Oval Racing ?

[Billy_Hunt]

Sorry but I just dont get it .
Am I the only F1 fan who finds oval racing very boring .
It's the classic "Who wants to watch cars going round and round in circles".
Am I missing something if so please let me know.
I'd much rather watch F3000 or porsche super cup any day.
Or for that matter any kind of motor sport except this Oval racing .
Is there any possiblity that F3000 will race at the Indy circuit, thats something I'd like to see.

[Racer X]

I don't like ovals either, but if they have an in-field I'll watch the race.

[EERO]

I'm with you Billy, I'm not a fan of Ovals, though I do watch CART when its on.

Welcome to the Forum. It's good to have you aboard.

[Sharky]

I'm not a big fan of oval racin either. During most part of the race nothing exciting happens. But then again....there are some exciting finishes. I must admit that I almost fainted during the last lap of this year's michigan 500 (CART)....and just as they reached the finish line...man!....but then again....I had to watch 195 relatively boring laps to see 5 exciting laps.

[Neil C]

Of course there are many who find road races boring. One persons trash is another's treasure.

I'll just say dont judge ANY racing by what you see on the telly. Dirt track oval is some of the most exciting racing I've ever seen, yet on TV it's like eating a **** sandwhich.

[Crash Test]

But isn't it funny, the part people of the track which people enjoy is the final turn because it is so fast... The thing is that IRL/Cart cars go much faster than this, and they actually overtake in these turns...it takes a 20mph hairpin for there to be any overtaking in F1...

Giving a bit of plug to the IMS and starting a bit of a feud around here, Indy has more history and, well dare i saw more character to it than any track in the world. There have been so many great races, inovations, and great drivers compete there since 1911...

Maybe it's just because I come from a culture of slow sedans on road circuits I find the big ovals facinating...

[TimD]

I don't think that one has more merit than the other. Each has its own disciplines and pitfalls. Each has its own distinct heritage.

(I could be partisan here, and mention that the Brooklands speed bowl in southern England predates the Indy 500 by four years - but I shan't!)

It's a bit like saying which is better - a long, refreshing beer or a quick, revitalising whisky. Some people like one but not the other, but there are others who adore both, and find them equally - erm - intoxicating.

When I was a kid, we used to get just the Indy 500 broadcast in England, a few weeks after the event, and in a handy bitesize 20 minute report. I used to watch it because of the huge crashes. Shame on me.

But with the advent of satellite, and the fairly consistent broadcast of both ChampCar and NASCAR, I've learned what to look for. It's like a different dialect to driving.

The move which really intrigued me at the US GP was Rubens Barrichello's, where he came out of the tow to pass, and then found he didn't have enough momentum, so he ducked back into the draft for a split second, and tried again, so he could make the pass stick. As an example of a good driver learning a new bit of racecraft, that was fascinating.

[Crash Test]

Yes, but what is Brooklands doing today??

[TimD]

Resting in peace, Crash Test my friend. Resting in peace.

And providing a gentle venue in which to reminisce with the ghosts.

But don't imagine that to be through lack of interest, whatever you do. Brooklands' demise can be laid squarely on World War II, when they started building bombers in the grounds of the circuit, and the banked turns were built on to prevent them looking like a target from the air.

In 1941, Indianapolis was still able to host a 500-mile race. That same year, Vickers Wellingtons and Hawker Hurricanes were flying out of Brooklands.

When, in 1945, Vickers offered to buy the land that their aircraft plant was on, the trustees of the motor circuit had no choice. They were flat broke, and had no money to put the track back into shape.

*snif*

[Nuvolari]

Usually the short ovals -- like the Milwaukee Mile -- offer more excitement because of all the traffic that has to be negotiated.

[neutral]

I dont like ovals.

[RussianFriend]

I don't enjoy with fast-food-racing. But sometimes it may be funny to watch. You don't need any considering of strategy , you only look at a mess of fast cars, crashes, overtaking. Just the same difference like hamburger and good cuisine. Then you are in a harry you prefer hamburgers.

[R]

I like the short ovals. I don't like the superspeedways, they are too dangerous (certainly for Champcars, that was proven last year )

[torsion_bar]

i prefer the superspeedways.

the last two Michigan 500's have produced edge of seat
finishes. plus, i just totally love the idea of 235 mph
laps.

and oval races do require strategy. you still have to deal
with pit stop sequence, change just two tires or all four,
fuel load(Max Papis and Robby Gordon both got bitten on the butt by fuel strategy on superspeedways), and should a driver prayer for a caution or pit on a green flag lap? much to think about.

short ovals: haven't the Hanford devices made them real boring now?

[JeremySmith]

I agree with Mr TimD...I don't much care for oval racing myself, but both have there merits..The speed on ovals bothers me..If a Champcar hits that wall hard enough -- then good luck, the idea of serious injury does not float my boat, who wants a limp and a month in the hospital??..Overall, I feel the issue of F1 versus Champcar or IRL has much to do with what you were raised on..The F1USGP was a very successfull event as far as I am concerned...I would favor F1 way over Champcar or IRL..But that is just my taste, and I have decided in my mind to let sleeping dogs lie.. As my girlfriend has just pointed out, "Americans" do enjoy watching F1, well at least 250,000 of them....I am originally from London England by the way, and she is from Texas...

[Toth]

I've really tried to understand oval racing but it's just boring. One time I watched for over an hour before I gave up. I've seen 10 exciting laps so far (the end of the michigan 500 this year) and that's it. But I'll keep watching and trying because there must be something to it (and because I have to much time on my hands).

I can understand that an oval race is pretty exciting when you're at the track though. Maybe I'll understand when I've tried that.

[kuchi]

It´s not that I´m an oval fan, but I watch them week after week. Eventhough some of them are pretty boring until the finish, there are a lot of exciting moments like when laping slower cars, and battling for positions, anyway you can´t compare them with monaco or spa, there´s a huge difference between ovals and race tracks.

[Nuvolari]

No need for the device on short ovals, Torsion_bar.

One of the reasons I've not paid any attention to the Indy Racing League is the insistence on running only ovals. A short oval, a superspeedway . . . a couple of races mixed in with road and street circuits is fine, but I couldn't take a steady diet of round-and-round-and-round-and-round.

[torsion_bar]

i agree that a mix of road races and oval races on a calendar is quite a lot better than oval only. what if the F1 guys had to race a 500 miler once a year?

it must also be said that road races can also get very boring, especially F1. Road courses are inherently not conducive to frequent over taking.

another thing about road courses is the slow corners and the ghastly chicanes. i don't car for seeing a F1 or champcar slowing down to 50 mph during the middle of a lap.
i believe that at no point on a flying lap should a state of the art racing car have to go slower than the top speed of my Civic.

[KC]

I favor road course racing over oval but do not hate one of them. One question that may need asking is.... Is 30 or 40 laps of oval racing more fun to watch than 76 laps of processional road course racing? To most any fan neither is offering what they should. Every race is as much a chess match as a speed festival. Is it more exciting to watch Andretti or Tracy slowly but surely move their cars up the field on the ovals through racecraft and setup skill than it is to watch Hakkinen or Schumacher destroy an entire field by 40 seconds? Neither one of these are living up to the hype of the race, but they are both the nature of the sport. I think this is why some forms of racing, the BTCC of a few years ago and most NASCAR events, are so popular with a wider range of racing fans. They offer as much a specatcle of motorsport as they do a pure close knit race. It is too bad that by the very nature of the sport that F1 and CART are becoming hard to race side by side in anymore.