36 replies to this topic

[August]

I was just thinking about this, what are your top 10 favorite races in motorsports?

 

Mine below:

1. 24 Hours of Le Mans - The greatest race on the planet.
2. Indianapolis 500 - My favorite series' biggest race. Still, just the second-biggest spectacle in racing for me.
3. 24 Hours of Nürburgring - The most amazing racetrack in the world, definitely one of the greatest races in the world.
4. Isle of Man TT - Amazing race. Never got the chance to follow it but it's just amazing they race there.
5. Bathurst 1000 - I've been getting into V8SC recently and I like how a regional series can be so important. This is definitely a race I'd love to visit.
6. 24 Hours of Spa - An overdose of 24h races on the list but I really like this. A track tamed down to F1 spec is lame compared to 24h of Nring but this feels like the 24h race I might enjoy the most to visit, partly because of its perfect July date.
7. British Grand Prix - It doesn't make much of a difference from a TV viewer's perspective where F1 races, yet this is the F1 race I'd like the most to visit.
8. Grand Prix of Long Beach - An event I like for so many reasons. I never got to see F1 racing at Long Beach but reading about it gave the track such a nostalgic feeling. While F1 goes to soulless venues, it's cool to have IndyCar racing there. Also a nice IndyCar/IMSA doubleheader.
9. Daytona 500 - As a sports car fan, I might prefer the Rolex 24 but if I ever made a trip from Europe to Daytona for a race, it'd probably be for the Daytona 500.
10. Canadian Grand Prix - Probably the best-established F1 event in a big city. Would be one of the F1 races I'd like to visit the most.

Close but no cigar: Sebring 12h (lacks LMP1), Australian GP (An F1 race I might like to visit but I'd rather do an Australia trip for Bathurst), Monaco GP (There are some F1 races I just prefer over it), Monte Carlo Rally and Rally Finland (losing interest in rallying). Also, season finales might be cool to visit but their host tracks always tend to change.

[Frank Tuesday]

Many of my favorite races aren't in motorsport, so I'll ignore that criteria, and just list my 10 favorite races.

1. Superprestige Zonhoven
2. Italian Grand Prix MotoGP
3. Belgian Grand Prix F1
4. America's Cup
5. Paris-Roubaix
6. Boston Marathon
7. MXGP Lommel
8. Ronde Van Vlaanderen
9. Italian Grand Prix F1
10. Le Mans

[ViMaMo]

Nothing beats Men's 100m dash. 

[chunder27]

Weston Beach race
F1 stock car World Final
Monster Cup supercross
Erzberg Rodeo
St Ursanne Bergrennen
Dakar rally, any year or class
Norburgring 24 hour
Any Land Speed Record attempt
Rally Finland
Pikes Peak before it was sanitised

[worsic]

1. Isle of Man TT - I think it needs no explanation Hopefully i will work there this year

2. Le Mans 24

3.Italian GP @ Monza- You need to see the atmosphere live. It's something really special, been there twice to work and the fans are insane.

4. Finland rally- still on my bucket list

5. Belgian f1 gp- Just walking around the track brings the goosebumps out

6. Mugello Moto GP- because of the fans like the f1 @ Monza

7.Dakar

8. Nurburgring 24h

9. Indy 500

10. Would put the Streif here but since it's the motosport forum i am thinking between Erzberg rodeo and Monaco GP

[noikeee]

10. Indy 500 - I don't care much about Indycars or ovals and I frequently miss this, but it's still one of the few occasions where a motorsport race truly feels like an "event".

 

9. Dakar - A bit past it after moving away from Africa, but again it's still one of the few races that feel like an event. Extra points for filling in a very boring period for sports in early January.

 

8. F1 Monaco GP - For the mesmerizing thrill of watching incredible onboard clips on the Saturday, before you fall asleep by the third lap on Sunday. Also, it's like a tradition and ****.

 

7. 24h of Daytona - The only endurance race I might catch a bit of, beyond Le Mans. Driving a 2.4 hour version of this in iRacing made me appreciate it and take notice of it, even if I might not be very familiar with the USCC competitors, it's a fun race.

 

6. Rally Vinho da Madeira - A few years ago I'd have put this local event #1 in the list, as the entire island completely stopped to watch the locals try to beat some of Europe's finest and most promising rally drivers, on the advantage of road knowledge. It almost made it to the WRC calendar at a point, only for the FIA to decide they no longer wanted any more than 1 or 2 tarmac rallies. Currently a complete shade of its former self, as the economic crisis hit and the regional government can no longer afford to splash a large amount of our tax money on it.

 

5. F1 Belgian GP - Recent underwhelming races in the last few years, and the increasingly sanitized feel about the Spa track, has made me a little less excited about this; but it's still the best track on the F1 calendar, and a race that frequently sparks unexpected results thanks to rain and the unusually high speed layout.

