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7 Nov 2016, 03:43 (Ref:3686124) | #26 | |
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Here is some good ol grass roots racing.
Beware though, it can be habit forming. Price to attend is usually $10. Last event I went to was free. http://www.chumpcar.com/ They do go to Mid Ohio. |
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7 Nov 2016, 03:47 (Ref:3686127) | #27 | ||
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Or come on out and check out the 25 hours of thunderhill. Grass roots for sure..
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk |
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7 Nov 2016, 07:52 (Ref:3686149) | #28 | ||
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I will add that living in the UK I am able to go and see juts about anything within a 100 mile radius of where I live so it's far easier to spread yourself a little thinner to see anything you want to see!
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7 Nov 2016, 08:16 (Ref:3686153) | #29 | |
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I agree with the poster who said fix your life and yourself and then... who cares if you like racing or not?
As another who has battled depression for decades, I know that having a reason to live--Purpose--really Is what it is about (well, at least that is how I see it.) When going through bad spells, Nothing seems very good, and sometimes the stuff which use to energize me and almost literally keep me alive stops working ... which is a sign I need to look for a deeper purpose ... or that I need to address those deeper issues which I was able to hold at bay/keep distracted from by other activities (like watching/following racing.) Take the time to help yourself. Racing will be fine without you ... what is important is that you are okay with or without racing. Maybe in time you will find racing excites you again, or maybe it will be field hockey, or bird-watching, or ice sculpture, or photography, or surfing ... who cares? Get right with yourself and whatever you do will be right. come to be perfectly at peace with how it all works. |
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7 Nov 2016, 10:05 (Ref:3686186) | #30 | ||
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Take a look at historics. I have as I have recently become more disillusioned with modern series, they remind me of what I used to love about the sport.
There aren't that many UK based historic sportscars series that I know of, (as in nothing from the 80s / 90s / 2000s etc) however there is a growing touring car and single seater scene from that era. |
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7 Nov 2016, 17:08 (Ref:3686254) | #31 | |
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I didn't want to reply to this thread based upon the initial post because it was no different than what you had posted in multiple other threads. But I feel this thread is going in a positive direction. And I also want to apologize if my prior comment elsewhere were overly snarky.
My impression is that because of your young age I would think that you have a pretty short involvement in motorsports. Given that Audi has been flying high for a good stretch of that time, it appears that is a huge part of your motorsports experience and it has been mostly all positive. I am a bit over 50 and was young enough to catch the tail end of the Group C/IMSA era (have watched them in person at Mid-Ohio) and the good years of Indycars. Both of which are now considered to be golden eras, but also gone. So maybe with age you can see that you have to enjoy the good times while they last and not be caught by surprise when the bad happens. I attended the COTA WEC race last year purely because I felt it may not last and I wanted to see it in person and not regret missing it later. Even with the ups and downs, I am still optimistic about the future of prototype racing. I also don't put all of my motorsport interests into a single basket. I am a fan of more than a single marque (Honda and Porsche) and am a fan of more than a single F1 team (Williams and McLaren). I always seem to have someone to cheer for (and complain about ) in a series somewhere. I also am a big fan of the technology side of motorsports. So I can dive into that and enjoy that aspect across all teams in the series I watch. As I mentioned in another post, I also enjoy more than just pro series racing. I help out with some friends who do LeMon and Chumpcar racing. I also enjoy spectating SCCA, NASA and historic races at a VIR (somewhat local to me). Others have mentioned the same thing. Grassroots motorsports is always a breath of fresh air when you need it. I also have interests outside of motorsports. Personally, I hope you stay here and find someone else to cheer for. You seem quite passionate, so don't give up on it. Create some diversity in your interests and your life. Richard |
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7 Nov 2016, 17:48 (Ref:3686262) | #32 | ||
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I feel you.
