"Anthony Miller" (ahmille4)
08/15/2016 at 20:02 • Filed to: Olympics
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"Anthony Miller" (ahmille4)
08/15/2016 at 20:02 • Filed to: Olympics | 0
| 16 |
Every four years, the entire world comes together to collectively laugh at the poor schmuck of a country that got stuck with hosting the Olympics and also watch some athletes compete in a few sporting events. However, since the very beginning of the modern Olympics, there has been one major piece missing.
Motorsport!
I mean, how could it not work? Sport is right there in the word! Formula 1 likes to bill itself as the “pinnacle of motorsport.” That sounds pretty Olympic-y to me. Even NASCAR has profiled exactly how much sweat the drivers produce during a race. Surprisingly that’s still only equals about approximately half of the amount of the average BUD drinking fan sitting shirtless in the nosebleeds at Daytona, but that’s beside the point.
In 2012 the IOC President passed off this gem of a quote which totally makes sense if you’re arguing for Formula 1 to be part of the Olympic program:
“Frankly speaking, the concept we are having is the games are about the competition for the athletes, not for equipment. Therefore, while having a lot of respect, they will not be included into the Olympic programme.”
Formula 1 though is exactly not what should be considered for Olympic motorsport. The Olympics already has different sets of rules for other events that are competed in other venues, nothing should stop it from creating its own event. If the equipment is really primary problem here, that’s probably a good thing! The equipment is probably the easiest part to change. It’s the drivers that would have to be focused on for the sport to work in the Olympic format anyway.
Think about it like a track athlete and their shoes. No one complains about Usain Bolt wearing shoes because we all recognize that the athlete inside the shoes is what makes them go fast. Besides Roborace, race cars still need drivers to go fast.
If we keep that in mind, then the equipment issue can be easily taken care of by standardizing the cars. Let the IOC determine what type of car should be used. Something along the lines of the IROC set up from years past. In order to not unfairly penalize certain types of drivers, the cars should be relatively durable (unlike F1) and challenging to drive but not completely on the razor-edge like some cars.
Now, when it comes to the drivers, let’s not forget that the Olympics had its roots in “amateur” competition. Now, since Olympic Basketball teams and many other athletes and teams are fully professional it shouldn’t be an issue to include professional drivers. But everyone loves a rags-to-riches story! So I propose that qualifying be almost unlimited. The only requirement that would be set is that in order to enter you must hold an active race license from the SCCA or equivalent sanctioning body. In this way, the field is opened to drivers from all classes to try their hand at setting a fastest time. Speaking of fastest times, each nation can use something like an Indy Light, Formula Mazda, or Cayman Clubsport GT4 and run a series of individual time trials with your lowest time out of say three laps used as your qualifying time.
If we’re being completely honest with ourselves here, just because there is a feasible way to include motorsport in the Olympics, that doesn’t make it the most compelling reason. By far, the most compelling reason are these numbers, 5.8, 7.3, and 400. Those numbers, in millions, are the viewership figures for the 2015 Indy 500, average 2015 viewership for the top 7 NASCAR races, and viewership for the 2015 Formula 1 season. For F1, that is an average over 20 million viewers per race. To compare, the Rio golf final holes averaged 8.8 million viewers during the broadcast. If networks can get on board with the concept that motorsport is a truly international sport then those are some serious ratings that they are passing up. If there’s one constant that the IOC is known for, it’s their dedication to altruism, honesty and ethics. HAHHAHHAHHHAHH
JUST KIDDING
, throw some sweet TV moneys at the IOC and POOF, motorsport might just be in the Olympics sooner than you can say, “Start your engines!”
If they’re really worried about people actually deciding to tune in. Well, who wouldn’t want to watch Sebastien Ogier, Alexander Rossi, Sebastien Vettel, and Carl Edwards for the first ever Olympic motorsport gold medal?
dogisbadob
> Anthony Miller
08/15/2016 at 20:07 |
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There might already be motors in the olympics, especially now that BMX is a sport, maybe the Chinese cheaters are slipping some lil secret motors in there, like someone got caught doing in the tour de France.
