Speed Replay Of USGP-Confirmed My Original Impression

I rewatched the Speed coverage as well, and I found it interesting that, once back in the garages, some of the drivers stayed in their cars, with the tire warmers in place, apparently ready to go out and race should their presumed agreement to not race fall apart. Had they independently decided not to race, why should they have stayed race ready after pulling into the garage? It seems clear that this decision not to race was collectively reached ahead of time, and some teams were afraid of being double crossed.

 

I second that motion.

 

How do I put this mildly? Nonsense!!! I've personally raced in venues that had no specators whatsoever. With a little hype, fans can make money for some sponsors -- but that's secondary to the racing.

Tell the drivers: We can't get any points and where you finish doesn't matter -- but go strap yourself into a high speed projectile and race your heart out around these concrete walls to entertain the people who toss beers onto the track.

Yah, right.

Racing is about preparation and skill pitted against a challenge, not the rowdies getting beered up in the stands. The preparation was lacking.

A chicane in turn 13? That turn is what makes Indy special. The challenge of having one of the fastest and (nearly) the slowest turns in F1 on the same track is what makes Indy a fun place to race.

Picture the Hondas saying, "But golly, our engine has trouble with that long stretch. Can we hold the USGP in France, please?"

So why should the teams that prepared for the race track suddenly have to deal with a completely different car setup?

How are 73 parade laps a better "show" than having at some cars actually racing? You wouldn't be b*tching about a "pointless" exhibition, had it happened?

Forget preparation, forget a challenge, forget the rules (so skill doesn't matter) -- just go perform bread and circuses for the masses. And we'll call it "racing".

Spa isn't the easiest circuit in the season, but it's one of the drivers' favorites.

The "fans" are just trying, in some small way, to share in the fun and triumphs of the drivers and teams who are out there racing. You want them to give up the racing to put on a show for the fans? For what? What do you get from watching cars run around on the road? You could go watch the freeway on-ramp for that.

(And tell the teams to go race, but only Ferrari (and Midlands and Minardi) will get points ... if they finish. Demolition derby, anyone?)

 

If you are saying that F1 will still exist without fans then you surely don't know how F1 works.

 

I know what F1 has become. I also know where it came from.

There will always be manufacturers out to prove their stuff is better than others'. Ferrari will likely be one of them.

There have been drivers trying to test themselves against other drivers since before automobiles existed. They just changed from horse racing to cars.

"There are only three sports: bull fighting, mountain climbing, and auto racing. Everything else is just games" -- Ernest Hemmingway.

The fans are -- to put it bluntly -- parasites, trying to suck down some of that sense of racing, without having to strap a high speed hunk of metal to their own butts.

Okay, at my age, I do that, too. But I still remember that it's better to race than to watch.

F1 has been dying for some time -- ever since it became more of a show than a sport. F1 will die, but the racing will go on.

 

And what venues would those be? So you don't think F1 needs fans? You gotta be kidding me, to put it mildly. Without revenues from ticket sales, merchandising, etc where would F1 be? F1 is a far cry from amateur racing, it is supposed to be the pinnacle of motorsport. No fans equals no sponsors, no sponsors equals no F1. You obviously don't understand how the business aspect of racing racing works if this is what you feel.

 

WHat if there was 1 tire company and the same problem happened? Would the race just have been called off?

Maybe it would not have happened because the tire company would not be competing with anyone and would therefore not be incentived to produce a fast tire at the expense of reliability. Ok great, so we can see crappy tires hampering the cars and that is fun how?

Michelin made a huge mistake that they and their teams are paying for in spades. To hurt them more, kick them out of F1, etc, etc, etc is just vindictive and hurts the sport and fans even more - as does docking points on letting this situation go even further.

 

Other than the POR, most SCCA rallyes in the RWD days had little or no attendance. And what specators did show up were a PITA, as they didn't know to stay off the racing line.

Back where they were in the '50s -- when it was about the racing, rather than about Bernie's bank account.

The world was not always what you see now.

But then, I imaging tapeworms might also tell themselves that the dog only exists because of them.

 

An SCCA rally is a far cry from F1 that requires generous amounts of money to run. I do see you point about racing being corrupted now, i actually feel the same way but it is a coporate world we live in which will not change anytime soon. While it would be great to go back to the 50's where the racing was pure, those days are gone, my friend. Without fans there would be no F1.

PS I'd love to hear about those rallyes, i'm sure you have some good stories.