 

4. Macau F3 GP - No longer the race that makes or breaks a junior driver's career, but still a mental event due to the mental nature of the track, and you do often get a list of highly promising drivers to keep an eye on.

 

3. F1 Australian GP - The most exciting F1 race is almost invariably the first, as we learn which driver will win at least 10 races after he's won the "best car" lottery. Being held in a place that looks like a decent natural circuit and has a crowd that enjoys F1 helps, too. Don't give Bernie any ideas to move it back to Bahrain.

 

2. Monte Carlo Rally - Tarmac, snow, ice, invisible ice, bad tyre choices, an exciting slightly bloated number of competitors compared to the usual, live TV coverage, night stages, and motorsport cravings as it's early in the year and nothing else is going on. All of this makes for a highly fun event - and it continued being so even when it was outside of the WRC calendar - and it almost makes you regain the faith in rallying, until you realize some French bloke is going to win everything this year again.

 

1. 24h du Mans - I'm not even all that big on endurance racing, but I've come to appreciate this race a lot more in recent years as there's really nothing else like it. It's 4 races in one with its 4 classes, it's a test of both reliability and speed with the mental modern mentality of sprint racing, it's night racing and day racing, it's a great track, it's an extremely high level as it's packed with world class drivers and teams, it's history and tradition, it's technology and diversity, it's staying up until 3AM until you realize you're awake watching random CCTV footage and a live timing tab in your laptop and give up, only to wake up the other day and the whole standings have completely changed and now annoyingly you've got to read up retrospectively on everything that happened. Now this is a proper event.

[Amin]

1) Belgian GP

2) First GP of the season (Presently Australia)

3) 24 hours of LeMans

4) Indy 500

5) Italian GP

6) BTCC Donington round

7) 6 hours of Spa

8) 6 hours of Silverstone

9) BTCC Brands Hatch GP round

10) 24 hours of Nurburgring

[superden]

Le Mans 24hr
BTCC, Brands Hatch GP
Nurburgring 24hr
Bathurst 1000
Whitsun Trophy, Goodwood Revival
St Mary's Trophy, Goodwood Revival
Monaco GP
Belgian GP, Spa
Le Mans Classic
Italian GP, Monza

[chunder27]

So many people only put circuit racing stuff on their list by and large

 

There is SOOOOO much other stuff out there!

 

Just go and look

[superden]

So many people only put circuit racing stuff on their list by and large

There is SOOOOO much other stuff out there!

Just go and look

I only put circuit events down as the OP stated 'races' ... however, I can think of a few hillclimbs and autocross events that are worth a visit, plus many national and local rally events.

[noikeee]

Plus people can be legitimately interested mostly or only in circuit racing. These are personal top 10s, not necessarily the 10 most prestigious or best events in the world.

Edited by noikeee, 17 November 2015 - 12:33.

[byrkus]

In motorsport terms, nothing beats 24 hours of Le Mans. Nothing.

 

 

Outside motorsports... Winter sports.

 

This may be pure Slovenian folklore, but there is no other national event as the Ski Flying rounds at Planica. Distances of close to 250 meters on two skis is close to being unimaginable. (Yes, I'm aware that Vikersund is bigger... but still, we're talking Planica here... first hill to reach distances over 100, and over 200 meters)

 

And of course... Downhill at Wengen. It's true that it's mostly sliding... But there's THAT sequence. Russi sprung → sliding below Eiger Nordwand → Hundschopf → Minschkante → Canadian Corner → Alpweg → Bruggli S → sliding below Eigerbahn tracks. There may be some tracks that are more difficult, but none other has such a sequence, and such a scenic placing.

 

 

Sorry for being OT. I''ve already taken my coat.

[Seanspeed]

So many people only put circuit racing stuff on their list by and large
 
There is SOOOOO much other stuff out there!
 
Just go and look

I can appreciate other types of motorsports, but road circuit racing is really the only one that I greatly enjoy following. It's also a pretty full plate with F1, GP2, MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3, WSBK(when it's good), WSBR and F3(these to a lesser extent).

Anyways, my list would be:

1. F1 Belgian GP at Spa Francorchamps

2. F1 Australian GP at Albert Park

3. F1 Canadian GP at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

4. F1 British GP at Silverstone

5. F1 Brazilian GP at Interlagos

6. MotoGP Czech GP at Brno

7. F1 Singapore GP

8. MotoGP Australian GP at Philip Island

9. F1 Japanese GP at Suzuka

10. MotoGP Dutch TT at Assen

[jcbc3]

In motorsport terms, nothing beats 24 hours of Le Mans. Nothing.
 
 
Outside motorsports... Winter sports.
 