And there are golf carts in golf :p
djmt1
> Anthony Miller
08/15/2016 at 20:10 |
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They really should just integrate “The Race Of Champions” into the Olympics. It’s literally an international competition for participants from all over the world that is held in Olympic stadiums.
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Anthony Miller
> djmt1
08/15/2016 at 20:13 |
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Yep
LongbowMkII
> dogisbadob
08/15/2016 at 20:15 |
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No carts for pros
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djmt1
> Anthony Miller
08/15/2016 at 20:16 |
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Nah my hometown of London.
RallyWrench
> Anthony Miller
08/15/2016 at 20:16 |
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Ferrari is down
JRapp: now as good as new again
> Anthony Miller
08/15/2016 at 20:16 |
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Well, the 1900 Olympics had kind of an expose motorsport event with cars, that was held in the same place at the same time, just by a different organizer, or something like that.
The 1908 Olympics though did have 3 motor-boat events.
Olympic Motorboating... hmm.. there another Olympic sport idea right there...
BorkBorkBjork
> Anthony Miller
08/15/2016 at 20:33 |
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The problem here is that there is a significant amount of technological advantages that can be gained by First World nations in this sort of competition. Remember how influential those Fastskin swimsuits were when they debuted in the Olympics? Yea, now imagine if everyone from Pratt and Miller to Lockheed Martin develop tech for the US Olympic racing team. It is one thing for companies to compete against one another, but things could get crazy if national pride is on the line.
Let’s do it.
Die-Trying
> Anthony Miller
08/15/2016 at 20:34 |
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level playing field......... spec series.......... unmodified, as delivered BASE-models
after all, its not the car, its the driver.
first event should NEED to be the demolition derby.......... followed by the quarter mile, followed by some rallying, and some stadium racing, and then whatever mud bog/ circuit racing can be found......... maybe a high jump, a long jump.......
Birddog
> Anthony Miller
08/15/2016 at 20:38 |
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Oh god. No! Nascar and Bernie’s toys are corrupt and mismanaged enough as it is.
Busslayer
> Anthony Miller
08/15/2016 at 20:58 |
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I can moto trials being justified as an athletic event. I’m sure the equipment matters, but I don’t think they are outrageously expensive. The rider is the difference and it is not unlike Olympic equestrian events. The equipment is probably a lot cheaper than horses.
The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock
> Anthony Miller
08/15/2016 at 21:16 |
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They could a Supermoto event, or some Trails bike event. Both would use small foot print for area use.
scoob
> Anthony Miller
08/15/2016 at 21:16 |
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CAR RUGBY
carcrasher88
> Anthony Miller
08/15/2016 at 21:20 |
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Easy.
Trials bikes and Rallycross!
BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion
> Anthony Miller
08/15/2016 at 21:44 |
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I ponder this everytime the olympics roll around, and there really are no good reasons to keep motorsports off. For starters, it wouldn’t even be the first form of sport to rely on some type of large scale equipment. Sailing in the summer games and bobsled in the winter games are good examples, and I even remember Reading a piece about how much more advanced the BMW-built sleds used by the Germans are compared to the rest of the field.
Secondly, it’s not even that hard to come up with a suitable venue, just take a page from Russia’s playbook and build a circuit around the main olympic parks. Different configurations should suit different rounds of Racing so it wouldn’t Always be the same track over and over again.
Finally, it’s awfully easy to put the drivers front and center by speccing the hell out of the equipment. Get some F3 Dallaras, a set of production based engines, and you’re just about set. They’re fast enough without being on edge 100% of the time, durable enough to withstand several rounds of elimination or points based Racing, and quick enough to be challenging to drive. Plus, they’re not priced out of reach of a team. I mean, it’s not like all the boats, sleds, horses and other assorted “vehicles” used in olympic sports are that much cheaper than a Dallara...
The only argument that stands against motorsports is that you can actually get killed or seriously injured doing it...
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BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion
> BorkBorkBjork
08/15/2016 at 21:52 |
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True, but it only goes to show that even in non-powered sports, you can still get ahead on your equipment alone...
Plus, if they specced it out, made everyone use the same car and engine combinations, you could probably keep the field even. There are so many access Formula chassis out there from Dallara, Lola, Tatuus, Dome, and they’re not even that expensive for an olympic team... Hell, just pick one and go to town