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Motorsports (Rally, F1, Formula E, NASCAR...)

Daybreak

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I looked around and didn't see basically any racing-related thread, and while that implies there aren't many people on this forum following any of those series we still should have a thread covering them (I'm currently lumping all the very different types here together for convenience).

I personally grew up being a big fan of Formula 1 and Michael Schumacher and to some extent paying attention to other stuff like the World Rally Championship, but I largely lost interest as an adult (it helps that I'm not significantly into sports in general, and that there's a common tendency for a single driver/team to have a long boring winning streak). I did kind of start watching rallying again in 2017 when regulation changes made it more exciting, and since it coincided with the Estonians Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja becoming consistently successful (eventually winning the championship in 2019) and the competition at the top level being really tight, I grew to genuinely like it.

The interesting thing is, I feel like motorsport as a whole is at this pivotal moment where it has to adapt to continue being relevant in the future. Several series (like the sports prototypes or even F1) are becoming almost obsolete and losing public/manufacturer interest - racing doesn't really serve the purpose that it used to in the past when road cars were much less powerful and sports played an actual role in their development, at the same time massive expenses are still necessary to win in most cases, and of course the climate crisis makes the entire concept kind of tone-deaf. Formula E seems to be somewhat of an exception, specifically because electric cars are still a work in progress and it actually helps developing their tech, and so it's one of the few series with growing manufacturer participation.

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Uto

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I watch pretty much all F1 races and usually the Indy 500 and the odd F2 or F-E race. The great thing about racing is that it is a very holistic team sport, especially in F1. You could have the best driver alive in your car, but if the car isn't good he's still going to finish way back. Of course corona has been shitting on us all, but luckily the F1 season is going to start soon. Will be a weird season. No idea if any team has invested much resources in the car, I guess they will all have diverted their resources to the development of next years car. If Mercedes isn't fantastic it's anyone's game.

Given that over the last couple of years we have seen Max Verstappen rise through the ranks it's obviously a great time for the Dutchies. As such Max is my favorite driver, but I also really like Lando Norris for bringing F1 into the 21st century with direct fan contact through Twitch. I also have very high hopes for Juju Noda, a 14-year old girl who's on track to dominate the Danish F4 this year and as such is right on the curve of getting a F2 drive in two or three years and might have a shot at making F1 if her ceiling is high enough.
 
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Daybreak

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Tallinn
For the World Rally Championship, the recent year has been really messy and weird even before corona forced the season to be put on hold - Rally Australia at the end of 2019 was cancelled due to the massive wildfires and then in Sweden (traditonally a winter rally) there was barely any snow. Currently they're scrambling to organize 4 or so rallies by the end of the year, to have enough of a season that they can actually award a championship.

This has actually opened up a great opportunity for us in Estonia, though, since we have been offered a chance to host a World Championship rally for the first time. This is huge, Estonia has never organized an autosport event of this calibre before and while the Rally Estonia people have been trying to bring WRC here it wasn't all that likely, given that expanding outside of Europe is seen as more desirable (for example, this season was supposed to bring back the Kenyan and Japanese rallies), and our region already has Rally Finland (which, like most others, was cancelled this year). Of course, there are the potential problems with corona (as of now, the rally wouldn't take place before September), but obviously if they'll go forward with it they'll take these into account.
 

Uto

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F1 starting tomorrow. Mercedes seems to be the best team, maybe Red Bull can get very close though. Ferrari seems to be in a messy position.
 

Morty

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I like motorsports too, and have done so pretty much all my life. NASCAR and drifting being my favorites, and I have to add rallycross as well, but I'll watch pretty much everything that goes fast when I can. :)

NASCAR is a sport I've been following for a long time. There have always been a few things about the sport I've disliked, like some of the stuff they go thru before the races, and their complete inability to drive in rain. This season is giving me some hope tho. NASCAR has taken a clear stand against racism, and the use of the Confederate flag has been banned completely. A bold move in a sport that's especially popular in the south.
And I am aware that it's mostly left turns in NASCAR. :p There are a few road courses, but most of the time, it's going in circles. But the racing is quite entertaining. There are cars passing others all the time, usually loads of lead changes, many restarts, and the occasional carnage when someone crash. Unlike F1 (which I have on TV right now), where Bottas has lead the entire race, and will probably win, unless he has some issues. Gotta admit tho, there's been quite a bit of action today, with many drivers having problems, but still doesn't come close to an average NASCAR race for me.

Drifting is first of all also fun to watch. Always liked seeing cars go sideways, and smoke pouring out from the wheels. :D I've also gotten some passenger laps with local drifters around here, and that's also been incredibly fun. And the smell of burned rubber... xheart

Rallycross is because I live within an hour of the track in Hell, and to have a World Championship of a big international motorsport like that so close is pretty awesome. And it's pretty action-packed too, which is nice. ;)
 
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