Suzuki Samurai was Re: [geeks] SPARC proprietary (waaaay

[Mike F]

On Mon, 20 Oct 2003 13:08:27 -0400
Phil Stracchino <alaric at caerllewys.net> wrote:
[snip]
> Contests of raw acceleration will not make you a better driver on the
> street, and oval-track racing probably won't contribute much either.
> F1 road-course racing does.

Right-on... I've always felt this way. Obviously, drag racing is fairly
one-dimensional; I'm not saying it's easy, but it's basically "go really
fast in a straight line and you're done." Oval racing, I'd contend, is
very much a static situation - you're turning the same way all around,
with relatively short laps, at a relatively constant speed. Road racing,
however, involves widely varying turns, with even greater variations
in speed, over longer intervals, just like driving on public roads.

What I'm really impressed with, however, is watching FIA World Rally
and the Isle of Man Toursit Trophy - those are some seriously skilled
drivers in both. They make oval racing look like a walk in the park :)