First, I too have struggled with depression for a long time. As you probably know, one of the symptoms is lack of interest in things that normally bring you pleasure. When the "black cloud" gets you, everything tends to suck. If you're not getting help, please do so. If you are, "keep on keeping on". To the point of your post, I got pretty much fed up with racing a year or two ago. Since the late 70s, I followed F1, CART, and sports car racing. I lost interest in Indy cars after the split. They went from being a interesting and viable alternative to F1 to well, crap. I lost interest in F1 around the time Schumacher retired. I was a hardcore ALMS fan until the merger. About the only thing I follow with any regularity these days is WEC. As you know from spending any amount of time on these forums, there is endless debate with valid points on all sides about WHY racing has to be the way it is today. I think it's primarily due to the way cars in general are viewed today, but that's for another thread. I've lost interest because of the way cars have to equalized. Innovation is discouraged and/or penalized. I am fascinated by cars like the Tyrell P34, Chaparral 2J and the STP-Paxton Turbocar. I don't mind if a car or a team dominates a series. I know that this often results in the failure of a series, but I can also point to teams like Minardi in F1 who soldiered on simply because they wanted to BE there. I won't get into a debate as to why this has to be, but it's the reason for my lack of interest in most racing. Strangely enough, I've started watching things like Pro Pulling. The open class is pretty much what it says. I've also started to pay more attention to Historics. |
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It never got weird enough for me. |
7 Nov 2016, 17:51 (Ref:3686263) | #33 | ||
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As I mentioned in one of the seven other places you've posted the exact same thing looking for attention...
Go out to your local short track every Saturday night and help keep them open. |
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7 Nov 2016, 17:59 (Ref:3686264) | #34 | |||
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Very well said Richard.
I'll echo others sentiments in that we shouldn't desperately hold on to something for the only reason that it is what we've become accustom to or comfortable with if we find no more joy in it. I've done so with many forms of motor racing and find being more interested in "cars" is more enjoyable these days, especially historics racing. To give a personal example: I am naturally very athletic and grew up playing many sports but chose to excel at soccer. At one point, I was one of the best of my age class in my national region. I accomplished many goals most people don't reach in the game and sports in general. However, at age 20, after 3 years playing college soccer, I no longer had passion or joy for it, so I walked away with no regrets. I've played off and on since and have been able to find more enjoyment playing for fun and passing on my knowledge to my sons. Much like many things we love, perhaps it's best to let this one go for bit and see if it comes back. Quote:
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"Knowing that it's in you and you never let it out Is worse than blowing any engine or any wreck you'll ever have." -Mike Cooley |
7 Nov 2016, 18:02 (Ref:3686265) | #35 | ||
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I need to do more of this. Saw someone post a pic from Toccoa Speedway this weekend. They are out there in the SE, but the numbers are dwindling. Butts in the seats are what they need and we all need to view motor racing where it's best more than watching through a hole in our house.
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"Knowing that it's in you and you never let it out Is worse than blowing any engine or any wreck you'll ever have." -Mike Cooley |
7 Nov 2016, 18:11 (Ref:3686270) | #36 | ||
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About 2 years ago I've visited a lawn mower race event in Avon Park, FL. the weekend before the 12H @ Sebring - a hoot! I'm sure the same goes for what Matt suggests (although every Sat. night sounds a bit much! ).
