What is currently the world's greatest motor race?

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The world's current greatest motor race?

Monaco Grand Prix
4
6%
Indy 500
20
29%
Le Mans 24 Hours
22
32%
Nurburgring 24 Hours
6
9%
Bathurst 1000
4
6%
Daytona 500
4
6%
The Dakar Rally
2
3%
Pikes Peak Hillclimb
0
No votes
Isle Of Man TT
6
9%
Other
1
1%
 
Total votes: 69

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What is currently the world's greatest motor race?

#1

Post by PTRACER »

What is the greatest motor race of modern times and why?

Choose your own factors: Length, difficulty, toughness on drivers, toughness on vehicles, fitness, endurance, danger/size of the driver's balls, entertainment value, popularity etc.

Would you have given a different answer 10 years ago? 20 years ago? 30 years ago? 50 years ago?
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#2

Post by PTRACER »

Personally I vote for Isle Of Man TT. It's a supreme test of skill and courage, it's the last of the great races which hasn't been ruined by red tape, money making, ridiculous technologies and so on. And it's dangerous as fuck. And yet in health and safety conscious 2014, the race goes on.

Maybe fifty or so years ago I'd have said the Le Mans 24 Hours or the Mille Miglia was the ultimate test. Not sure what I'd have voted for in the meantime. Perhaps Le Mans was still the greatest until the late-90s when all this supreme technology came into play and they neutered the circuit in favour of safety.
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#3

Post by SBan83 »

It depends on what your favorite form of racing is. I'm not a big bike fan so I won't pick the TT but I like taxicab racing so Bathurst 1000 for me is the greatest race in the world. I think it's the most difficult track to navigate in a big, heavy car like that and to keep your concentration up for 1000 kms there is very challenging.
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#4

Post by Antonov »

you forgot to include the Coco Cola 600.
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#5

Post by Sam »

To me it's Le Mans 24 Hours. It's simply more of an occasion every year than any of the others. Isle of Man might be the ultimate race, and Dakar the ultimate adventure, but those two do not have the global prestige that Le Mans has. On the other hand Monaco, Indianapolis, Daytona and Bathurst simply don't feel quite as special as Le Mans does.

They are all very special, though, and I think you could make a case for any of them.
Antonov wrote:you forgot to include the Coco Cola 600.
You think it's greater than Daytona 500?
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#6

Post by SBan83 »

The thing about the Daytona 500 is it's an anomaly. All the rest of these big races such as Bathurst 1000, Indy 500, etc. represent the highest challenges of their respective disciplines but the type of racing at the Daytona 500 is generally seen as a joke by its drivers, who respect the Southern 500 at Darlington as the toughest race in NASCAR. Because the track is considered by most of the drivers to be the most challenging and unforgiving to get around and similar to Bathurst in that keeping it together for the whole distance is a job in itself, let alone racing your competitors. The reason the Daytona 500 has become NASCAR's premier race is the track was Bill France's baby. Before it came along in '59, Darlington was NASCAR's top race for 10 years.
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#7

Post by Cheeveer »

PTRACER wrote:Perhaps Le Mans was still the greatest until the late-90s when all this supreme technology came into play and they neutered the circuit in favour of safety.
That is why I think that it is now the greatest race on earth. The technology makes the race very rewarding for the manufacturers to participate in, and not only the auto manufacturers. The tyres are built in a way that lets the drivers push 10/10th all the time, which makes it very rewarding for the drivers too. All that at a track that has hardly been neutered, it is still one of the most dangerous auto racing circuits in the world. I hope you haven't forgotten Allan Simonsen already. And top of that, it got a lot of historical heritage. The race has been a central part in the development of motorsports since its inception.

To sum up:
Most demanding/rewarding for manufacturers.
Most demanding for its drivers.
Very demanding circuit.
Lots of historical heritage.

The Indianapolis 500 would be the 2nd race I would call "the greatest", but it has lost its innovation factor since about 20 years ago. Maybe it has the most emotions connected to it, and maybe it is the most difficult race to win for a driver. It is the only historically important race in the world where speeds of over 350kph is the norm, and so it very unique still. If innovation would come back to the place, it'd regain much of its greatness. Right now it relies a bit too much on its historical heritage.
Antonov wrote:you forgot to include the Coco Cola 600.
no he didnt
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#8

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

Antonov wrote:you forgot to include the Coco Cola 600.
Never even heard of it...... where / what is it?

