I agree with others who said that it’s unfortunately more the invisibility of Rallying. Ask most Brits to name a rally driver, Brit or other, and odds on you’d only get McRae or Hopkirk, maybe Carlsson if they’re old enough.
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Formula 1 2025
- Thread starter GeeJayW
- Start date
Wasn’t there an attempt at that a few years ago, I seem to remember Schumacher took part? Called ‘Race of Champions’ or something like that.Would be very interesting. Say have,
Two F1 drivers, Two WRC driver's
Two BTCC driver's and perhaps as a bit of a wild card, Two NASCAR drivers. In Four
races. Love to see that.
Edit: from Wikipedia. Apparently it’s still going.
OP
OP
As soon as you put them all in a reasonably priced car, the abilities that F1 drivers have developed in order to properly wring the neck of an F1 car, go to waste. The tin-top racers (some of whom wouldn’t even fit in an F1 car), are immediately handed an advantage.
On Top Gear’s ‘star in a reasonably priced car’ segment, there were often references to how F1 drivers used different lines around the track. And, when the F1 drivers did pedal the car, they were pretty much laughing the whole time and still set ridiculous times.
Nevertheless, this is what these so-called driver challenges always do. Would be very expensive to try running them all in F1 or even F2 cars, so that never happens. The closest it gets is something like Formula Ford, which again, takes the whole thing down to managing cars with ‘sane’ levels of performance. All the drivers can do that.
SpikyMikey
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That'll be @poormansporsche and me then. It's been a few years but I'm sure I can remember how to hussle a light commercial along and I still have one arm that tans more than the other.Oh yeh, they'd Defo, win.
Bellow
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In a heat on a wet and drying track on slicks in a kart I set fastest time - decent! And I still say the power sliding (that's all it is - watch how the car twitches when they straighten it to see how much grip they waste) TG indulge in is piss easy in the huge arenas they run in.
A car at the absolute limit (not mere poking the tail out) is a different animal altogether and not to be indulged on the public roads as it will surely end in tears - only a matter of when, not if.
Or Roger Clark or Stig Blomqvist or Carlos Sainz (senior). (And sadly Richard Burns).
You are right - I can't name any current top rally driver. The sport has become invisible.
In my younger days the RAC Lombard rally was 'a thing'. We'd know people would go out to marshall or spectate. I can't recall speaking to anybody about going to see a rally for around 20 years.
ALFAitalia
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Spoil sport!.....but its very nice to be back in a rear drive car after nearly 6 years in the FWD ALFA 159......ALFA realised the error of their ways with the 159 replacement... the RWD Giulia.....probably the best handling saloon on the road at the moment.
The cheap rear tyres on my 212 make sliding pretty easy....but not thar predictable.
The advantage I have was that the first 4 years I drove (13 to 17) was almost exclusively off road...I could slide a car before I could change gear properly!
If I've got this right, the reason for the low profile of WRC in the UK isn't hard to fathom. First instead of traveling around the UK it stayed in Wales for a number of years and at some point the special stages became no longer free entry. 2019 was the last championship that even the Wales Rally GB was part of WRC.
If there hasn't been a round of the WRC in the UK for the last 6 years, it's hardly going to encourage popularity.
If there hasn't been a round of the WRC in the UK for the last 6 years, it's hardly going to encourage popularity.
TC350
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A good friend of mine does a lot of rallying mixing with the big boys. He was up in Yorkshire at the Riponian Rally earlier this month.
He also has a tarmac car, but doesn’t get it out much.
His interest in cars extends to his AC Cobra and Ferrari. But he’s just let the side down by buying a battery car: a Porsche Taycan. It’s not bad.
He also has a tarmac car, but doesn’t get it out much.
His interest in cars extends to his AC Cobra and Ferrari. But he’s just let the side down by buying a battery car: a Porsche Taycan. It’s not bad.
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Oi, that's racialism dontcha know. I will have you know I am a forward looking contemporary male not some WVM gorilla.......