This may be pure Slovenian folklore, but there is no other national event as the Ski Flying rounds at Planica. Distances of close to 250 meters on two skis is close to being unimaginable. (Yes, I'm aware that Vikersund is bigger... but still, we're talking Planica here... first hill to reach distances over 100, and over 200 meters)
 
And of course... Downhill at Wengen. It's true that it's mostly sliding... But there's THAT sequence. Russi sprung → sliding below Eiger Nordwand → Hundschopf → Minschkante → Canadian Corner → Alpweg → Bruggli S → sliding below Eigerbahn tracks. There may be some tracks that are more difficult, but none other has such a sequence, and such a scenic placing.
 
 
Sorry for being OT. I''ve already taken my coat.

You're the first one beside myself that prefer the Lauberhorn to the Hahnenkamm.

[Frank Tuesday]

If we're talking about great races, surely the Elfstedentocht has to be among the greatest in the world in any sport. 

[Frank Tuesday]

Weston Beach race
F1 stock car World Final
Monster Cup supercross
Erzberg Rodeo
St Ursanne Bergrennen
Dakar rally, any year or class
Norburgring 24 hour
Any Land Speed Record attempt
Rally Finland
Pikes Peak before it was sanitised

 

I forgot about Erzberg.

[metz]

In motorsport terms, nothing beats the all our raw racing of the Baja 1000.

No politics. Hardly any rules. All types. Pure adrenalin.

One simply must experience it.

 

You can build it in your garage and just bring it on race day. Bike, car, truck, dune, custom or stock. They will find a class for it.

Many do. Every year. Any age. For 1,000 miles.

The only legal race in the world where the spectators will build booby traps for the unsuspecting racers.

 

Dust to Glory. Watch the trailer.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386423/

Edited by metz, 18 November 2015 - 01:36.

[chunder27]

Good point metz, not something I have ever watched really, kind of like Dakar in a few days!

 

Racing for me is never one discipline. And never will be again thankfully.

 

A lot of people do not seem to drift far from their initial interest probably gained from F1 or Le Mans. Which I find sad, but I was once that way too so perhaps it is simply a case of getting out there and finding something new.

 

I am lucky enough to be able to appreciate and watch just about any type of motorsport. Some bad, but most good.

 

Plenty of things beat Le Mans, though I am starting to appreciate it more. It certainly is not even tehe best 24hour race! Though as a whole event, I think no real motorsport event matces it. Just a shame the actualy prime reason for going, the racing is perhpas not that fascinating. Neither is the track!

[sjakie]

1. Indy 500

2. Le Mans 24 hrs

 

In no particular order:

Bathurst 1000

Petit Le Mans

Sebring

St Moritz bobsleigh run

Road America Indy GP (as CART was Always great there)

Brazilian GP (always a good race)

RAC Rally (what's it called nowadays?)

Spa 24 hrs

[August]

You're the first one beside myself that prefer the Lauberhorn to the Hahnenkamm.

 

You're not alone. Two different races, Hahnenkamm is more technical and feels more like the ultimate ski race, Lauberhorn is longer and more about gliding, and feels more like the ultimate downhill. I prefer Lauberhorn, looks more spectacular and I prefer it in Ski Challenge, it's more flowing.

 

This may be pure Slovenian folklore, but there is no other national event as the Ski Flying rounds at Planica. Distances of close to 250 meters on two skis is close to being unimaginable. (Yes, I'm aware that Vikersund is bigger... but still, we're talking Planica here... first hill to reach distances over 100, and over 200 meters)

 

Ski flying at Planica is a great event. Vikersund is bigger but Planica seems to have the best atmosphere.

[djonas79]

1. F1 Canadian GP

2. F1 Belgian GP

3. F1 Australian GP

4. F1 Brazilian GP

5. F1 Monaco GP

6. F1 Singapore GP

7. F1 Malaysian GP

 

Can't think of anything else ATM.

[MNader]

Many of my favorite races aren't in motorsport, so I'll ignore that criteria, and just list my 10 favorite races.

1. Superprestige Zonhoven
2. Italian Grand Prix MotoGP
3. Belgian Grand Prix F1
4. America's Cup
5. Paris-Roubaix
6. Boston Marathon
7. MXGP Lommel
8. Ronde Van Vlaanderen
9. Italian Grand Prix F1
10. Le Mans

 

 

I am guessing you are from the Benelux area? (most probably Belgium)

[Frank Tuesday]

I am guessing you are from the Benelux area? (most probably Belgium)

Texas.

[MNader]

Texas.

 

wow, pretty far away. In that case you should pay them a visit. just check when you should be in Lommel, or you won't find much to do :'(

[Risil]

Racing for me is never one discipline. And never will be again thankfully.
 
A lot of people do not seem to drift far from their initial interest probably gained from F1 or Le Mans. Which I find sad, but I was once that way too so perhaps it is simply a case of getting out there and finding something new.
 
I am lucky enough to be able to appreciate and watch just about any type of motorsport. Some bad, but most good.