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#9

Post by erwin greven »

Antonov wrote:you forgot to include the Coco Cola 600.
This race is by far not as big as the Daytona 500.

My top 5:
1. Nürburgring 24 hours
2. Le Mans 24 hours
3. Bathurst 1000km
4. Daytona 24 hours
5. Talladega Aaron's 499.

5. Talladega: It is the biggest speedway 2.66mi. The finish line is at an awkward position and provides great finishes. The races are imo better than the Daytona 500.
4. The Daytona 24 hours provides a great race at a historic ground. As a distinguished actual night race the event is very special. The banking is very hard on the suspension of the cars.
3. Bathurst 1000km: GREAT TRACK. A bit of a Dr. Jekyll/Mr Hide track. With two long straights and a twisty mountain section with a lot of blind corners it is one of the best tracks on this planet. Racing is at a very high level
2. Le Mans 24 hours: LE MANS! The name, its history, driven on public roads for more than 75%, the speeds still up to 350kph.
Extremely hard for the engines, suspension and brakes. It gives me goose bumps every time when i watch the video's again of the 2014 edition. Something i do not get when watching #3 to #5.
1. Nürburgring 24 hours: The most demanding track. Period. Fast: Döttinger Höhe / Kottenborn / Kesselchen. Twisty: Hatzenbach, Kallenhard / Wehrseifen. Big height differences: Pflantzgarten / Quiddelbacher Höhe / Fuchsröhe.. Getting airborne at places: Pflantzgarten / Quiddelbacher Höhe / Tiergarten. Length: 17.563 mi / 28.265 km.
Weather is a huge factor at this big track. Speed differences between classes can be hazardous. Driving at night is very difficult.
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#10

Post by erwin greven »

Everso Biggyballies wrote:
Antonov wrote:you forgot to include the Coco Cola 600.
Never even heard of it...... where / what is it?
The Coca Cola 600 is the longest race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series. 600 miles (956.606 km)
It is run at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. The race is know for its transition from daylight to night.
Also it is known for drivers who do a double duty that day because it is run at the same day as the Indianapolis 500.
Kurt Busch ran this year the Indy 500 (finishing 6th) and the Coca Cola 600 (blown engine on lap 271).
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#11

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

I would have to say Le Mans 24 hour..... it has the heritage and history, and with modern broadcasting and communications technology it has an increasing global interest. Despite having suffered from Health and Safety updates it is still primarily on public roads, and still fast, very fast, and one where it runs, be it dark, wet, (even foggy to a point) or any combination of the above.

To competitors of any discipline I believe they would hold Le Mans as the pinnacle. All of the other races mentioned are in their own way iconic to themselves and their fans..... meaning this is where I would include say the TT races, Daytona (both 24 hour and to a lesser degree the 500), Bathurst 1000 / 12 Hour, Nurburgring 24 Hour, Spa 24 Hour, etc.

(FWIW I believe that the Bathurst 12 Hour is fast overtaking the V8SC 1000klm event as the ultimate local.... that will only increase this next year with its 'proper' mainstream Full event Live TV coverage on 'Seven'). Clearly the V8SC owners know the way it is looking, given they are looking at protecting their own category from the 12 Hour event with the in effect petty banning of their drivers from taking part, despite the wishes of team owners drivers and fans to leave things as they were.

I think that any driver would, beyond a 'proper' World Title such as a WDC Trophy, want an outright Le Mans Trophy on the mantlepiece at home.

Perhaps a better secondary question might be to determine the best events by category: F1, Indy, Touring Cars, Sports / GT, NASCAR, Rally / Raid. (ie 'Dakar') Road Racing / Bikes etc etc.

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#12

Post by kals »

Everso Biggyballies wrote:
Antonov wrote:you forgot to include the Coco Cola 600.
Never even heard of it...... where / what is it?
The amount of calories per lap the average NASCAR fan consumes
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#13

Post by kals »

For me it's a toss up between IOM TT and Le Mans. I'll vote for the former because that's man and machine in one of the most dangerous and unrestricted environments versus a race which is now more about the manufacturer.
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#14

Post by Andy »

Isle of Man TT followed by Nürburgring 24h and Bathurst 12h for me.
From the discontinued races of the past I`d throw in Mille Miglia, Targa Florio and the daunting Nürburgring 80h race, which replaced the Liege Marathon Rallyes in the late 60s
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#15

Post by Cheeveer »

The Safari Rally must have been amazing too.
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