I think I'm addicted to Motor racing.

Following last week's F1 race I physically wanted more...It was very strange, I have been watching F1 since the late 90's...but I have never been this addicted to it. Maybe it has something to do with this whole automotive journalisim thing I have found my self gravitating toward.

So last week I downloaded some A1 GP races. It was entertaining to cheer for Canada, which did quite well in the two races I watched (up there with the leaders) but I found the quality and quantity of racing to be somewhat below what I prefer...Drivers made silly mistakes, which I found kinda frustrating due to my years of exposure to F1. It was good, but not a substitute.

Then this week I downloaded the opening three races of the BTCC, after hearing that it was really really great. It was OK, however I think the races are too short. 24 laps, IMHO isn't enough time for anything significant to happen, unless there is an accident (such as in the third race). Also there is no pit strategy, since there are no pit-stops (as of yet, I only watched the Brands Hatch series)...so that element is missing. Also some of the rules are damn wonky, such as the "reverse grid". I'm still trying to work that one out...since it didn't appear to be accurately described by the name.

Does anyone have any non-NASCAR ideas? I have a pretty good source for all torrents motorsport and need something to cull this fix.

Cheers

P.S. did anyone else notice that Fifth Gear really started to pump out the NASCAR love following Five TV's decision to start showing NASCAR in the US? Makes me wonder how much choice Vikki, Tiff, Jason, Tom and Johnny have in the show's content.

I love watching MotoGP when I can find it. (not motocross or dirtbikes, I hate that shit) DTM is usually pretty good.

What about GP2? It would be interesting to watch the series where the series winner is pretty much guaranteed a job in F1.

The only motorsport that's hooked me so far is the WRC.

I don't think I'm wired right for WRC.

I love the concept of rallying, and I'm sure I would enjoy following WRC, but I really don't like the coverage we get. I find the womans voice really irritating, and the coverage reminds me of one of those cheesy dating shows.

Mute the tv and play this in the background

^Haha sweet! The dancing weirdos are awesome!

Aussie Supercars are always a blast, but my favorites have got to be the SPEED World Challenge races. Between that and amateur SCCA and NASA races (the Runoffs and Sprints are televised sometimes), that rounds out my top list.

WTCC is new on my watch list.

Yeah BTCC is usually pretty entertaining, maybe as it's the season opener everyone is a bit more relaxed, towards the end of the season it usually gets pretty heated. WTCC is usually good racing too. The reverse grid, as far as I'm aware, is to make sure the fastest car isn't at the front from the start and just drive at the same distance away from the 2nd place driver all race, but prove themselves as a racer and get through the field. They change the rules alot, they used to involve ballast and pit stops used to be mandatory in the feature race, but that was when they had just 2 races per event.

WRC is perhaps not at it's most exciting at the moment, there are less manufacturers, Sebastien Loeb is too good most of the time, but the shots they capture are pretty spectacular. Can't you download a British version?

A1 GP and GP2 are entertaining, but I'm not sure what you can do if you don't like people making mistakes, for me that makes a more entertaining watch - okay if you're that good a racer you should be able to pass people, but it's proved in F1 that's not the case - the reason Australia was a lot more interesting to watch than Malaysia was the mistakes people made, people getting used to the traction control early on in the race, etc.

As Lancer007 mentioned MotoGP is very good. I expect WSBK and British Superbikes are just as good, but I don't have time to watch them all. I'm not really into motorbikes other than watching MotoGP, but the races are alot more entertaining to me than F1, because they have that much more room on the track to pass, obviously there's only one good line through a corner, but out and out drag racing on the main straight is excellent, especially at Mugello!

Hoo boy, where to start.....

For single-seaters try and watch these series....

A1GP - Single-make series with the emphasis on nationality and fighting for a true World Cup. All comes down to the driver. No driver aids whatsoever.

GP2 - The feeder series to F1. Ever since Lewis Hamilton left a few team bosses in F1 went on the record saying that GP2 has served its purpose. Pretty much all the hot commodity drivers have left. Hamilton, Piquet Jr, and Glock. No driver aids and hot headed youngsters in 600hp machines. Should make for some good racing.

IRL - The unification of single seat racers in the U.S. has the potential to repair the damage done after CART split because of the retardocity of Tony George. Originally split because Tony thought there should be more oval races since the spirit of american racing was on ovals. He thought it was becoming too much of a "european" series and not american enough.

World Series by Renault - Very hard to find coverage. A lot of up and coming names in single seaters. Kind of low profile especially since Sebastien Vettel left to F1.

For closed racers...

ALMS/LMS - Endurance racing series. Audi, Peugeot, Porsche, Aston Martin etc. etc. all fighting out in 8hr to 12hr events leading up to the 24hr of Le Mans in the middle of the season. Kind of fun to watch, I guess.

BTCC - Jason Plato fights for the championship in this series. 3 race format. Integras, Civics, BMW 320s, Vectras, and Astras along with a couple Lexus' fight it out across tracks in the U.K.

WTCC - The World Touring Car Class. The FIA trying to make the WTCC the F1 of touring cars and trying to raise its profile. Currently undergoing some BMW domination. SEATs, BMWs, and Chevy's fight it out.

DTM - The German Touring Car Class. Mercedes and Audi fight it out. EXTREMELY hard to find english coverage or highlights of any kind.

Most ALMS races are 2:45, phix, not 8 hours.

Classic BTCC, DTM, and F1. Can't say I'm a fan of much new racing... dunno why

WRC > any other motorsport

Pinks All Out

Well, you guys all know Im a rallying fanatic. The best roads, the worst conditions with the most adaptive drivers exercising the most exploitive car control on the planet.

^Agreed. And yes, you can download the British version. At least that's what I think it is, it's got a Eurosport logo on it. Is there something better to watch? My only disappointment is that they're only 25 minutes of film per day, but that's probably good...takes less time.

Yeah, that's all the coverage there is on TV. There's rally radio if you want full live coverage but I much prefer the condensed version.

WRC's impossible to beat for the interaction between car, driver, and the surface they drive on, but tune is right...the competition has been kinda lacking in the sport these last few years. It's still my favorite motorsport out there though.

As well as the MotoGP top class, the 125 and 250 classes are good watches too. I watched the end of the 250s from Jerez this morning and Simoncelli took out Bautista on the final lap! They'd been glued together the whole race and although that's a shame for both of them, was an exciting watch.

As someone already said too, V8 Supercars from Aus are pretty good too, I like the tigh tracks like Canberra best.

We've got it good in the UK with Eurosport and Motors TV - neither have F1 on, but it has everything else pretty much.

F1 back on the BBC next year! Excellent news (if a week or two old).

^I don't know if it's confirmed or not yet, but the rumour was that Richard Hammond would be doing the commentating.

Thanks for the recommendations, I'll try some UK WRC coverage and some ALMS to try and tide myself over.

Oh yeah I heard about that, but don't think it's confirmed yet, but I thought he would be doing the presenting of the show itself. No adverts is all I care about really.

^I hadn't thought of that yet...fuckin' brilliant!