I love all racing; it's like women, dangerous but with fewer choices.
My true passion is road racing in all its' permutations from autocross to rally to sports cars and F1, with participants ranging from the rankest of amateurs to the pinnacles of professionalism. The two-wheeled versions also hit my hot buttons.
Yeah, it's a problem that I can live with.
It's interesting that many want to be there to watch the race instead of watching it on TV, but I find the best race experience comes from watching it on TV. At most tracks you can't keep up with the action in person.
That's not to say I don't like to be there in person, I really love that, but it's more that I love the racing feel and the action and I can appreciate it the most when I don't care about the outcome or when I've got the race recorded so I can see the results when I get home.
I have absolutely zero interest in F1. The cars and drivers may be incredible performers, but they don't even make coherent sense as cars any more. You can't look at them and get your head around them at all.
And, frankly, once you get over the sheer velocity, the racing itself is dull as ditchwater.
I watch anything that isn't an oval.
I like road racing, so I've been watching:
ALMS
Grand Am Rolex
Grand Am Continental Tire
Pirelli World Challenge
Of the 75 motorsports I regularly watch F1 ranks right there at 100.
I'm a big F1 fan. Even go to races.
While the whole race may be better seen on TV, there are some things that are worth seeing live.
TV does not do justice to Spa.
Being at Monza when a Ferrari wins is pretty interesting (and I'm no F fan).
The sounds are cool once, but you can't deal with them w/o some protection- it's just painfully pearcing.
I do watch ALMS, DP, IndyCar, BTCC, WTCC, all of the US sub series, etc. But I would consider that Daytona and LeMans are the only races that catch my attention so much that I'll get up early to see what is going on, like I do F1.
These days, I kinda follow the Corvette Racing guys. As in, if I recall I'll check on the web to see how they did. As for the rest of it? Waste of space and time in my book.
I understand why some people don't watch F1 for the racing. But, for the record, close wheel-to-wheel racing has rarely been a constant in F1's history.
Fact is, racing is only part of the show; the technical challenges and the engineering used to explore (and exploit) those challenges have always been part of the allure. While no fan of the rules evolution, marching back in time won't do much to decrease the gap between the have's and have not's.
Losers are gonna lose and haters are gonna hate.
oldsaw wrote: I understand why some people don't watch F1 for the racing. But, for the record, close wheel-to-wheel racing has rarely been a constant in F1's history.
Same thing can be said of Indy and Indycars, TransAm, CanAm, NASCAR- etc. It's pretty amaxing when you see results that show second place one or multiple laps behind the leader.
The "problem" with F1 is that when the behind car is superior, it's almost impossible to pass. I doubt that many care that the HRT car isn't competetive with a RedBull, but when a McLaren is capable of catching a Ferrari by 2 seconds or more a lap, you would expect it to be able to pass. Not easily, and with some work, but to be at least able to. I do recognize that.
I can't rank them consistently, but here's a handful of personal favorites.
Really though, I get a lot more enjoyment from a NASA or SCCA Club Race than most pro series. The closer the cars are to a production model, the happier I am.
Tom Heath wrote: Really though, I get a lot more enjoyment from a NASA or SCCA Club Race than most pro series. The closer the cars are to a production model, the happier I am.
This. I even do like the non-production LeMans racers, etc. but F1 is just so far out there as to be irrelevant to actual cars. Yes, I understand bout the technological trickle-down, etc etc but they are just uninteresting as "cars". Even as recently as the mid '90s I could drum up a little enthusiasm for F1, but certainly not in the last 10-15 years.
alfadriver wrote:oldsaw wrote: I understand why some people don't watch F1 for the racing. But, for the record, close wheel-to-wheel racing has rarely been a constant in F1's history.Same thing can be said of Indy and Indycars, TransAm, CanAm, NASCAR- etc. It's pretty amaxing when you see results that show second place one or multiple laps behind the leader. The "problem" with F1 is that when the behind car is superior, it's almost impossible to pass. I doubt that many care that the HRT car isn't competetive with a RedBull, but when a McLaren is capable of catching a Ferrari by 2 seconds or more a lap, you would expect it to be able to pass. Not easily, and with some work, but to be at least able to. I do recognize that.
I agree and see that rules regarding aero could be walked-back to prevent the passing problems; same thing can be said about braking systems. But that won't guarantee more passing opportunities - see Villeneuve, Spanish GP, 1981 as an example.
That said, the applicaiton of the DRS and Pirelli's compound degradation had done much to make the on-track action much more interesting.
I would watch the WRC hour long shows on cable when I had it. I've been to ALMS at Road American and the local race track to watch friends turn left. Other than that, I dont watch motorsports or even participate. I feel like I'm the only one here that doesn't know what STS or EP means (or some other letters). I enjoy the engineering side of cars and especially race cars. I got a miata for gas milage and smiles. F1 bores me.
