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Okay, we've got World Rally car, Desert racing, Rock crawling, Mud drags, Swamp racing, and Sand drags just too name a few. Do you have a passion for off road, what is it, and why do you enjoy it?
I don't consider WRC and rallying as off-road racing per se, but rather as racing that often takes place on off-road surfaces. I say this because 100% tarmac rally events exist, and many other rally events include both tarmac and gravel surfaces.
In addition, the elitist in me considers the WRC as a true serious racing series compared with the other types of off-road racing you have listed because it's the only one amongst them that's sanctioned by the FIA. Any racing series sanctioned by the FIA means that there's big bucks spent by the teams, which means that there's a ton of emphasis placed on including the latest technologies and designs in your cars. By contrast, I see other racing types you've listed as more grassroots-oriented, appealing more to DIY mechanics, tinkerers, and amateur racers.
I like the fact that these more grassroots types of off-road racing exist. In fact, because of the extreme expense of more formal racing, I respect the fact that grassroots motorsports even exist at all as a way for the common man to get his racing fix on. But I can't really respect them more than a sport whose end results are sometimes measured in tenths of seconds (very rarely, but it happens).
So if I sound a elitist here, I apologize, but it's just how I feel about racing. I do enjoy racing as a spectacle event. I enjoy the sounds of a screaming V-12, and I enjoy the sight of a slinky GT car speeding down a straightwaway. But I enjoy it more as a sport that pits drivers looking to use every advantage they can to shave tenths of seconds per lap (or in rally terms, per stage) and per corner. So sure, I like watching a WRC car speeding down a gravel road while drifting sideways, but I like watching a side-by-side view of two drivers and noting what one driver is doing to be slightly faster than the other even more.*
I guess that's why I'm rather displeased by the way rallying is represented in video games nowadays. The game developers realize that younger gamers are more enamored by the spectacle of rallying rather than the the racing aspect of it. So they transformed the more serious Colin McRae Rally series into the more spectacle-oriented DiRT rallying series. And as if to emphasize their intentions, rather than bringing in a top-level WRC driver as a consultant, they brought in Ken Block, whose claim to fame is mostly spectacle-based (his very entertaining Gymkhana videos) rather than racing-based (some Rally America success**, zero WRC success).
Don't get me wrong here. As I said above, I do enjoy the spectacle of rallying. But I don't like it when the spectacle vastly overshadows the serious racing aspects of it, and I don't like that rallying in America has essentially become an X-Games sideshow that attracts skateboarders and BMX athletes like Bucky Lasek and Dave Mirra (and even Ken Block himself) because it looks like a cool sport to try out.
* 9 time WRC champ Sebastien Loeb has done much to bring the racing aspect of rallying to light by adapting circuit-based tarmac racing techniques for use on gravel and snow surfaces. When you watch old videos of Loeb driving, you'll see that he keeps his car pointed straight at the road nearly all of the time and rarely makes big drifts going sideways. Or, in other words, the fastest way to drive in most situations.
** Though Rally America is considered the premier rally championship in the U.S., it's essentially grassroots racing event that attracts mostly amateur rally drivers. I think the only manufacturer backed team is Subaru, which pulled out of WRC several years ago for money reasons and because its Impreza was no longer competitive compared with the smaller and lighter WRC cars at that time (and at the present). Ken Block and other higher profile rally drivers bring their own money and sponsors to back their private efforts.
Last edited by urban analysis therapist; 03-05-2014 at 05:40 PM..
I've always like Ensenada to La Paz with pits in the dirt. The terrain and logistics to pull off a win is amazing. Motorcycles typically win, and then Trophy trucks.
I've always like Ensenada to La Paz with pits in the dirt. The terrain and logistics to pull off a win is amazing. Motorcycles typically win, and then Trophy trucks.
A friend of mine her dad has won the Baja 1000 a few times on motorcycle in maybe the 70's and 80's when they only had maybe two riders or just one. Way tougher then what it is now. Those guys going up the sand hills! How does someone think, I can do it?!?!? Do they run nitrous?
Rally is cool, but its fundamental flaw is that it's a poor spectator sport. By that, I mean it doesn't translate well onto TV.
I like Supercross because it's a great spectator sport both in person and on TV. I've been going to the San Diego race for the last three years, and it's great because there really isn't a bad seat in the house. You can see the whole course from your seat, which most other forms of racing can't do. It's also a great mix of 'rubbin's racin'' combined with vehicles that know how to do more than turn left.
Rally is cool, but its fundamental flaw is that it's a poor spectator sport. By that, I mean it doesn't translate well onto TV.
I like Supercross because it's a great spectator sport both in person and on TV. I've been going to the San Diego race for the last three years, and it's great because there really isn't a bad seat in the house. You can see the whole course from your seat, which most other forms of racing can't do. It's also a great mix of 'rubbin's racin'' combined with vehicles that know how to do more than turn left.
Mike
I enjoy Supercross too, and even raced years ago. I watched Ricky Johnsons last race at Anaheim, saw Damon Bradshaw lose the championship at the LA Coliseum, San Jose, and SF as well. I just didn't think it was appropriate in the auto forum, but what the heck.
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How does someone think, I can do it?!?!? 
Do they run nitrous?
