Not enough motor racing or people don't care?
Discussion
I travel quite a lot for work/business. Currently sat in a sports bar in Doha. There are exactly 21 TV screens from my current seating position, probably 50+ in the bar. Not a single one is showing sport that involves a vehicle of any kind. No cars, no bikes, nothing.
Have we got to the point where motor racing of any kind is irrelevant to most people? Even in hotels with dozens of sports channels finding a race is almost impossible.
I'm hoping that there is still plenty of racing going on. In fact surely it's more socially distanced than any of the football games going on at the moment.
In fact I've had to resort YouTube and Sim Racing coverage to get my motorsport fix.
Have we got to the point where motor racing of any kind is irrelevant to most people? Even in hotels with dozens of sports channels finding a race is almost impossible.
I'm hoping that there is still plenty of racing going on. In fact surely it's more socially distanced than any of the football games going on at the moment.
In fact I've had to resort YouTube and Sim Racing coverage to get my motorsport fix.
I adore motorsport , and in happier times I attend 20 plus events a year , from speed hillclimbs to drag racing , as well as a lot of circuit stuff. But in the 50 years I've watched it , I 'd struggle to argue it has ever been anything other than a niche sport. Sure ,somebody will share their thoughts on the last GP perhaps, but very few people actually attend most events - and sorry , but motorsport on telly bores me to tears . It's just watching telly .
GPs and BTCC apart , as often as not TV racing is some series you've never heard of , racing at some godforsaken new circuit in the Middle or Far East that looks like everywhere else , with dull cars and duller racing . I'm obviously in a minority , but give me an early start, a decent drive and a day seeing, hearing and smelling real cars in a real place than some ersatz stuff in 2 D on a big telly
GPs and BTCC apart , as often as not TV racing is some series you've never heard of , racing at some godforsaken new circuit in the Middle or Far East that looks like everywhere else , with dull cars and duller racing . I'm obviously in a minority , but give me an early start, a decent drive and a day seeing, hearing and smelling real cars in a real place than some ersatz stuff in 2 D on a big telly
Yes motor racing is past it's glory days . I remember the 80's and 90;s when even club racing had big crowds , especially Coombe over Easter etc .
Now , one man and his dog at club racing .
maybe it is EV , mainly kids do not care about it .
I have 16 year old twins .... and they will not be seen dead in my GT3 RS , I say come to Le Mans where I am racing at the Classic , nah too noisy .
Now , one man and his dog at club racing .
maybe it is EV , mainly kids do not care about it .
I have 16 year old twins .... and they will not be seen dead in my GT3 RS , I say come to Le Mans where I am racing at the Classic , nah too noisy .
As a millennial, I need to ask if motorsport was ever mainstream enough that you could walk into a bar when a race was on and have half a chance of the TV being tuned in?
I thought Motorsport has always been viewed as a sport for the few, losing out to the ‘Everyman’ ball sports, apart from some rare occasions when a character transcends the sport and excited the wider public- Hunt, Sheen etc etc...
I thought Motorsport has always been viewed as a sport for the few, losing out to the ‘Everyman’ ball sports, apart from some rare occasions when a character transcends the sport and excited the wider public- Hunt, Sheen etc etc...
fttm said:
Rarely will you find any motorsport being shown in a Sports Bar , unless something sensational has occurred . January during a pandemic when other than Dakar there is SFA happening I really think you're expecting too much . Always been this way
yeah when we've been travelling and wanting to catch headline events F1/motoGP its always been necessary to check with a sports bar they're willing to show it and even then its usually one little screen off to the side somewhere while greenfield sports dominates the rest of the pub regardless of who's watching... Aside from a bar in Budapest that was rammed with rabid motorsports fans and a rather eccentric pub in Brighton.And yeah, not actually much motorsport to speak of happening right now, odd post tbh.
My local pub (eeee - those were the days) will/would happily put the F1 on, if it doesn't clash with some significant football match. It helps I'm in Cologne (Germany), the former home of one M Schumacher - apparently during his glory years the races would out-rank anything else showing on the telly and all the bars around here would be 3 or 4 deep cheering him on. Vettel? Less so.
Just about the only thing you'll find motorsport-wise at the moment is the build-up to the Monte Carlo Rally I think?
Just about the only thing you'll find motorsport-wise at the moment is the build-up to the Monte Carlo Rally I think?
hunter 66 said:
I have 16 year old twins .... and they will not be seen dead in my GT3 RS , I say come to Le Mans where I am racing at the Classic , nah too noisy .
But that just means you didn't raise them right, surely? My 7-year-old is normally running for the car the second she hears the keys jingling 
(I jest of course, I'm sure by age 16 she will barely acknowledge my existence, much less be seen in a car with me
)HustleRussell said:
As a millennial, I need to ask if motorsport was ever mainstream enough that you could walk into a bar when a race was on and have half a chance of the TV being tuned in?
I thought Motorsport has always been viewed as a sport for the few, losing out to the ‘Everyman’ ball sports, apart from some rare occasions when a character transcends the sport and excited the wider public- Hunt, Sheene etc etc...
It’s never been that mainstream and I’ve never walked into a bar and seen motor racing on. If it’s September-May, it’s football or rugby. If it’s summer, it’s cricket, horse racing or sports news programmes. Even with a GP on consecutive weekends, most football teams will have played twice if not three times in the same period so it will always only be afforded minor coverage. I thought Motorsport has always been viewed as a sport for the few, losing out to the ‘Everyman’ ball sports, apart from some rare occasions when a character transcends the sport and excited the wider public- Hunt, Sheene etc etc...
Aside from F1, who wants to watch amateurs racing ?
Makes you wonder what F1 drivers did before they got an F 1 drive really. It's been a lot of fun for me over the years watching drivers from Hunt to Hamilton in the very early part of their careers - and Senna was something else in FF1600 .
And let's not forget that F1 is absolutely not the sole preserve of hugely gifted drivers, nor that those less gifted aren't sometimes wonderful fun to watch, if sometimes for very different reasons .
And let's not forget that F1 is absolutely not the sole preserve of hugely gifted drivers, nor that those less gifted aren't sometimes wonderful fun to watch, if sometimes for very different reasons .
pablo said:
HustleRussell said:
As a millennial, I need to ask if motorsport was ever mainstream enough that you could walk into a bar when a race was on and have half a chance of the TV being tuned in?
I thought Motorsport has always been viewed as a sport for the few, losing out to the ‘Everyman’ ball sports, apart from some rare occasions when a character transcends the sport and excited the wider public- Hunt, Sheene etc etc...
It’s never been that mainstream and I’ve never walked into a bar and seen motor racing on. If it’s September-May, it’s football or rugby. If it’s summer, it’s cricket, horse racing or sports news programmes. Even with a GP on consecutive weekends, most football teams will have played twice if not three times in the same period so it will always only be afforded minor coverage. I thought Motorsport has always been viewed as a sport for the few, losing out to the ‘Everyman’ ball sports, apart from some rare occasions when a character transcends the sport and excited the wider public- Hunt, Sheene etc etc...
Aside from F1, who wants to watch amateurs racing ?
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