I watch most forms of racing. I'm old enough to have actually listened to NASCAR on the radio. I didn't really have an awareness of road racing until I was 9 or so and when I did I bacame much more interested in it. IIRC the first model car I ever put together was a MB W196. I love F1 because of the inovation and the fact that the engineers have to keep thinking outside the box looking for ways to obtain an edge. I felt the same about the original Can Am. I was fortunate enought to see Donohue in the 917K @ Road Atlanta. Even when a car is dominate I still appreciated the dominating as well as the lesser cars. I'd love to see and hear an explanation of how F1 engines can have speed control without using a butterfly. That, the pnuematic valve "springs", and the metalurgy that make it possible to achieve such high hp @ such a high rpm amazes me.
My preferences are: F1, BTCC, DTCC, V8 Supercars, Grand Am, NASCAR. There are others I'll watch if given the chance. The FIA GT series is great racing.
Rally, rally, rally.
I haven't watched an F1 race in years - worse than NASCAR in my opinion.
I would love to see BTCC, V8 Supercars, DTCC etc. but I haven't had SPEED for 4 years now and I don't miss it that much. I also liked to watch CORR Off-road and Drag Racing when they showed it.
I must be the oddball. I honestly don't care too much for watching racing on TV. Any of it. It's just something I'd rather do that watch someone else having fun doing.
Graefin10 wrote: I watch most forms of racing. I'm old enough to have actually listened to NASCAR on the radio. I didn't really have an awareness of road racing until I was 9 or so and when I did I bacame much more interested in it. IIRC the first model car I ever put together was a MB W196. I love F1 because of the inovation and the fact that the engineers have to keep thinking outside the box looking for ways to obtain an edge. I felt the same about the original Can Am. I was fortunate enought to see Donohue in the 917K @ Road Atlanta. Even when a car is dominate I still appreciated the dominating as well as the lesser cars. I'd love to see and hear an explanation of how F1 engines can have speed control without using a butterfly. That, the pnuematic valve "springs", and the metalurgy that make it possible to achieve such high hp @ such a high rpm amazes me. My preferences are: F1, BTCC, DTCC, V8 Supercars, Grand Am, NASCAR. There are others I'll watch if given the chance. The FIA GT series is great racing.
Exactly. Although I rank the "pro" classes in NHRA ahead of NASCAR, because of the engineering and one-against-one competition. (4-wide is crap) I didn't see Donahue, but I have seen a 917 run at Bridgehampton.
I watch pretty much everything. My favorite is local circle tracks and NASCAR, probably because it is what I grew up doing. I like going to events more than watching on TV, and go to anything local that falls on my days off. This summer if everything works out I plan to go to 6-10 different short tracks, DIRT week in Syracuse, The Great Race when it stops overnight in Saratoga NY, ALMS and Nascar Mods at Lime Rock, and if I'm lucky a few other days at Lime Rock, Monster Trucks at Lebanon Valley, and tractor pulls at a couple fairs.
Graefin10 wrote: I love F1 because of the inovation and the fact that the engineers have to keep thinking outside the box looking for ways to obtain an edge. I'd love to see and hear an explanation of how F1 engines can have speed control without using a butterfly. That, the pnuematic valve "springs", and the metalurgy that make it possible to achieve such high hp @ such a high rpm amazes me.
+10000. I love the technology of F1 and Le Mans.
Wally wrote: I watch pretty much everything. My favorite is local circle tracks
Geez, how I could forget!
I think I've been to about 10-11 out of 25 Chili Bowl's here in Tulsa. Midget's on an indoor 1/4 mile dirt track, one of the few midget races where under the hood it's "run what ya brung." Guys come from all over the world to race, this year I think there was approaching 300 entries for a 5 day event.
This is easily one of the best, most absolute redneck racing events a race fan could ever go to. If you ever have the chance, it's a unique experience.
Duke wrote: I have absolutely zero interest in F1. The cars and drivers may be incredible performers, but they don't even make coherent sense as cars any more. You can't look at them and get your head around them at all. And, frankly, once you get over the sheer velocity, the racing itself is dull as ditchwater.
I can see your point, but I'm one of the ones that never gets over the sheer velocity. Same with LMS/ALMS.
z31maniac wrote:Wally wrote: I watch pretty much everything. My favorite is local circle tracksGeez, how I could forget! I think I've been to about 10-11 out of 25 Chili Bowl's here in Tulsa. Midget's on an indoor 1/4 mile dirt track, one of the few midget races where under the hood it's "run what ya brung." Guys come from all over the world to race, this year I think there was approaching 300 entries for a 5 day event. This is easily one of the best, most absolute redneck racing events a race fan could ever go to. If you ever have the chance, it's a unique experience.
Thaty's definately on the list when I can get some time off and money at the same time.
24 Hours of LeMons.
I love sitting down and watching some rally drivers attack the dirt, they are insane. The series doesn't matter much to me, just that format.
British touring cars are fun too, when I stumble upon it. I like watching the World Challenge touring cars too.
Short course truck racing, I think the series is called TORC now.
I'll watch the occasional drift video too, but the live coverage of the big events is horrible. I keep my viewing at the vimeo and youtube level, usually very well edited but short in length.
I think what it comes down to for me is variety, the more makes and models the better.
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