The All-Purpose Motorsports Thread

[Rimbaud82]

I remember there used to be a thread for motorsports, but I couldn't find it so thought I'd start up a new one. If a mod can dig up the old one then feel free to merge.

I can't even drive in real life lol, but after playing some sim racing games I've started to get into some motorsports, so I'd like to learn more. For cars, I'm starting to think rally might be most impressive, this is incredible:



Seriously, long video but watch the whole thing.

What motorsports are you guys in to? As I say I think I like rally the best so far, definitely gonna start getting into that this season. F1 is obviously cool, and Le Mans is also very interesting (I have been watching that series on amazon). Tbh, I am starting to appreciate a lot of different stuff, but I still don't get nascar...I appreciate it's probably difficult to drive those cars, but it just looks boring to me watching them all go left over and over again.

For the biggest balls, obviously has to be the bike road racers, Isle of Man TT is insane. I've been to the North West 200 a few times when I was younger as well, just crazy how quick they go:

 

[ralphc1]

It was about time for a new thread. I look forward to the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

As far as NASCAR, racers from other disciplines have attempted NASCAR and haven't had much success. It is very much a cross between oval track and endurance racing in evenly matched cars. Drivers and teams have decide strategy and take care of the equipment over the length of a 3 to 4 hour race. They do race at a few road courses where road course ringers used to do well but not for the last several years.

F1 limits races to 2 hours and they are basically parades. Very little passing or strategy involved after the start. The fastest cars start in front and stay in front unless they crash or break. All cars have to change tires at least once and carry the same amount of fuel and can't refuel. Qualifying means everything.

 

[Rimbaud82]

It was about time for a new thread. I look forward to the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

As far as NASCAR, racers from other disciplines have attempted NASCAR and haven't had much success. It is very much a cross between oval track and endurance racing in evenly matched cars. Drivers and teams have decide strategy and take care of the equipment over the length of a 3 to 4 hour race. They do race at a few road courses where road course ringers used to do well but not for the last several years.

F1 limits races to 2 hours and they are basically parades. Very little passing or strategy involved after the start. The fastest cars start in front and stay in front unless they crash or break. All cars have to change tires at least once and carry the same amount of fuel and can't refuel. Qualifying means everything.

Yeah the lack of overtaking is one thing which puts me off F1, even though I love the highlights, and the cars, history etc. are awesome, but the qualifying seems like the best part!

 

[Graves The Elder]

not looking forward to F1 coverage this year. all espn did was buy the world feed with no additional commentary apparently.
although steve machett and hobbs could be long winded sometimes, buxton in the paddock was good
the new package has none of that.
we'll see.

 

[Rimbaud82]

This is awesome

 

[WrekinCombat]

I like F1. May get into WRC as used to be into it. Watched a few Formula E races. For me though, F1, by far is my favourite. Nascar was mentioned? Yikes..

Don't follow but Le Mans is pretty cool. Watched clips from it. A few documentaries too. One of the races I would love to see up close and live.

 

[Graves The Elder]

that vid is exhilarating, no?
I miss when the old Speed Channel used to show WRC all the time.

 

[Rimbaud82]

I like F1. May get into WRC as used to be into it. Watched a few Formula E races. For me though, F1, by far is my favourite. Nascar was mentioned? Yikes..

Don't follow but Le Mans is pretty cool. Watched clips from it. A few documentaries too. One of the races I would love to see up close and live.

Yeah I just can't get into nascar...again, I am sure it's difficult and takes a lot of skill to drive those lumbering cars at that speed...but from a spectator pov I just don't see it.

Yeah on that amazon show it looks like it would be a great spectacle to go and watch Le Mans live.

So far I am just starting to really love WRC, there is just something so raw and exciting about it. F1 is awesome too, it's almost the opposite, so cutting and edge and precise but those are the best cars in the world so of course it's impressive. Rally guys are just nuts though:



Kris Meeke is the guy I am gonna cheer for. He's from Ireland (specifically Northern Ireland, where I am from) so I was gonna support him anyway, but he seems to be a really exciting driver that pushes the car to the limits...albeit he seems to crash plenty as well lol.

 

[Graves The Elder]

When my son was stationed in Italy, he went to Monza to see some races and made it to the Nurburgring and actually rented a turbo Mercedes and drove the 11 mile course.
he said it was unbelievable.

 

[Rimbaud82]

 

[Graves The Elder]

brilliant!