SpikyMikey
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Just been watching the WSBK highlights coverage on Eurosport while it’s still available on Sky… The commentary was duller than a dull thing that is really dull… No analysis, characterless, empty, no insights or background. Didn’t even show full post-race interviews. Dreadful promo for the upcoming Portuguese too. Could almost be AI…
Very sad state of affairs… my goodness.
Very sad state of affairs… my goodness.
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The Eurosport commentators can't compare to the MotoGP commentators, who really know their racing.
On the subject of MotoGP, poor Jorge Martin, current World Champion will miss the season opening race in Thailand after fracturing his right hand in yet another spill. That after fracturing his left hand just a few weeks ago in testing. Two operations in a month isn't the best way to begin the season.
I'm away from home down in Gerrards Cross for 10 days without access to Sky. It's the sort of place where posh and Porsche are pronounced in a very similar way....
However, talking of dull commentators, I had lunch with Martin Brundle yesterday. It was so 'dull' that it was almost 3:30 by the time we had finished lunch and only scratched the surface of what we wanted to talk about.
As I'm close to where most people live for a few days, I'm lunching with another good friend and former Jaguar Gp C driver tomorrow...
ALFAitalia
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My bad, SWMBO has just told me that we were not watching Eurosport (WSBK coverage has already migrated apparently), but instead the ITV4 highlights. Seeing as that’s what we will be stuck with going forwards (not going to pay even more for TV), that really is quite sad.
The pre-season testing is now over and are we any closer to seeing who is in contention for this season? I'm not sure we are! With the exception of Sauber and Haas, it could be argued that all of the other teams have shown that they have the possibility of being quick. There have been stand out laps on each day and a stand out long run on one day by McLaren....but it's only testing!
I think it really is true to say we will not know until after the first qualifying sessions are over.
I found out on Monday that Mick Dohan called Martin Brundle some time ago to see if he would manage son Jack. Martin said it was a full time job these days and despite having managed Coulthard early this century when he was commentating, trying to save Silverstone and driving at Le Mans for Bentley, he would have to say no. What I didn't realise is that Flav is now Jack's manager!
Put that in to context with what is now being said about Colapinto....who incidentally, comes with backing worth almost 50% of the Argentinian GDP, ....well maybe that's a slight exaggeration.
One of the things we really giggled about is that most of the drivers do not see the irony of asking to 'not be treated like children' and also being up in arms about large fines for swearing on camera. They maybe the best drivers in the world, but they do still have some growing up do.
I think it really is true to say we will not know until after the first qualifying sessions are over.
I found out on Monday that Mick Dohan called Martin Brundle some time ago to see if he would manage son Jack. Martin said it was a full time job these days and despite having managed Coulthard early this century when he was commentating, trying to save Silverstone and driving at Le Mans for Bentley, he would have to say no. What I didn't realise is that Flav is now Jack's manager!
Put that in to context with what is now being said about Colapinto....who incidentally, comes with backing worth almost 50% of the Argentinian GDP, ....well maybe that's a slight exaggeration.
One of the things we really giggled about is that most of the drivers do not see the irony of asking to 'not be treated like children' and also being up in arms about large fines for swearing on camera. They maybe the best drivers in the world, but they do still have some growing up do.
OP
OP
^^ great to see Williams arrive this year with a car that seems to be working well, Alex and Carlos seem to be getting along and both put decent times in.
Qualifying in Melbourne will be a better indicator for pace, though it’s an odd circuit. China and especially Suzuka will sort the wheat from the chaff.
Qualifying in Melbourne will be a better indicator for pace, though it’s an odd circuit. China and especially Suzuka will sort the wheat from the chaff.
Bellow
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What is being said about Colapinto?
Colapinto has been signed on a 3 year deal as reserve driver. There is much speculation that Dohan's tenure in of his race seat is under great threat.
Flav has history of firing drivers (Martin Brundle included!) with very little notice and most pundits feel that Colapinto will be in the race seat very soon unless Dohan does an outstanding job.
Counterpoint to that, is now that Dohan is one of the drivers he manages....but that hasn't stopped him in the past.
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