rec.autos.simulators

This is addressed to all persons involved in constant debate about the
entertaining value of Formula 1 over NASCAR over CART over IRL.  You are
welcome to read, and reply via newsgroup or e-mail.

  Formula 1 racing, in my outspoken opinion, is the best racing there
is.  That is, it combines not only the driver's talent and a race car,
but the help of hundreds of men and women constructing that car and
servicing it during pit stops.  Yes, Formula 1 would be a fantastic
sport if all the drivers were strapped into identical IROC Trans-Ams to
see exactly who the best driver is.  But F1 is about more; it is about
building your own race car better than all the other teams, and having a
good driver, and creating good pit stops, to win a race, and the
championship.  That is why there is the Constructor's Championship.

  Look at Formula 1 as somewhat of a science project.  Thirty children
are all trying to construct the best paper airplane and fly it the
longest.  Chances are, the one who makes the best plane, will fly the
longest, and get a good grade.  Williams, Benetton, McLaren, Ferrari,
Ligier (er, Prost), Tyrrell, Minardi - all are trying to make a
formidable race car with the resources they have.  Schumacher, Hill,
Villneuve, Coulthard, Alesi, Salo, Katayama - they will use that car to
the best of their abilities and try to win.

  That is what racing in general is all about, isn't it?  Winning.
Formula 1 does not involve great amounts of passing for a reason: very
soon in the race, the best teams come out in front.  However, sometimes
they conflict, and you get legendary moments such as Villneuve's pass on
Schumacher.  NASCAR, CART, and IRL have closely-monitored specifications
to follow, making all the cars somewhat equal, and making racing a more
unpredictable sport.  F1 has seen some teams using V10s and V12s, some
teams using a V8 or V6, and some using innovative wing styles (which
have been banned).  It is very difficult to judge which team, not
driver, will prevail in a given year.

  I sincerely hope this article has shed some light on the world's
racing spectrum.  Racing is racing, and some racing series are
different, but don't dismiss them because you do not understand them.
That would make way too much sense...

  Eat-and-Sleep Race Fan,

  John P. Wilson :|:

Without quoting your comments, and while conceding you raise some
valid points, what it comes down to is the fact that you discuss F1 as
a scientific research project...which it is.  But its also a form of
entertainment, with millions of people all over the world following
it.  And as a form of entertainment, it should
be...well...entertaining, and not just to people who understand
suspension theory.

Randy

An immediate improvement may be to be strict with the national TV
companies that cover the GPs so badly : showing the leader/national
hero for lap after lap, ignoring midfield battles, hardly using any of
the great in-car cameras etc. F1 has the financial muscle and ratings
to insist on top-rate coverage. For good TV see the Australian saloon
cars - loads of in-car action and even chats with the drivers as they
race !

Let's hope noone takes this thread as 'the x championship is better
than the y championship' - it all depends on personal taste and, to an
extent, what you were brought up on. But hell, controversial opinions
are still welcome !

*** REMAINDER DELETED FOR BREVITY ***

John,

Bravo, amen, thumbs up, etc....I TOTALLY agree with you.  While I
enjoy many types of racing and I enjoy the occassional NASCAR race, I
much prefer F1 because of the highly competitive aspect and the
science that it takes to build a winning team and car.  I couldn't
have said it better myself...

First, my bias.  I love CART racing right now because I believe it is
the most competitive racing series out there.  There is much going on
with constructors, but the DRIVER is the catalyst for winning, not the
machinery.  Any given week, maybe 50% of the field or more can win.  

I agree that Formula 1 racing is a much better engineering contest (i.e.
my car is faster than your car), but I believe most people are
interested what the driver can do (i.e. I can drive faster than you no
matter WHAT you give me!!).

I do enjoy watching the F1 parade, longing for a neat pass (didn't see
any in the first race this year), and my open wheel bias leave me
preferring F1 to NASCAR.  Still, my e***ment level over a CART race is
way above the others, and its what I love.

Now for sims, I invest all my time in NASCAR, because winning a race
over the likes of Joe Farr in the IVGA league beats the hell outta
beating anybodies AI cars (even if I only accomplish it rarely).  I long
for ICR3 with multiplayer support, but it doesn't look good right now.
So in the meantime, it's Hawaii (and soon NROS) that are my passions for
sims.

HIGHLY COMPETITIVE...HIGHLY COMPETITIVE?  I don't think so.  The races are
sometimes LIKE IRL's, they have one guy so far ahead and then something
happens sending him out.  (sorry for the shouting, i'm makin' a point.)
NASCAR and CART are where the racing is.  You can't predict a race.  You
two in the previous part of this thread (or the message) should see the
1996 Southern 500 or the 1996 Bank of America 300k.

Christopher

http://members.aol.com/ROSCS

Yada, yada, ya...

Okay, smartguy, YOU predict who's gonna win today's Grand Prix of
Brazil...
C'mon, do it!

-John :|: