57 replies to this topic

[juicy sushi]

Since the board is currently flooded with disgruntled F1 fans complaining about the current state of their series, I thought it might be helpful to start a thread pointing them in the direction of other series/forms of motorsport that might provide the answers they're looking for.  F1 is what it is, and life is too short to wait on someone else to change.  Especially when there's a whole world out there waiting for you already.

 

So, to get the ball rolling, we all know the standard suggestions of IndyCar or top-level endurance racing, but I'd like to add that F1 fans should probably check out Super GT, Super Formula and sprint cars.  The first two are from Japan, readily available on the old youtube, and provide high technology with plenty of on-track mayhem and an *ahem* relaxed approach to race management.

 

For example:

https://www.youtube....R0u_5OhUS-P5IkD

https://www.youtube....h?v=xEigyDTHeWE

 

Sprint cars are also easy to find on youtube, but are a bit of a different animal.  Generally they only race on dirt, the technology is pretty old-school (although very highly refined as a result of decades of work), but the racing is very, very, very hard, and there's nothing quite like 800hp cars going sideways (that also do wheelies).

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=pdbmc057ly8

 

Any would any other gruntled racing fans care to share something with our disgruntled F1-watching brethren? 

[f1paul]

If I could make just one suggestion, then it would be this...

 

World RX. Very few people like it/are interested in it on this board.

 

This is the Final from the latest round in Hell (yes you read that correctly), Hell.

 

Edited by f1paul, 24 June 2019 - 19:52.

[Vielleicht]

My question is how do you qualify a series that 'no one' is watching?

 

Great thread idea though. I'm all for spreading the word over what motorsport has to offer beyond the supposed pinnacle(s).

[Jeeves]

Given that endurance racing is considered a standard answer, I unfortunately have little to contribute. Well apart from the motorsport.com racing calendar that lists upcoming events each week: https://www.motorspo...m/all/schedule/

 

However, thanks for pointing out the 'Let's go Racing'- YT channel. Didn't know Super Formula has English commentary - will be giving this one ago. 

[f1paul]

My question is how do you qualify a series that 'no one' is watching?

 

Great thread idea though. I'm all for spreading the word over what motorsport has to offer beyond the supposed pinnacle(s).

That's what I thought too. There's always 'someone' watching.

 

Even the Ethiopian Rally National Championship Challenge Series is going to be watched by someone. 

 

Edit: I understand what this thread is for though. 

Edited by f1paul, 24 June 2019 - 20:00.

[juicy sushi]

My question is how do you qualify a series that 'no one' is watching?

 

Great thread idea though. I'm all for spreading the word over what motorsport has to offer beyond the supposed pinnacle(s).

I'm pretty loose on definitions.  I'm trying to approach it from the perspective of "what would someone who only knows F1, Top Gear, the Autosport website, and the Grand Tour be missing out on?"

[messy]

Oh, easily Super Formula and Super GT. The two come as a package I think.

One, a version of F2 only faster, more competitive and very much not a junior series. Racing at some great tracks, European talents taking on Japanese drivers who are vastly underrated outside of their country. Good racing. A good show.

One, sort of the DTM crossed with WEC. Two classes - GT3 cars fairly similar to a Blancpain grid, and GT500 which are to the same spec as the DTM, two drivers in each car, the likes of Jenson Button, Heikki Kovalainen, cars going wheel to wheel, very quick, fans love it.

Seeing either of these two, I reckon it’ll take about five minutes of race build-up to fall in love with it. It’s a big show, the Japanese fans are so enthusiastic about it, it’s got the romance, the quirkiness, and the ‘show’ is superb.

[juicy sushi]

Oh, easily Super Formula and Super GT. The two come as a package I think.

One, a version of F2 only faster, more competitive and very much not a junior series. Racing at some great tracks, European talents taking on Japanese drivers who are vastly underrated outside of their country. Good racing. A good show.

One, sort of the DTM crossed with WEC. Two classes - GT3 cars fairly similar to a Blancpain grid, and GT500 which are to the same spec as the DTM, two drivers in each car, the likes of Jenson Button, Heikki Kovalainen, cars going wheel to wheel, very quick, fans love it.

Seeing either of these two, I reckon it’ll take about five minutes of race build-up to fall in love with it. It’s a big show, the Japanese fans are so enthusiastic about it, it’s got the romance, the quirkiness, and the ‘show’ is superb.

The GT500 cars are quicker than the DTM cars though, as they don't use spec engines (they're using the same motors as Super Formula), and are "over 650hp", running on pump gas (0.0), and don't have spec tires.  The GT300 class is actually 3 classes combined.  There's the GT3-spec cars, but then 2 additional formulas.  JAF-spec cars which are sort of like lower-powered GT2 (the Subaru BRZ and the mid-engine Prius machines) and "mother-chassis" which was basically a spec carbon tub (sort of mini-Class 1) with a spec V8 (from Nissan, but that's not generally advertised).  

 

Which basically just adds to the silliness.

Edited by juicy sushi, 24 June 2019 - 20:08.

[tormave]

WRC this season has been awesome. You can get every stage live, but at a subscription price.

[thegforcemaybewithyou]

Motorcycle speedway racing can be pretty intense to watch.

 

 

It looks as if in Japan?? they also have tarmac versions of that type of racing.

 

[Hati]

I don't know how rare it is but I wonder why I don't watch rally cross, in theory it's close to a perfect series,

[Nonesuch]

Less than three thousand views after eight months probably counts as no one.

 

 

Endurance racing is not everyone's cup of tea, but LMP2 cars in particular are just wonderful. If you're not at least watching the highlights, you're missing out.

Edited by Nonesuch, 24 June 2019 - 21:14.

[jonpollak]

IMSA.
Jp

[FNG]

I love the Blancpain racing series. Fun racing with track readied exotic cars. Enjoyed it a lot

[Branislav]

 

 

Any would any other gruntled racing fans care to share something with our disgruntled F1-watching brethren? 

For me Nascar is clearly the best racing series right now in the world. First and foremost, natural passes (no DRS, push2pass and other shits). Secondly, no stupid rules and stewards to punish drivers and kill the racing and decide race winner over drivers. Thirdly, cars are almost equal and there are so much passes, action and lead changes like nowhere else.

 

Nascar is fair, fast, fun and unpredictable. Freedom, 'let them race' attitude and that's why I like it very much.

 

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=08Z275XuMb0

 

 

(why doesn't show video in post?)

[Vielleicht]

IMSA.
Jp

Second this.

[4444]

Nascar is fair, fast, fun and unpredictable. Freedom, 'let them race' attitude and that's why I like it very much.

 

 

Let them race? When ever a race leader gets a 5 second lead NASCAR would use phantom debris cautions to close up the pack. Hell if they are tired of the same guy winning races all the time they would throw in a few green white checker finishes to break the monotony. It is too "scripted" for my taste. This is coming from someone who used to follow NASCAR religiously.

[ANF]

IMSA.
Jp

Yeah. Even a bad IMSA race is pretty fun.

And there's free online
• commercial-free international (non-US) streaming: https://imsatv.imsa.com/
• full race replays: https://www.youtube....UnitedSportsCar


10-minute highlights from this year's Long Beach GP that made F2 races in Baku look tidy


I wish I could find a Best Battles compilation instead of crashes but anyway

[beachdrifter]

Judging by the majority of comments in all the threads, F1 would be my recommendation. It has potential.

[Retrofly]

IMSA is like watching Forza IRL.

[jonpollak]

not... pfft
Jp

[juicy sushi]

Let them race? When ever a race leader gets a 5 second lead NASCAR would use phantom debris cautions to close up the pack. Hell if they are tired of the same guy winning races all the time they would throw in a few green white checker finishes to break the monotony. It is too "scripted" for my taste. This is coming from someone who used to follow NASCAR religiously.

Now, now.

Let’s not bicker about who passed who. This is supposed to be a happy occasion.

[ArrowsLivery]

Most series are in a pretty good spot today. It is really only FE, WEC, and F1 that are seriously sucking. (What is the common denominator?) I try to always watch Indy and IMSA if I can, and usually watch Super GT or Nascar if I happen to catch it on TV. IGTC is great as well.

[TauriJ]

WRC this season has been awesome. You can get every stage live, but at a subscription price.

