Mystique of Races

[gttouring]

We all agree on the mystique magic awe and wonder that LeMans has is and always will have, what about the other enduros? Sebring has a great "we are racers" party and battle attitude, but Petit Lemans, doesn't do it so much, although i love the race, Why no enduro at road america, or Laguna seca- these might show a true test...but how can a race wrangle up the passion and wonder that the 2 big ones have?

[Liz]

Road America (and Mosport) are great tracks but they are far away from the action and have limited facilities to support a really big base of people who come for other reasons than the racing. That, I think, is the big secret of Sebring and Le Mans both -- that they have an extensive network of Stuff To Do for people who will go anywhere to party with their friends, including a big race -- for a reasonable price.

[KC]

There was a day when the world focused on LeMans, Sebring, and even Daytona. There have been epic battles fought between some of the best ever sports car drivers. LeMans has kept the cachet alive for the most part. Sebring still has that flavor but is far below the press radar in the US. Daytona is known for its WC stock car race first, then the Daytona 200 motorcycle race second and Rolex is merely an oddity.

[gttouring]

yes but what is it about enduros, what makes the good ones so legendary? is it just the epic manufacturer battles, or something more?

[gfm]

Daytona has that feeling IMHO. Most 24 Hour races that go through the night (!) have that mystique. Racing through dusks and dawns generally have romance.

[Mal]

The problem is that they dont make good TV viewing for the occasional armchair enthusiast. For the true fan it is the greatest test of man and machine in circuit motor racing. That is why they dont have the same press coverage of some other forms of racing.

[ZXKawboy]

The "Big Three" hold that feeling, in part, because they have been around for so long as fixtures of the sports car racing world. For as long as I can remember (my whole life, so far, barring that first few years of infancy *chuckles*) I've been looking forward to Daytona, Sebring, and the gran'daddy of them all, Le Mans.

Granted, I may be only 32, that's still over 2 decades of racing going on at the same venues.

It's the age...the longevity..of these 3 races that make them so special.

[cybersdorf]

Every enduro - and I guess by "enduro", you are referring to the 12 and 24hr races now - is an epic in itself, simply because there are so many stories to follow. Those who say that winning is all that matters in racing unfortunately don't quite understand what it's all about. Why was the TVR squad so elated over finishing dead last at Spa last year? Because it was an achievement in itself.

Le Mans was relatively boring last year, and yet - PK Sport's struggle to stay in the race, the Morgan team surprisingly not making fools of themselves, the last minute lead change in 675... - there was a story whereever you looked. Generally, you don't need a glorious venue to make such a race interesting, although it certainly helps.

There is probably one more reason why endurance races usually happen at the "bigger" tracks (or certainly, tracks with big paddocks and pit facilities) - to accomodate the bigger fields that you have in such races. Of course, there are exceptiones such as Zolder or Snetterton.

[Liz]

We really enjoyed watching the battle between The Racers Group and Freisinger for the GT championship -- didn't even bother to follow the Audis after a couple of hours -- not only because it was a really close battle, but because we knew that the majority of the drivers in both cars normally raced on the same team (Alex Job Racing) and whichever team won would go back to ALMS and have one guy who won and one who came in second, racing in the same car! I also followed the Spyker (because I'd heard one of the drivers say it was having problems and they didn't know how far it would go, especially after the hissy it threw before the race even started) and the Prodrive Ferrari because I'm so glad to have a Ferrari I can cheer for again ... I love the Red Cars but will not cheer for cooties.

An enduro race is kind of like a Tom Clancy novel. Whatever kind of story you like will probably be in there somewhere.

[dretceterini]

I actually liked the Mille Miglia Carrera Panamericana, and Targa Florio BETTER than Le Mans..they were REAL road-races, and there are places where cars were going 140 mph through streets 3 meters wide, with people reaching out to touch the cars as they went by...

and yes, I'm OLD

[Liz]

Sounds like Rally.

[Smokey 6 litre]

great races and great tracks have no formuala that can be found or repeated,
thats what makes them great,
if the formula could be repeated then the great races wouldn't be regarded as great, just 'standard'.
although the history is a great part of Le Mans,
Even if the entire tract was copied and rebuilt in a different location with the exact same curves and bumps it still wouldn't be the same.

[cybersdorf]

Originally posted by Liz
Sounds like Rally.

Only better!

[paul-collins]

Originally posted by Liz
Road America (and Mosport) are great tracks but they are far away from the action and have limited facilities to support a really big base of people who come for other reasons than the racing.

To a certain extent, though, the people bring the party with them. Liz, do you remember the last of the real Can-Am, and the F5000 weekends at Mosport? I remember that in 1974 it was a double bill (I was 8) and Mosport had Conklin bring in a Midway, complete with Ferris wheel.

(Plus, remember the terrible rows of pit loos?)

Anyway, a proper race at Mosport, I still feel, will draw more and more people as the series grows. Last year they had a weekend gate of 50+ K. For that 1974 race they had 60K on raceday alone according to Pete Lyons (and my dad says the largest crowd was actually 1971 Can-Am, but he doesn't have any numbers). There's a bigger population base, too. It just takes proper long-term marketing to get people interested in the travel.

[gfm]

Liz - please, what is a 'cooties'? I'm sure they'll be upset if they knew you wouldn't cheer for them.