THE EMPIRE
Once upon a time race cars were approachable, you could see the driver at work, they were all visibly very different and powered by a wide variety of different engines. Touring cars were just your dads car with a loud exhaust, sticky tires and a roll cage. Bike racing was even simpler, the race bikes being little different from the road bikes.
But best of all Motorsport was cheap to watch and broadcast for free on TV, and it was usually live.
Then things changed, it happened slowly and started in the 90s, when big media started to take over, as it become clear there was a lot of money to be made in controlling how Motorsport events were run and broadcast.
It did nothing for the viewing experience, as good racing was replaced with spectacle, marketing and air time for sponsors. Ever watch a recent big event on TV and noticed that only the top 10 placed cars get any air time? Or even just how hard it is to find free broad cast events? Motorsport is being hidden behind paywalls, either through out dated models like Sky TV, or web based subscription services. And in order to generate sponsorship, broadcasters have agreements that state they will only show cars placed above a certain level and give x amount of air time to 1st, 2nd and 3rd placed cars in a race.
Professional Motorsport has become manufactured and processed.
But, there is hope. Lots of rich old white men with a love of old school race cars means lots of money is being spent on restoring and racing them. And the people running the events believe in sharing the love of old school race cars and making sure as many people as possible get to see them run.
In the last couple of weeks two massive events have been run; the Monterey Motorsports Reunion and the Goodwood Revival.
Both were live streamed for free on YouTube, and both featured some awesome racing.
The Goodwood Revival featured some amazing racing in classic F1 cars, but one of the highlights was Austin A35/40 racing. Little Austins being driven on the absolute limit by current and former BTCC drivers was just a great reminder of much fun motorsport can be. The little cars are driven to the absolute limit, and it is possible to see each drivers different style behind the wheel and appreciate just how much skill and hard work goes into driving on the absolute limit.
Watch the find lap battle to see exactly what I mean:
2x Superbike Champ Troy Corser also had a blinder of a lap on a pre-war BMW during qualifying, demonstrating just why he is so good on two wheels:
Amateur motorsport is still alive and well in the world, there are events on around the country every weekend, filled with great racing, but if you want to watch something a little bit more special, for free, then look out for the live streams from Reunion and Revival events. Goodwood and Monterey will be on again in August and September next year.
-Moppie
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