WRC is a very popular series. 

[noriaki]

WRC is a very popular series.

Which almost no one on this forum is watching anymore due to the endless French domination.

But the new, post 2017 generation of cars has really revitalized the sport and now Tänak & Neuville are putting up a hell of a title fight on Ogier. I recommend returning to it for anyone.

[Peat]

WRC is a very popular series. 

 

*Was 

 

verb

1. first and third person singular past of is

[jcbc3]

Get off your ass and go to the local kart track, if you want pure racing.

[TauriJ]

Didnt know it was based on Autosport forums popularity.

 

Look at other forums(motosportforums.com), WRC event threads get up to 2000 replies. This forum mainly looks like an F1 camp. People tend to move away when there is no traffic, so WRC fans are pretty rare here. 

 

 

Some numbers to cope

 

[ensign14]

For me Nascar is clearly the best racing series right now in the world.

 

It is however not a series no-one is watching, although with things like the Car of Tomorrow, the Chase, splitting each race into three segments, turning entries into franchises, driving independents out with bent officiating, eschewing the classic tracks in favour of bore-o-dromes, and penalizing anyone who shows an ounce of personality, they're getting there.

 

And when the 2017 championship-winning team can't see out 2018, there's something very rotten going on.

[ensign14]

Which almost no one on this forum is watching anymore due to the endless French domination.
 

 

I tuned out when it stopped being whoever was fastest over a bunch of stages was the winner.  I literally do not know how you can retire from a rally any more as it seems people can pop in and out whenever they please in order to get stage points or some **** like that.

 

It's not that long ago that the RAC Rally entry used to be in the two hundreds. 
 

[jonpollak]

I love rally... but you have to be there to REALLY appreciate it.
Jp

[messy]

Most series are in a pretty good spot today. It is really only FE, WEC, and F1 that are seriously sucking. (What is the common denominator?) I try to always watch Indy and IMSA if I can, and usually watch Super GT or Nascar if I happen to catch it on TV. IGTC is great as well.

 

How is FE sucking?!

[sopa]

Series no-one is watching?

 

That's got to be your lawnmower racing in your backyard.

[Ben1445]

How is FE sucking?!

Our friend ArrowsLivery has a such a strong fundamental dislike of anything Hybrid or EV in motorsport that any series with it automatically 'sucks' 

Edited by Ben1445, 25 June 2019 - 08:41.

[f1paul]

Which almost no one on this forum is watching anymore due to the endless French domination.

But the new, post 2017 generation of cars has really revitalized the sport and now Tänak & Neuville are putting up a hell of a title fight on Ogier. I recommend returning to it for anyone.

I agree. I catch highlights when I can and Ogier, Neuville and Tanak - 3 drivers from 3 different teams are the class of the field and have been going toe to toe since 2017 (ever since Ogier left VW?)

 

The championship has gone down to the wire and most rallies are pretty dramatic.

[Sterzo]

Get off your ass and go to the local kart track, if you want pure racing.

^ This, a thousand times this. If you go to spectate, someone will ask you whose Dad you are (or Grandad in my case). They won't expect a spectator, but the racing will be phenomenal. Depending where you are, you might see future stars in action.

 

A few years back I tried to find someone to pay at the Henry Surtees Challenge event (Jack Harvey, Oliver Rowland etc etc were racing). Embarrassed girl in the office said she thought spectators weren't allowed but I could go in anyway.

[milestone 11]

 
This is the Final from the latest round in Hell (yes you read that correctly), Hell.
 

Is it painted red?

[noriaki]

I tuned out when it stopped being whoever was fastest over a bunch of stages was the winner.  I literally do not know how you can retire from a rally any more as it seems people can pop in and out whenever they please in order to get stage points or some **** like that.

 

It's not that long ago that the RAC Rally entry used to be in the two hundreds. 
 

 

The winner of a single WRC rally event is still gonna be the fastest guy over a bunch of stages. 

 

As for the championship .. well, they do "spice it up" with power stages, weird super rally rules and whatnot. But I don't see any difference between power stage points and, say, fastest lap points in other series. 

 

 

I love rally... but you have to be there to REALLY appreciate it.
Jp

 

Agreed there.

