and a GTR 3 times at his last track day in an e36 M3.

I meant that usually the people who spend tons of money on an outrageous car do so to be noticed, they rarely take the time to learn how to drive/handle that car because it's not what they bought it for. In their minds it's not important.
May 11, 2011 8:32 a.m. Duke SuperDork

Joshua wrote:

I know a guy who lapped an R8 and a GTR 3 times at his last track day in an e36 M3.

While I completely agree with your fundamental point, let me play devil's advocate here:

Who had more to lose in a shunt, the guys driving 2-year-old, $150,000 cars or your friend in the 15-year-old, $15,000 car? That just might have made a difference in how hard they were willing to push.
May 11, 2011 9:14 a.m. Strike_Zero HalfDork

If he lapped them 3 times . . . it appears that someone was in the wrong group; unless it was an open track day.
May 11, 2011 9:54 a.m. Giant Purple Snorklewacker SuperDork

Strike_Zero wrote:

If he lapped them 3 times . . . it appears that someone was in the wrong group; unless it was an open track day.

But...but... but.... he won the HPDE!
May 11, 2011 11:07 a.m. Strike_Zero HalfDork

That is hilarious . . .