 

[Graves The Elder]

to be fair, and I'm not even a nascar fan, the idea of driving among 30-40 cars traveling at 190 mph must require skill, and trust of your competitors. a lot of it is pit strategy though, and use of yellow flag sessions. it's too contrived for me to get very interested. a 'competition yellow' after 30 laps? really?
attendance has been steadily decreasing for the last decade.
races are being reduced in number.
who knows what will happen to the series.

as far as formula E is concerned, not interested.

 

[Rimbaud82]

to be fair, and I'm not even a nascar fan, the idea of driving among 30-40 cars traveling at 190 mph must require skill, and trust of your competitors. a lot of it is pit strategy though, and use of yellow flag sessions. it's too contrived for me to get very interested. a 'competition yellow' after 30 laps? really?
attendance has been steadily decreasing for the last decade.
races are being reduced in number.
who knows what will happen to the series.

as far as formula E is concerned, not interested.

Hammond had that segment on top gear about Nascar, you can kind of understand it and you can see how hard it probably is, but yeah...still doesn't sell me on it.



I've never seen a Formula E race.

 

[Rimbaud82]

This was a very interesting documentary I watched a few weeks ago as well - Crash and Burn.



It's about 'the greatest racing driver you've never heard of', an Irishman called Tommy Byrne and it definitely seems true. Really fascinating story as I had never heard of him, but he came through the lower ranks around the same time as Senna and seems to have had an equal amount of skill and talent, but he lacked the money (he was from a working-class family from Louth), and had a volatile personally (didn't have the same kind of tact or restraint you needed either) and he developed a bit of a drinking problem as well. He got a chance at Formula One for one of the weaker teams, but the car was very poor and he didn't do so well. But he tested the McClaren car that Lauda and Watson would have been driving and the lap times he was doing around Silverstone was faster than they were doing in qualifying, his times would have put front of the starting grid. But he never got another chance at F1.

Really interesting, little known story! I'd certainly never heard of him as I say.

 

[Rimbaud82]

Does anyone watch Indycar, what's that like? The cars look similar to F1.

 

[ralphc1]

Does anyone watch Indycar, what's that like? The cars look similar to F1.

It's different from Formula One because there are more cars on shorter tracks. All cars use the same chassis and 2 different engine manufacturers. The size of the fuel tank is limited so teams have to pit multiple times. They can vary the amount of fuel on board and the amount of fuel being used to extend pit times. They also have a limited number of push to pass opportunities that can up the engine power output by increasing the turbocharger boost pressure for a few seconds. They also have different compounds of tires. Cars race closer together and pass more often as strategy plays out. There are more cars on shorter tracks. Another feature they use that I like is the LED panel on the car that displays the cars running position for the spectators.

 

[Graves The Elder]

pretty good definition.

they also don't know how to drive on street courses without crashing into each at every turn.
much better on dedicated race courses.

 

[ralphc1]

pretty good definition.

they also don't know how to drive on street courses without crashing into each at every turn.
much better on dedicated race courses.

The street courses they use are often very narrow and the cars are running nose to tail around blind corners. Any mistakes are compounded. I like the road course at Elkhart Lake in Wisconsin. A great variety of turns and elevations. It's uphill into finish and the pits so they can't run low on fuel and coast.

 

[ralphc1]

This was a very interesting documentary I watched a few weeks ago as well - Crash and Burn.



It's about 'the greatest racing driver you've never heard of', an Irishman called Tommy Byrne and it definitely seems true. Really fascinating story as I had never heard of him, but he came through the lower ranks around the same time as Senna and seems to have had an equal amount of skill and talent, but he lacked the money (he was from a working-class family from Louth), and had a volatile personally (didn't have the same kind of tact or restraint you needed either) and he developed a bit of a drinking problem as well. He got a chance at Formula One for one of the weaker teams, but the car was very poor and he didn't do so well. But he tested the McClaren car that Lauda and Watson would have been driving and the lap times he was doing around Silverstone was faster than they were doing in qualifying, his times would have put front of the starting grid. But he never got another chance at F1.

Really interesting, little known story! I'd certainly never heard of him as I say.

An Irishman with a volatile personality and a drinking problem? Isn't that the definition of an Irishman?

 

[ralphc1]

Formula E is strange. The lack of sound from the cars means you hear them hitting the ground. They can go very fast, but not for very long. They have to use power cautiously or they run out. Each driver uses 2 cars per race because the battery life would make for a very short duration or very slow longer race. Instead of refueling, they swap cars.