[f1paul]

Is it painted red?

Unfortunately, not. It's more blue actually.

 

It's rallycross Heaven though. 

[Atreiu]

I agree no one is watching NASCAR.

I doubt people here remember or recognize all the recent winners. And this is a racing forum.

Edited by Atreiu, 25 June 2019 - 13:51.

[Branislav]

I agree no one is watching NASCAR.

 

Because there are no Hamiltons, Vettels, Alonsos etc. and they drive OVALS

 

And give me best Formula 1 finishes and I'll give you the best Nascar finishes to see the differences and which is better! I guarantee you that Formula 1 is nowhere near Nascar.

[juicy sushi]

Oi!  Knock it off with the sniping and negativity in this thread, or I shall strap you to an Andrea Modena and leave it and you driving around the Caesar's Palace Grand Prix parking lot circuit for the rest of eternity.

[Spillage]

Indy Lights is always pretty entertaining. I've no idea how many people are actually watching it though.

[Risil]

Indy Lights is always pretty entertaining. I've no idea how many people are actually watching it though.

Probably still more than the number of drivers in the field! Weirdly though despite there being about 10 cars in it they send some decent drivers up to Indycar.

[beachdrifter]

I agree no one is watching NASCAR.

I doubt people here remember or recognize all the recent winners. And this is a racing forum.

 

I've heard the name, but I couldn't even tell you what the cars look like. Wasn't Kimi driving a Nascar truck once? 

[August]

Based on the fact I usually enjoy it but still watch it rarely outside the Spa 24h, I'd mention Blancpain here. Good drivers and well-matched cars in a big field of GT3 machinery. Really like GT3 racing, Quickly counted 14 (currently active) manufacturers with (more or less) cool-looking GT3 cars with most of them having cars in Blancpain.

Been watching some other GT3 racing occasionally too. I kinda like the German ADAC GT Masters because that's where you can see the Callaway Corvette GT3 car and that series must be one of the most professional national GT3 series.

VLN is a series of sort of mini Nürburgring 24h races, usually 4hrs, with lots of different cars from GT3s to modified road cars. At its best before the N24h when you have more entries running there for preparation.

Not sure if IMSA counts as a series no one is watching but I find it the best sportscar series at the moment. DPi is better than LMP1 as a top class, and so is GTD (GT3 cars) over GTE-Am as a Pro-Am class. Also it's got a greater variety of race duration than the WEC: 4 endurance races but others are 2h 40min (or 1h 40min on street courses) which is an easy duration to watch. I'll also mention IMSA's 2nd-tier Michelin Challenge which I occasionally watch. Must be one of the easiest GT4 series (with TCR in another class) to watch, thanks to IMSA.tv

[ArrowsLivery]

How is FE sucking?!

How isn’t it? Awful cars, awful tracks, awful sound, awful tires, etc. Do I need to keep going? There isn’t even one redeeming feature.

[Docc]

https://www.youtube....h?v=5jBkoEM0SSE

 

it's electric..

Edited by Docc, 26 June 2019 - 05:05.

[JHSingo]

I know it's not the case that "no-one" is watching it - far from it - but it always surprises me how little attention MotoGP gets. Races don't tend to get too many people posting on these forums, while in a magazine like Autosport it doesn't get a great deal of focus either.

 

I remember being surprised a couple of years ago when Cal Crutchlow became the first British race winner in a long time, and it didn't really get picked up by the British press at all.

[Cornholio]

I know it's not the case that "no-one" is watching it - far from it - but it always surprises me how little attention MotoGP gets. Races don't tend to get too many people posting on these forums, while in a magazine like Autosport it doesn't get a great deal of focus either.

 

I remember being surprised a couple of years ago when Cal Crutchlow became the first British race winner in a long time, and it didn't really get picked up by the British press at all.

 

To be honest it seems like only the past few years that MotoGP has gotten any coverage in Autosport, it always seemed to be a four-wheeled racing magazine to me, I remember being surprised when stories/reports suddenly started featuring on the website and mag. And I guess the forum represents (largely, not exclusively) its readership I suppose. I don't doubt there's a significant crossover but a lot of motorsport fans will be just (or predominantly) car guys or bike guys.