What Does Motorsport Mean to You?

[MarcG]

MarcG wants to know how you feel about motorsport, and what it means to you!

It's a rainy, drab & windy early March outside but the weather is the least of my concerns as I sit back to watch the start of the Virgin Australia (V8) Supercars Series, my most favourite real life series by a country mile. The days before a new season starts is always one filled with excitement at what will happen, the thoughts drift to looking at the race calendar and realising there's hours upon hours of motorsport to watch...and that's just one series of a few I shall be following this year for the umpteenth year on the trot.

Go back a couple of weeks, there I was at work chatting to colleagues about things we'd give up in life if we had to, things like hobbies of which I have many and whether I could live with just one of them. Now I'm a huge Football fan, my team Brighton are struggling in the Premier League and I couldn't be more thankful for that (sounds odd but those that know Football well...they "know" what I mean!), I'm also an avid Astronomer & Astrophotographer which is something I take great pleasure from, I also grow my own Chillies during the Summer months and throw the yield into any dish I make, I enjoy general photography, walks along the Sussex coast, sunsets, travel...the list goes on.

So to "give up" even one of these hobbies would be disastrous let alone them all just to save one, I love them all in their own unique way, I get great pleasure from them all...how could I possibly chose? Well chose I did, it wasn't a quick decision, something akin to being asked "which is your favourite child?" (it's always the boy just don't tell the wife!), it's something I debated with myself for hours and even into days during that working week and eventually I came to a conclusion:

• Football; I love it, it's such an emotional rollercoaster that you can be as high as a kite when you get promoted to the Premier League, to the absolute lowest of lows at half-time when you could see your club extinguished from all existence (Hereford away 1997). We've come a bloody long way, with many highs & lows since 1997, I've followed the team the length & breadth of the country, spent thousands of pounds on match & season tickets not to mention rail cards, beer & food. I honestly don't know what I'd do without Football, but the reason to bin her off my list was just that of the highs & lows, there is no level playing field, you're either up there on cloud 9 or down there in absolute Hell, it's that roller coaster of emotions that I sometimes think I'm better off without more so for my health's sake, my heart could do with a rest.

• Astronomy; Again I love it, looking at the Stars, Planets and Nebulae in our Solar System is just mind boggling to me, the physics of it all, the magic & wonder and the billions of questions left answered. The space missions that have happened in my lifetime, the space missions still to happen in my lifetime (man on Mars please!). I just find it all so brilliant, but then the traditional British weather plays havoc with planned sessions, clouds roll in and obscure the targets, the best viewing nights are in winter meaning I'm layered up and freezing my nads off at 2am on a Sunday morning before work four hours later. Like Football, it can be so rewarding and yet so frustrating at the same time and not to mention incredibly costly, again something I could possibly live without.

• Other Hobbies; I won't mention them all here but in each of their own ways I found a way I could live without them, so that brought me to the final one...

• Motorsports; I've always been into car racing since an early age, my Father used to take me to Arlington Raceway just outside Eastbourne most Wednesday evenings for some Stock Car & Banger Racing, we'd often go to Brands Hatch for the BTCC and Trucks. Then as I got older I made the trip to the Daytona 500, Australia (twice) to see the V8s including the Bathurst 1000, I worked in Pit Lane at Spa-Francorchamps whilst my mate raced his MkI Cortina, I've been lucky to see a lot of real life racing and even on those wet racing days I always came away with a smile on my face, even on the days the racing wasn't great there was always something to smile about. Turning up to the tracks, smelling the petrol fumes, breathing in the burnt rubber, just being there is something that fills me with great joy.

Then take the other side of Motorsports in my life the obvious Sim Racing, which for me started in the 1990s before a slight hiatus in the late 90s & early 2000s before I returned in 2005 and never looked back. Racing online is fabulous, racing against AI at times is just as good, so the overriding sense of "I enjoyed that" after every race session even if I get taken out on the final lap by an angry German online which causes me to lose the race. The fact it's a nice plateau of emotions for me, it's always at the very least good whether I'm partaking or watching and quite often it's amazing, I think the only low points are the real life deaths of drivers that have been a part of my real life enjoyment, but then I'm always thankful to them for their time in providing me with the entertainment to watch and remember them forever more. Thankfully those sad times are very rare these days, so the emotion chart is always high on the scale, I'm always looking forward to the next real life event whether it's watching in the flesh or watching on TV, any time I strap on the Oculus whether it's testing something or just simply racing I just know it's gonna be good...simply bloody good.