To add to my earlier recommendation: I'm sure you'll find your fellow spectators (and if you go to a more grassroots type of event those will be mostly crew folks and such) much more friendly and easy going than most of us appear to be here on this forum, somehow the digital world doesn't always seem to bring out the best in people and therefor we often seem to be much more critical and negative than in the real world - I myself am no exception! Take care and hope you'll stick around. Quote:
When and to where are you moving? You might be (relatively) close to VIR which has a SCCA Super Tour date scheduled for late April I believe. |
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7 Nov 2016, 18:17 (Ref:3686272) | #37 | ||
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Quote:
Look at your interests at 20 and your interests at 30 and you'll see vast differences. Take me as an example - 22 to 25 I played LOTS of games, especially racing sims - iRacing and GPL. I listened to rock music and watched Futurama and Family Guy a lot. Now I'm 30 I've lost interest in racing sims. I do play some games but not as much as before. I watch very little TV and I listen to blues music now. I've moved from watching F1, IndyCar and NASCAR to watching ELMS, WEC, Blancpain and Creventic Series. You don't have to keep watching racing. If you don't enjoy it, then don't watch it, or find another series you prefer. If you don't enjoy any of it, then don't force yourself to watch it just because you used to. You're not the same person now that you were 10 years ago. Don't fight that - accept it and find something you do enjoy. I mean christ, I went from playing Call of Duty 4 many years ago, to never playing the series again and spending my time making cardboard/paper spaceships, because I've now found an interest in space travel and found nobody makes decent (and affordable and up to date) diecasts of them, and I wanted a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket sitting on my desk. From that, I've found I can't be interested in space travel without knowing more, so I've started an Engineering degree (turns out I don't like maths, but I'm still trying!). 10 years ago I was playing CoD online. Now I'm doing engineering and watching rocket launches. This change is normal. Embrace it. |
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7 Nov 2016, 20:33 (Ref:3686302) | #38 | ||||
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Quote:
Quote:
I'll be closer to VIR than I am now(just over 8 hours away now), but still about an hour 15 further than I am from Mid-Ohio now. We'll probably be too busy getting settled in for me to make it there. |
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7 Nov 2016, 20:57 (Ref:3686308) | #39 | |
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7 Nov 2016, 21:21 (Ref:3686312) | #40 | ||
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Quote:
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7 Nov 2016, 22:06 (Ref:3686324) | #41 | ||
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Quote:
Richard |
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7 Nov 2016, 23:56 (Ref:3686348) | #42 | ||
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"Knowing that it's in you and you never let it out Is worse than blowing any engine or any wreck you'll ever have." -Mike Cooley |
8 Nov 2016, 07:46 (Ref:3686434) | #43 | ||
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It is fascinating reading the comments on this thread.
So many fans are utterly single minded when it comes to racing, as if watching another series is actually getting "out there", or going to another track! I do wonder why more fans don't go and watch something out of the ordinary. It is clear that most of you have a passion for motorsport, you wouldn't be here or watch sports cars if you didn't. But it is also clear that a lot of big series are stale dominated by one team or car, low in numbers, too safe, too clinical. And that is switching off some fans. That happened to me when I was about 25, so I went from one extreme to the other, started at the bottom and made myself go and watch anything, some of it was rubbish, but some of it hooked me in. SO now I am in the position where most weekends if I can be arsed to drive I can probably think of 10 or more things to attend, all different disciplines. Some international, some local, some club, some big. I never understand why more fans don't do this, if you do, and nothing comes close to watching a 6 hour endurance race, or an F1 GP or NASCAR race then fair play to you. You can rightly feel miffed and give it up. But don't give up on motorsport until you have watched everything there is to offer. If you do, you are simply not doing yourself or racing as a whole justice. And are perhaps a little narrow minded sorry to say. |
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8 Nov 2016, 15:27 (Ref:3686533) | #44 | ||
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My word I entirely agree with a post by Chunder! - actually I had a similar thing a few years ago - got totally fed up of the over-regulation of the sport but a big shake up in the rules hooked me back in.
I do agree though that the sport is far too clinical and corporate at the moment. Needs to re-discover its wild side. |
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Chase the horizon |
8 Nov 2016, 15:38 (Ref:3686536) | #45 | |
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Group hug?
Richard |
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8 Nov 2016, 16:14 (Ref:3686541) | #46 | ||
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I know it isn't easy, but the way that BoP has been handled this year, particularly in GTE, just hasn't been very good. BoP in general though, has been a bit of a black eye on the sport. Hopefully it won't be as bad with IMSA going forward, given one set of rules in the top class. LM was a bit of a joke with GTE.
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8 Nov 2016, 21:06 (Ref:3686605) | #47 | |||
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Quote:
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280 days...... |
8 Nov 2016, 23:09 (Ref:3686632) | #48 | ||
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Overall, motorsports needs to get back to it's feral/wild side and get out there a bit. Another thing that I liked about the LMP900 era was the variety of designs and each car looked different.
Right now, it's a bit stale because of regulatory and corporate interference. Last edited by chernaudi; 8 Nov 2016 at 23:19. |
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8 Nov 2016, 23:18 (Ref:3686634) | #49 | ||
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Another reason to visit some grassroots events to find out if your spark has truly died. Few forms of racing have greater variety than the club level.
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9 Nov 2016, 00:58 (Ref:3686651) | #50 | ||
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