Who Is The Greatest Race Driver To Have Made The Most Of Driving Shit Race Cars?

Kinja'd!!! "Wheelerguy" (wheelerguy)
09/29/2016 at 09:45 • Filed to: Question Of The Day, QOTD

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There have been a trillion lists of World’s Greatest Racing Drivers, measured using a trillion metrics, debated by not really a trillion people. But I still think there’s another way to measure the greatness of a driver: it’s when that great driver is driving a race car that is not really... good.

You see, it’s one thing to be dominant while driving a dominant car, but it’s a different world when you still win with a car that isn’t in the same level as a dominant machine. Isn’t it more impressive to see a driver on a crappy car keep pace with another who drives something better?

Our task, basically, is to find out which racing driver was still able to hack up good results using subpar machinery.

One good answer is Fernando Alonso, whose wins at Ferrari despite the team’s incompetence and good results at McLaren-Honda despite the quality of the car cements his place in F1 history. It actively makes you wonder just how many titles he could have won had he gone to Red Bull, or had Ferrari found something that constituted brains.

But let’s not limit ourselves to F1, no. Name somebody from rallying, endurance prototype racing, grand touring, or MotoGP that is in the same situation and is still able to make the most of it.

I look forward to seeing your answers!


DISCUSSION (4)


Kinja'd!!! Berang > Wheelerguy
09/29/2016 at 09:50

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Probably everybody who rallied, and won, using rear engined Skodas in the 70s and 80s.

Also maybe Brian Culcheth, who may have only come in 16th in the 1973 Thousand Lakes Rally, but did so in a Morris Marina, and also beat every single entered BMW 2002 while doing so.


Kinja'd!!! SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Wheelerguy
09/29/2016 at 10:11

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Stefan Bellof. As much as everyone freaks out about Senna’s Monaco 1984 drive, Bellof was gaining on Senna at the rate Senna was gaining on Prost without even having a turbocharger.


Kinja'd!!! Wheelerguy > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
09/29/2016 at 10:26

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He died too soon. Far too soon.


Kinja'd!!! Biggus Dickus (RevsBro) > Wheelerguy
09/29/2016 at 11:55

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Late 90's schumacher in his early Ferrari years.