Motorsport, it's just something I could not live without.

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[Durge Driven]

We need a thread for V8s this year, many would not be aware season is already underway

Suffice to say Mustang owners around Windsor N.S.W. look a cocky lot this week

Fun has already started .........
Red Bull boss Roland Dane raises parity issue of new Ford Mustang

 

[Alex Townsend]

I'm much the same with my love of motorsport. I'd give up many things apart from racing, be it online or watching RL motorsport.
I was a fan of NFL, now I don't have time to watch it at all.
Motorsport to me used to mean anything with an engine, but I became a father to two girls in the last 4 years so I've even had to trim the types of motorsport I can actually take an active interest in.
Loved F1 for years and have attended many races in person. Trouble is, the last 5 year's have not been the spectacle they once were so immediately cut back on live F1 events.
Then I cut back on the option for watching live races, by cancelling the satellite system, seeing as I was rarely able to watch a live race with a new baby in my life anyway.
Then I stopped watching practices or qualifying. By this time, WRC, V8s and GP2/3 had also been cancelled by my mental time allowance spread sheet.
I'd managed to lower it to just F1, MotoGP and WEC, but then the new kid on the block, Blancpain came along. It was exciting, with large grids, endurance or sprints and suddenly I was at another cross roads. F1 was starting to take a real back seater. Blancpain introduced Asia, so I could actually attend a race at Sepang to witness these cars live, this made me even more of a fan. Now they have USA on the cards. So I'm quickly finding that I only have the time for one series... plus Le Mans, as that is kind of a religion for me...
Then there is racing Sims. I love it so much, but I rarely get the time. Doesn't help that most races take place in European or US timezones which are either too late or too early in the morning for me being out here in Malaysia.
Single player works but I live for the thrill of racing real people. I used to race karts for about 5 years before the money ran out, and you can't beat it. But SIM racing comes a close second. Sometimes I just jump in to a live AC race as it's usually always got real drivers in multiple different tracks or cars. Hoping one day this will be the case for rF2

But yes, motorsport to me is everything. I could never give it up.

 

[Will Mazeo]

Idk I just love cars, the noise (especially sports cars series since they have different engine notes), the designs, the shining brake disks at night.
To me sports are the best form of entertaiment, but racing is #1 in my list (till they go all EV).

 

[balage06]

 

[Isaac Chavira]

To me racing is just fun. Most you all know me and pass me on the track, LOL. I still enjoy it none the less.

Motorsport means being able to push through adversity against incredible odds without malice towards your fellow racer.

Suffice to say Mustang owners around Windsor N.S.W. look a cocky lot this week

<~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2016 S550 Mustang owner.

 

[Filip Carlén]

Well, quite a lot since it is my main hobby, and something try to do every weekend during spring, summer and autumn. Mostly watching, photograph and record it, but I do some amateur events each year. And the hobby becomes a big part of life in general, since my father I always attend motorsport events together (only attended one event last year without him out of 25-30, when he was at a wedding). So attending motorsport events, mostly rally but some racing, rallycross and folkrace as well (plus a lot of it on TV/stream), becomes a huge part of my life and my personality. And I do not plan to change that anytime soon.

 

[Deleted member 6919]

It means I have to spend less time with the wife..

 

[TheReaper GT]

I consider it some kind of life line... It brought joy to very bad moments...relationship breakups, death of a loved one, work stress, everything gets a bit better when a checkered flag is waved.

 

[Lentoveloz]

Motorsport seems to be just fun for me, but it's not. I love football, but 95% of what I see is my team's heart. I do not love football that much. I love my team. As a brazilian I have some idolatry for Piquet, Fittipaldi, Senna ... But also for Clark, Fangio, Lauda, Prost, Shummy, Hamilton, Gordon, Jonhson (this list is immense). I see F1 (less than years ago), Nascar, FE, StockCars, IMSA, Le Mans, Indy etc. The number of hours I spend watching races of all kinds is much higher than football. There is no comparison. If you add games ... There is no doubt: by the time I spend close to races, I love Motorsport.

