Belgian F1 Race to-morrow.

[Snap]

All you F1 fans... are you up for the race to-morrow?. Looks like the MB team are in the cat bird seat again. Max is is a good spot at 3rd, I hope he gets off to a good start. The Big Red machine looks to be in trouble again.....I don't know whats going on with them this year. I'm hoping Racing point get some good results ...... both drivers seem very good this season. The MB engines seem to be very good in the pink cars and I think the brake issues may have been resolved. 

No doubt Hamilton will be hard to beat he is very fast. Hopefully the tires (Tyres for the Brits) will last. That was amazing when both sets disintegrated on both of the Mercedes cars. Hard to believe. (I used to have Pirelli Tires on my car.... never got to 200 mph though).

Here we go.  

[RobMc]

Now I'm going to make myself (more) unpopular here, but modern day F1 racing leaves me cold, because racing it ain't, racing is where men on similar machines (whatever they are) go head to head in a dual to see who is the best driver. Note 'the best driver', not the best car, not the team with the most money, not the team with the latest software, and not a special deal with tyres etc etc. I have been a devoted racing fan for 60 years and to me the very last true racing left now are the Irish motorcycle road races, where similar machines race on public roads in all weather conditions. If you think F1 is (or ever has except in early days) been good racing then you need to get out more. For a start due to costs there is never a full grid, the smaller teams stand no chance, even if they have the best drivers, and it is usually down to 3 teams and 6 drivers to last the race.

What was once a true test of skill and courage is now a computer controlled procession controlled from the pits, if that gets your rocks off then I feel very very sorry that you have probably never experienced true racing where the skill of the driver/rider is the difference between winning and losing.

You sit safely on your sofa, drinking beer despite never having raced (I have), never having been to the multitude of motor sports (I have), never having tuned engines (I have) nor visited all of the circuits you were able to (I have). I won't be watching it as put simply it is very very boring in it's present form, and I have said it often on these forums that unless it changes it will die a death, in my opinion formula E is the better racing if it is racing not spectacle that you like.

[lTplkey336]

Rob , you raced in a formula 1 race?

[RobMc]

38 minutes ago, lTplkey336 said:

Rob , you raced in a formula 1 race?

Of course not, and what I said is not a slur on those who race, but there is very little human input now take cornering, no longer just rubber gripping the tarmac and the drivers experience when it will let go, felt through the seat of his pants. 1/. The tarmac itself is carefully controlled in structure 2/. The tyres are a science in themselves 3/. The corner speed is now optimised by downforce and computer. 3/. Although not completely safe compared to other motorsports there is very little danger, and say what you like but it is the element of risk that makes motor racing unique.

 

 

 

[Snap]

That's some note Rob. I'm Speechless. ( To your point I did love the Skerries 100. the Phoenix Park Races, and the Wicklow racing.)

About the race today however ...well it was no surprise. It was Mercedes 1 and 2. Hamilton and Bottas and  Red Bull's Max Verstappen was 3rd. Overall it was a fairly boring race. It was a good day for Renault with Riccardo and Ocon coming in 4th and 5th. There was one incident that brought out the Yellow flag but overall it was  accident free. It was good to see Racing Point come in at 9 an 10  for a couple of points.

Italy is next on Sept 6th. I'll update you then if Rob dosen't  get me beforehand. Lol.

[RobMc]

1 hour ago, Snap said:

well it was no surprise

And therein lies the problem ?

But if you enjoy it don't let a miserable old cunt like me spoil it, but if you truly enjoy racing not the 'hype and showtime' try something else as well, sadly Irish road racing is dying due to costs and the ever constant safety demands. Let me run this past you and think about it, I acknowledge motor sport can be dangerous, consequently the snowflakes bombard the organisers for safety measures which eventually they cannot comply with due to cost. Yet I have never seen the same snowflakes calling for an end to base jumping, mountaineering, hang gliding etc etc etc are they acceptably less dangerous?, seems so? This is from the BBC who surprisingly cover the races well :-

'The island of Ireland has a rich and longstanding heritage of motorcycle racing on public roads - albeit one that while hugely popular divides public opinion because of the highly dangerous and sometimes tragic nature of the sport.

However in light of the financial difficulties being experienced by the Ulster Grand Prix and the news that the Enniskillen 100 meeting will not run in 2020 its future appears uncertain.

The Bush road races and the Mid Antrim 150 have also fallen by the wayside in recent years while the organisers of the Cookstown 100 have warned that the future of their event is hanging in the balance.

A number of meetings in the Republic of Ireland have also struggled in the face of economic realities in recent years.

Challenges to face

Among the challenges being faced are inclement weather, rising insurance costs, health and safety considerations and the fact that clubs remain largely reliant on programme sales as their primary source of income given that, with the notable exception of the UGP, they are unable to charge an entrance fee.'

 

What was/is essentially a sport that the interested man on the street can compete in is becoming a fading memory, in my lifetime the following have gone or are under great pressure :-

Country sports, as snowflakes think meat comes in a packet, dog racing is cruel to dogs, horse racing is cruel to horses, free fishing has almost gone everywhere needs licences and permits and now road racing, we are rapidly becoming robots, instructed in what we can and cannot do. F1 is a prime example, Mr. Ecclestone & co made a media circus, perfect for the press and the people have bought in wholesale.

[RobMc]

I'll ramble on to try to make my point, because I feel so strongly about the subject of people being lead not by what is real, but by what they perceive to be real, influenced greatly by the media.

Who do you admire most? the star who is lauded in the press, arriving at the circuit in his private helicopter, to be met by an army of servants. He climbs into/onboard a vehicle that millions have been poured into, everyone knows that the odds are on his side unless something catastrophic happens. He duly wins and the press go into a frenzy, he is God, can he ever be beaten etc etc.

Or the bloke who spends every penny/dime/euro on his passion, who goes to work then at night works on his machinery, travels miles in his car or van to the circuit, then works on his machine again. He lives in his van, and in between races paints his mates house? He has taken time off work to compete but lives for his sport.

Both are true, there are many examples to give throughout history, however there is absolutely no chance nowadays of him winning against works teams in F1, but this can still occur in road racing, two very familiar names are Steve McQueen and Guy Martin, not the best examples but familiar ones.

You are being conned, just like modern day 'celebrities', you have never heard of them but the media is flooded with their exploits, modern F1 is a circus, stars, tech and exclusive media attention. If that is ok with you fair enough, but it is not for me, or thousands of others, who can name more than 10 drivers/machines and will be at the track, not the fridge.