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Old 7 Jul 2002, 19:34 (Ref:328869)   #1
SL
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SL should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
Are Sportscar Drivers better than F1 Drivers ?

This might have been covered before, but having just seen the Mid Ohio ALM on Eurosport, I do wonder.

Sportscar drivers have to content with huge speed differances, the top Audi's almost at F1 speeds coming up on a 911. Or a 911 driver allowing enough space for an Audi, Bentley or Panoz to pass. Sports drivers also endure about twice the race lenth of the F1 lads.

I can only think of 1 driver who combined the two with success, J Ickx, others like Brundle, G Hill have either been good at one or the other. Looks like Irvine maybe out of F1, seem to recall he was quite handy in the Toyota at Le Mans.

What do you all think ?

Simon
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Old 7 Jul 2002, 20:05 (Ref:328894)   #2
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No. If we're looking at the average driver skill throughout an ALMS field, and an F1 field... No, not in a million years. There are some future F1 drivers _in_ sports cars, and some that should have made it, and some who did make it and couldn't stay.... But by and large, we're seeing the 2nd tier of the world's road racers.

Of course, there's always the question of open-wheel drivers vs. GT drivers... And most drivers will certainly do better in one than the other, so you really can't make a fair comparison between the world's greatest single seat driver vs. the world's greatest GT/Touring Car driver.
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Old 7 Jul 2002, 20:18 (Ref:328923)   #3
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muggle not should be qualifying in the top 10 on the gridmuggle not should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
I tend-to-agree that F1 drivers are probably better than ALMS drivers. However, a good driver is a good driver regardless what series he/she is driving in.

There ia ONE driver that excelled in 4 different series and would win in ANY SERIES that he raced. He won the Daytona 500 (Nascar), the Indianapolis 500, the F1 championship, and the CART Series title. Any guesses?
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Old 7 Jul 2002, 20:19 (Ref:328926)   #4
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paulzinho should be qualifying in the top 5 on the gridpaulzinho should be qualifying in the top 5 on the grid
Would it be the same guy that just can't seem to win at le Mans?

Mario!
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Old 7 Jul 2002, 20:23 (Ref:328928)   #5
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What I am try to get to is why the best F1 lads and the best Sports lads do not seem to switch over as much. A good example is McNish who seems to find it hard in F1. The Sports Toyota must be almost as fast as the F1 car.
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Old 7 Jul 2002, 20:27 (Ref:328935)   #6
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Ok we have between 2 and 5 drivers that can switch in fairly recent times

Mario
Ickx
Pescarolo
Brundle ?
McNish

So ?
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Old 7 Jul 2002, 20:29 (Ref:328939)   #7
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SL should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
Perhaps I should add

Mass
Johannson
Bellof

Any others ?
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Old 7 Jul 2002, 22:10 (Ref:329021)   #8
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kdr should be qualifying in the top 5 on the gridkdr should be qualifying in the top 5 on the grid
the best of f1 are probably better than the best in sportscars...but then what about the likes of mcrae or makkinen. its the entertainment, diversity etc that draws me to sportscars...not the "best".
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Old 7 Jul 2002, 23:11 (Ref:329054)   #9
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OVERSTEER should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
you're missing a driver.......................................JOHNNY HERBERT!
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Old 7 Jul 2002, 23:58 (Ref:329073)   #10
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Lehto
Magnussen
Brabham
Lammers

never got the proper breaks in F1, likewise

Beretta
Gavin
Baldi
Merzario

and they don't seem to lack driving skill...

but the F1 guys are something else.
But I like the mixture in sportscar/gts, ex-, pre-F1 drivers, amateurs etc.
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Old 8 Jul 2002, 00:12 (Ref:329075)   #11
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OVERSTEER should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
Vincenzo Sospiri
Jean Denis Deletraz
Mimmo Schiaterella
Karl Wendlinger
Ralf and Micheal Schumacher
Bernd Schneider
Ukyo Katayama
Mark Blundell
Jo Winkelhock
Yannick Dalmas
Pier Luigi Martini
Michele Alboreto
Emmuelle Pirro

All have done a certain ammount of F1 and sportscars

Last edited by OVERSTEER; 8 Jul 2002 at 00:15.
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Old 8 Jul 2002, 00:41 (Ref:329077)   #12
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muggle not should be qualifying in the top 10 on the gridmuggle not should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
Paul....the guy that cant win at Lemans is the "DRIVER of the CENTURY". No driver wins all of the races. Undoubtedly, the F1 drivers are good, although possibly a little overated. I, however, will take the sports car series any day for excitement and pure fun over F1.
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Old 8 Jul 2002, 04:12 (Ref:329102)   #13
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Anyone who runs into a parked car that had been sitting there for a couple of laps, and has the nerve to blame it on the saftey crew is not the Driver of the Century. Sorry.

I think F1 drivers are very good. As are the top Sportscar drivers. I think that the top rate drivers in both series are as talented as the drivers in the opossing series.
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Old 8 Jul 2002, 09:09 (Ref:329186)   #14
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kdr should be qualifying in the top 5 on the gridkdr should be qualifying in the top 5 on the grid
sl...the majority of f1 drivers are so far up their own that they see no farther than the f1 paddock.

thank heavens for the likes of nishy and webber
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Old 8 Jul 2002, 11:19 (Ref:329277)   #15
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Of course, until the early 70s, F1 drivers were sportscar drivers and vice-versa. Also F1 has always had a mixture of the best drivers, (about half the grid) and the not-so-good, (the other half, ie. pay drivers). And who would argue that people like Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell were not some of the best drivers of their generation.