 

[Sky]

its like sport but with motors

 

[Tbear]

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting."
Steve McQueen

 

[SAGY31]

I don't what would have to happen to draw me away from watching motorsports on weekends Sometimes it gets overwhelming considering how many series I follow and usually by the mid week I'm ready for next round! Sports car racing is the main priority (SuperGT, ELMS, IMSA, Blancpain endurance and WEC) As if that's not already too much I still somehow manage to squeeze Indycar, V8's, MotoGP and WRC. Can't help myself, enthusiasm for racing cars, competition, sounds etc. keeps me glued to the screen.

 

[Raikku]

Sport and entertaintment. Nowadays I don't follow any other sport than motorsport.

 

[michelforest]

My love of motorsport started in 1978 when Gilles Villeneuve joined Ferrari. I was a 12-year old kid in Montréal and I was told that it was a huge deal to have a "local" driver join the most famous team in F1. It was the first time F1 was mentioned on the local news and in the newspapers.

I pretty much gave up on F1 in 1982 when Gilles Villeneuve died at Zolder. That was a huge blow for the 16 year old teenager that I was. I got back into it gradually over the next couple of years, but the turbo era of the 80's was a bit lost on me. I really became a fan again around 1988, when I watched Senna and Prost battle it out on the track. The years between 1989 and 1992 are still my favourite: the cars were amazing, the races were exciting and there were so many cars and drivers to watch. The same could be said of Indycar, which was amazing between 1991 and 1996.

To answer your question: Motorsport to me is just the most fascinating sport out there. What I love about it is that the more you learn about it, the more it is interesting. I am still amazed at how good pro drivers are compared to us, mere mortals. And I am still in awe when I see a well-made, well-designed race car. It is a real marvel of technology and invention. There's also a purely "aesthetic" pleasure in watching a race: I just love to look at a race car. It's a thing of beauty.

 

[Medilloni]

I couldn't give up motorsport, at all. Ever.

Motorsport for me started as an emotional rollercoaster, as a young kid watching races on black and white TV in the 60's I was spellbound by how on the edge they were. Then the shock of Lorenzo Bandini's fatal accident at Monaco, then later, Paul Hawkins at Oulton Park, Jim Clark, Jochen Rindt... far too many to remember. Even back then I think I 'got it' that they were driven by an immense passion, as though what they were doing transcended normal life. So I loved motorsport even more - witnessing these special people was like nothing else I could find.

Early 70's, left school at 16 as an apprentice for a race car manufacturer, passion grows, met shed loads of drivers and realised motorsport was such a tight knit community, it was something I desperately wanted to be part of. Started Karting, at last I was living my dream, then as another poster mentioned, money becomes a problem. Years pass by, a few races in Formula Ford and rally events and knew I was too old at 25 and had to get a life.

So, what does virtual racing do for me now? As I got into sims a year ago I thought I'd do OK, but no, sims aren't the same as the real stuff, feedback through the bum can never match the real thing because there's no fear, no risk, no broken bones, no sounds 'n smells. The skills on the virtual race track are different-ish, though I so admire the Aliens for the amazing skill they have, a true pleasure to watch.

But f*ck me, sims are close enough to be just as addictive as the real thing, and most of the people I meet online have the mindset I wanted to be part of in those early years, for which I'm very grateful.

 

[Douglas Garcia]

I consider it some kind of life line... It brought joy to very bad moments...relationship breakups, death of a loved one, work stress, everything gets a bit better when a checkered flag is waved.

I do prefer the green one!

 

[Boby Kim]

Great to listen to (except F1)

 

[speedx357]

Racing is weird in that it's not that popular when you compare to standard sports, but there is something about it that if you like it, you dont like it, you BREATH it. As the great ernest said, racing is a sport, the others are just games.

 

[Marocco2]

Racing will show your pride and your attitude to others.
It's the sincerest sport