jost one note so people get the right picture from my comments. i am a Formula 1 fan since i am 4 years old (1984) actually. and i followed almost every season. and if you compare races from that time to races today, there is a huge difference. in those days, almost all races were somehow exciting. today we have like 6 out of 18 races which are exciting. the exciting races are always the races where something happens which messes up strategies or forcing the teams to take another strategy. (weather, motor, tires) AND of course the final races for the championship. if nothing special is happending, you know who is winning right at the start. on most tracks the best strategy is set and know for all drivers/teams (with the exeption of some races). this is what makes it kind of boring today. if you look at races like barcelona. most of the seasons all the teams are testing 2 weeks before the barcelona race AT barcelona. so basically all setups/strategies are fixed. and in the end you have almost the same order as at the start. the high technical standard is fascinating and the will of the drivers to put their cars into that speed is tremendous, but you barely see an overtaking on the tracks anymore (either its for lapping, pitstops or mechanical problems) but not for infight like piquet vs. senna.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfJ5A9sBZiE
and this is the real problem in formula one. the technical influence today is much more important then the drivers ability.
thats why spec racing is so much more exciting to watch. take the A1GP series (world championships of motorsports) they are going to drive the 2007 F1 ferrari car from 2008 season on. EVERY driver is going to drive the same car which kimi raikönen won the championships. i think this will be interesting and a shit load of fun to watch. (i hope the live streams in the internet will be stable enough to watch it)
rally sports: i am fan of rally racing since my father started in local rally racing as a co-pilot (he did not do that for long) during the late 80ies. to be honest i'd probably shit my pants going through a hill forest with 90mph on the left side trees on the right side a steep pit and a road which is tighter then my 15 year old cousine with only the information the copilot is giving me, not knowing what is behind the next corner. exciting! interesting as a driver but as a spectator? rally is so interesting, much happens (crashes, tragedies, even close fights on the 1vs.1 special stages). it is just not possible to cover it adequate on TV. (btw. i'd love to have more point to point rally races in LFS, i am thinking about starting something like Rally LFS ....)
motorbikes: i love motor bike races, as there you have a lot of overtakings, the guys are just insane riding on those kind of machines at the thin edge of friction...
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... add almost all forms of motorsport ...
to sum it up, i have deep respect for all drivers risking their ass. i love all kind of racing to watch for the one or the other aspect.
driving in a game it is different for me. i like the "direct" competition more then the fight against the clock. thats why i mostly drive oval races as its more about interacting with each other then keeping the perfect line for the most laps in a row. but thats just a matter of taste.
i will never say: ".... (add form of racing) racing is stupid and bullshit" just because i respect everyones decision why he/she favors this or that kind of driving. but what i do not understand is, how people can be so ignorant and still do not stop being that way even when they are given good reasons to shut up.