The fact that in recent times there have been few successful in both fields is symptomatic of the unfortunate specialisation in motorsport since the 70s. Successful drivers in one area of motorsport are rarely so in others, just think of several CART to F1 and F1 to saloons failures. Those who are successful in two or more areas of motorsport are a rare breed these days and are IMHO the best drivers of all. Certainly the only ones I would compare with drivers like Fangio, Moss, Clark who could and would compete and win in everything.
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Old 8 Jul 2002, 12:25 (Ref:329333)   #16
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Aysedasi is the undisputed Champion of the World!Aysedasi is the undisputed Champion of the World!Aysedasi is the undisputed Champion of the World!Aysedasi is the undisputed Champion of the World!Aysedasi is the undisputed Champion of the World!Aysedasi is the undisputed Champion of the World!Aysedasi is the undisputed Champion of the World!Aysedasi is the undisputed Champion of the World!Aysedasi is the undisputed Champion of the World!Aysedasi is the undisputed Champion of the World!Aysedasi is the undisputed Champion of the World!
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.....but the F1 guys are something else.

Yes, I guess so, but half of them seem to leave their "something else" at home every couple of weeks......
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Old 8 Jul 2002, 13:40 (Ref:329399)   #17
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kdr should be qualifying in the top 5 on the gridkdr should be qualifying in the top 5 on the grid
unless its wet of course ayse...then we get to watch them spin around, drive across grass, into gravel...and other exciting things like that
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Old 8 Jul 2002, 13:43 (Ref:329400)   #18
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muggle not should be qualifying in the top 10 on the gridmuggle not should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
Some of the most exciting racing today is in the SPEED World Challenge series. No, it does not have the "big name" personalities as drivers. What it does have are drivers (male & female) and teams that are involved for the pure enjoyment of auto racing. More and more people are beginning to be attracted to this exciting racing series.
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Old 8 Jul 2002, 22:54 (Ref:329836)   #19
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Yeah, World Challenge is a riot to watch! Lots of close competition, doorhandling, and it's playing field where a really skilled driver can manage to keep pace with his much better-funded adversaries.

The SCCA does seem to play favorites, though, with the rules from year to year. Especially with Audi. There are obviously drivers in the GT ranks who are more than the equals of the two Audi drivers in pure talent, but the cars still manage to drive away from the field. The boost reductions to the Realtime NSX last year seemed like blatant favoritism to the Audis, as well as the mufflers imposed at several tracks (the turbocharged Audis are the quietest cars in the field).

Audi puts a _lot_ of money into the series, and I don't think it's far-fetched to think they're getting special treatment.
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Old 8 Jul 2002, 23:10 (Ref:329839)   #20
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I wont comment on the favoritism, however, Audi pays $5000 in contingency $$$ for a win by one of it's cars. Chevrolet (Corvette) pays $1500/$2000 in parts. Perhaps that is why you don't see very many Corvettes running GT.
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Old 9 Jul 2002, 11:33 (Ref:330105)   #21
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Liz should be qualifying in the top 10 on the gridLiz should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
Considering the extremely technical and specialised nature of today's F1 cars, I would guess that most of the "drivers" in that series would have trouble driving a car that needed actual input from a driver (i.e. can't be driven from the pit wall.) And judging by the fact that one F1 driver in particular says that every other kind of racing is "too dangerous" I'd say we're not likely to see another Mario in our lifetimes.

Personally I think the WRC drivers are better than any other drivers out there. They are literally living by their wits!
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Old 9 Jul 2002, 12:13 (Ref:330128)   #22
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Personally I think the WRC drivers are better than any other drivers out there. They are literally living by their wits!
I'm not the greatest WRC fan, Liz, but from the occasional rallies I see, I'd have to agree with you.
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Old 9 Jul 2002, 12:34 (Ref:330146)   #23
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touringlegend should be qualifying in the top 3 on the gridtouringlegend should be qualifying in the top 3 on the gridtouringlegend should be qualifying in the top 3 on the grid
Agreed here as well, especially when you consider some of the drops off edges of cliffs, and there's not a marshals post every hundred or so metres.
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Old 9 Jul 2002, 13:04 (Ref:330159)   #24
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And another agreement here. I forgot about the rally guys, like Ayse I don't find it exciting to watch, that's the trouble of racing against the clock not each other. But when it comes to skill they are probably unsurpassed. The reaction time is amazing, and the speed unbelievable when you see the how close they are to numerous bits of deadly scenery. When you see reporters who have had a ride in a saloon or sportscar they are impressed by the speed and braking; those who have a ride in a rally car usually end up laughing hysterically, screaming or swearing - and often all three!

'Out of control control' is the best way I can describe their driving. Still don't particularly want to watch it though, certainly wouldn't stand in the rain in a Welsh forest all day for it. Whereas standing in the rain at Tetre Rouge is heaven of course!
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Old 11 Jul 2002, 08:24 (Ref:331593)   #25
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just wanted to finish this thread off with a simple question which i think will back up our concensus..

its 12noon on sat june 14th 2003...and you're 5 hours from le mans.

who do you want driving to get you there in time?

schumacher, pirro..or mcrae?

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