"You watch Formula One? You elitist..."

So back from my hiatus, might as well start with a bang. Ready for some blasphemy?

It's pretty well known that I've been a Formula One fan for, long enough to matter; I remember the day's when nobody watched F1 because we all knew Schumacher would just win.. so since '04? Those were the days when it the sport was really evolving, from a men and machines being pushed to the edge of insanity, to a political battleground.

Unfortunately, as every season progresses, the latter becomes more and more prevalent over the former. Why? Well, if you ask me a lot of it has to do with this rich asshole:

Yes, Bernie Ecclestone, head of the FOM, yes that is a real picture of him (no it's not) holding a the world encrusted with gold in his hands.. damn elitist.

After the 2009 season, I stopped watching Formula One because, it kinda started to suck. The FIA really turned the tables on the teams, changing all kinds-o-regulations and such. Perhaps coincidently, or maybe not, Both Honda and Toyota pulled their F1 teams of the grid because it was just too much money.

Two of the biggest automotive manufacturers in the world, both with incredibly rich & successful motorsport histories pulled out because it was too much money. What the hell?

It's well known that F1 is the most expensive sport in the the world, with billions and billions of dollars poured into the sport every season. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? In my opinion, its great in the sense that it is also the most prestigious form of motorsport and it's the pinnacle of racing and "automotive" technology; but its not so great in the sense that a lot of the money spent doesn't go to those things. 

I don't know exact numbers, but from what I understand more money goes into just politics then anything. It's not just the teams, its the everyone involved in the sport. Here is a number I do know, the 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang cost the owners $45.7 million dollars, U.S. Dollars. In fact, just to be registered as a potential Grand Prix circuit costs upwards of $5 million. Consequently, most track cant front the cost, in fact Spa-Francorchamps might not be back on the F1 calendar after 2011 due to a $9 million debt. China and Turkey are in the same boat.

Where does all this money go? It shouldn't cost that much to host a race?

On top of that, according to some 2003 numbers, F1 teams spent a whopping  $2,141,100,000. with the top teams spending more then 11 times the lower teams. Interesting isn't it. To me it seems like it's just a competition to who can spend the most money thereby winning the most races; even former FIA President agrees.

Like I mentioned earlier, this is great because teams are spending a lot of that on research and development which trickles down to their production vehicle, right? Maybe not, teams are pumping millions and millions of dollars into technology that will probably never make it onto any road-going vehicle. Think about it, how many cars are going to have engines that rev to 19000 RPM, and $40,000 steering wheels? On top of that millions of dollars are spent on running model shops and huge wind-tunnels 24/7. All of that provides for fascinating things like the F-duct, wing stalling, deflecting front wings.. etc. But nobody besides an engineer cares, the average race fan just wants to watch some good racing. wind-tunnels and multi-million dollar budgets don't effect viewing pleasure.

With all that money, I have often times found myself far more fascinated by more grassroots racing. ALMS, Rolex, SCCA, they have all managed to steer clear of all the bullshit. Without all that, it's still some of the most exciting racing in the world if you ask me.

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American Top Gear: my personal analysis

So when I first heard that there was going to be an American version of what is arguably the greatest TV series to ever have graced my television, I have to admit, I was skeptical. Nevertheless, maybe it was still worth giving a chance.

And my conclusion is:

It's shit!! Good shit, but shit nonetheless.

Just hear me out on this. What makes the BBC's Top Gear so great? In my opinion, its a combination of excellent artistic taste, great camera work, awesome cars, creative challenges, and of course, last but not least the graceful/hilarious presence of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. With all those attributes, it makes the show enjoyable to anyone. Whether or not the viewer is a gear-head or not, it's irrelevant; the show is enjoyable to all viewers. You can just have a laugh at it or be enthralled by it even if you know absolutely nothing about cars. In the end thats why so many people love it, so how does the American broadcast differ?

We'll all the attributes that the British broadcast that I listed above, the American show lacks. 

First off, the hosts; I freakin hate that Adam Ferrera guy, him and his tough-guy, Brooklyn/New Jowsey accent drive me up the wall. He tries hard to be funny and it's obvious, thereby killing it. It's also clear he know little to nothing about cars.

Second is Rutledge Wood, I'm not really sure what to think of this guy considering how he's a redneck hipster but if I had to put a finger on it, I would say I like him, in a platonic way of course. He's actually pretty funny. What I do know about him, is that he's actually a racing analyst for SpeedTV; this gives him some cool points.

Of course that leaves us with Tanner Foust. This guy has loads of respect from me as far as motorsports is concerned. In all honesty, this guy has more driving skill then all three of the British host do combined. He is incredibly well recognized and very successful in the motorsports world. Unfortunately, this doesn't mean he is a good show host. Everything he says, it seems like he's just reading of a teleprompter. 

The show itself just isn't that good when it is in a side-by-side comparison with the BBC broadcast. The challenges seem all too familiar and the cars are kinda lame, the most exciting was when they had Lamborghini Murciélago LP670-4. Finally, why the hell cant they keep the camera straight? It's hella annoying when all every shot seems like it was taken in the middle of a war. 

The big star in a little car: lame. Why do they need a Stig when they have Tanner Foust? 

All in all, I think the show would be a lot better if it wasn't called "Top Gear". It doesn't live up the expectations of being called that. Sure its probably a lot better then Motorweek but so is watching grass grow. I'll just say its the best American Car Show for now.

Rant end.

Where have all the real drivers gone

America’s driving heroes. What happened to the days of Al Unser and Mario Andretti? How have they been replaced with the likes of Jimmy Johnson and Jeff Gordon. None of the latter can actually drive a car. Jimmy Johnson can be seen here crashing a Corvette C6r in a straight line, because he hit a bump. As for Andretti, well, I can tell you no crashes came from this bump. The fact that NASCAR is so popular just goes to show that not enough people here understand what real driving is all about.