 

Are you people with your hipster motorsport events going to post about them when they actually take place? And maybe suggest some ways that us proles can follow them?

Edited by Risil, 17 November 2015 - 20:14.

[Frank Tuesday]

wow, pretty far away. In that case you should pay them a visit. just check when you should be in Lommel, or you won't find much to do :'(

I've been to Spa.  The CX World Champs are in Zolder this year.  I've got a friend in Balen, so I'm thinking about having a visit in January.  (Yes, I love the cold.  Spent 6 weeks in Poland and Czech in Dec/Jan a couple years ago.) 

[Frank Tuesday]

Are you people with your hipster motorsport events going to post about them when they actually take place? And maybe suggest some ways that us proles can follow them?

 

On Nov 29th, RedBullTV is livestreaming The Hague Beach Red Bull Knockout motocross race.  Should be grand.

 

http://www.redbull.t...the-hague-beach

 

Here's the Erzbergrodeo from 2015.  http://www.redbull.t...l-hare-scramble

[Volcano70]

1st- Indy 500 and Le Mans, tough to decide

3- 24h Daytona (A race that is big for me because I am in the US)

4- Belgian GP 

5- Canadian GP

6- Macau

7- Italian GP

8- Monte-Carlo Rally

9- Daytona 500

10- US GP (home GP so that's why it gets mentioned)

Others- 24h Nurburgring, Petit Le Mans, Isle of Man TT, 12h Sebring, Long Beach

[chunder27]

Haha Risiil

 

Most of those events are ridiculously well advertised.

 

And yu can get the info about them juts by typing the event into google.

 

Thats what I did.

 

My secret is this.

 

Watching clips on youtube of stuff that makes you go wow, subscibing to the person who uploads the vods, clicking on a few other guys int he "you may also like" area and hey presto a whole new world awaits!

 

That is how I discovered Berg Cup, Erzberg, Monster Cup ands Weston beach race!!

[superden]

Ah the Berg Cup, fantastic.

[Rob29]

As this is a motorsport forum I thought we were talking about motor racing ,not other sports ,rallies,bikes,etc?so mine

Monaco,specially the F3 races

Long Beach

Singapore

Detroit

Dallas

Battersea Park?

Bilbao

Birmingham

Pau

Monjuich

[chunder27]

Anything with an engine is motorsport I am afraid pal.

 

Bikes, rallies are not other sports.

 

Theya re just things you dont watch!

[Rinehart]

My top 10 must watch races in 2016 if I could only watch 10 - in no particular order. 

 

Le Mans

Bathurst 1000

WRC Monte Carlo

Dakar Rally

Australian GP (ahead of British and Belgian purely because the first GP is always exciting after the wait and the unknown of verifying winter testing)

Monaco GP

Indy 500

Kitzbuhel mens downhill

Wengen mens downhill

Rio Olympic's sprint finals (cheating a bit here...)

[Brackets]

Many of my favorite races aren't in motorsport, so I'll ignore that criteria, and just list my 10 favorite races.
…
7. MXGP Lommel
…

I wasn't expecting to see that one

(I prefer the nearby Keiheuvel though - even 'heavier' sand and some actual dunes, and most of it inside a forest to top it off - even though that one fails to attract the MXGP(1) top guys lately. I also dearly miss the Citadel in Namur/Namen (B) )

[Frank Tuesday]

I wasn't expecting to see that one

(I prefer the nearby Keiheuvel though - even 'heavier' sand and some actual dunes, and most of it inside a forest to top it off - even though that one fails to attract the MXGP(1) top guys lately. I also dearly miss the Citadel in Namur/Namen (B) )

 

Not familiar with that one. I've been watching MX since the late '70s when my Dad raced.  It's only fairly recently that I've had the ability to watch the MXGP and I love watching the sand tracks.  AMA MX doesn't have anything quite like it.   

[Brackets]

Not familiar with that one. I've been watching MX since the late '70s when my Dad raced.  It's only fairly recently that I've had the ability to watch the MXGP and I love watching the sand tracks.  AMA MX doesn't have anything quite like it.   

Random Google pic of the, ehr, quality of the sand:

 

Dad - mine, not yours - is also who got me involved.

[Dan333SP]

1. Canadian GP, because I usually attend and it's almost always a great race (this year as an exception on both counts)

2. Le Mans

3. Bathurst 12 hours

4. Belgian GP

5. MotoGP Assen

6. Indy 500

7. Petit Le Mans

8. Sebring 12hr (both this and PLM were much higher on my list until the P1 cars vanished)

9. Monaco GP

10. Nurburgring 24

 

 

I will say that since I've gotten into cycling in the last 5 years or so, I'd now rate big one day bike races like Paris-Roubaix and the World Championship road race above basically all motorsports other than the Canadian GP.