What does it mean to be a True Racer

[Postmoe]

What does it mean to be a true racer?

Does it mean fighting for every square inch of tarmac? Does it mean being totally ruthless? Is it winning at any cost?

The term has been used so much, but I am not entirely sure of the true meaning of it.

Anybody who considers himself a racer here can enlighten us?

Thanks.

It's probably something related to the concept of talent, wich is embeded of a very powerful - and absolutely anti-scientific- magical understanding of how things are.

So, IMO, in the same way somebody that talks about the absolute talent of a player is just lacking understanding of the sports dynamics or is just too lazy to use properly the right words... True racer is no more than a social construct that doesn't really mean anything, at least objectively.

[garygph]

Aah now this is a good question! What one person believes that term means compared to another is a huge debate in itself.

For me it is all sorts of things and this is just my feelings on that heading, I am not stating that it is THE meaning.

I have built/prepared and raced my own cars (with a lot of kind people helping). Nothing high tech or fancy, never had the money to do that. I raced on dirt ovals for a while driving American styled Midgets when I first started racing. I raced one night ( 3 races) with no brakes at all as they had failed, stupid or a "true racer" ? Hmm probably stupid. Some feelings experienced whilst racing would include feeling ill anytime I was overtaken, absolutely HATED it that much. As a weekend racer I dieted, exercised, studied driving and setup ect. Drove through the night after work to get a track the next day and raced. Some of the best races I ever had where I was involved with great tussles and came out on top but did not win were more satisfactory to me as a racer than some races I won. Some would say that means I am not a true racer, I disagree ( of course I would). racing is that absolute tussle, chess game, psychological war game on the edge of adhesion, not being the first to blink, not being the first to miss a braking point or a gear shift. Being the first to go flat out on a drying track through a challenging high speed corner and reaping the rewards of it being more important than having a quick car on the day and driving alone in the front to the flag. Don't get me wrong I loved winning! It did not happen anywhere enough for me at all lol. I wanted to win all of them of course, any race driver on a track anywhere wants that. Question is how many BELIEVE that they can?;)
So for me a true racer is the driver who just absolutely lives and breaths to RACE and being successful without feeling the need for dirty driving. I would feel no sense of accomplishment as a driver by overtaking someone due to me giving him a nudge/leaning on him/ramming him and so on. No skill there just being an arsehole showing that you do not believe you can do it cleanly.

To be honest I cannot see how any F1 driver cannot be a true racer because to get there he had to go through many years of very intense racing successfully and to do that you have to have that.

Well that was my 2c worth

[PlatinumZealot]

By that assessment, do we see Frank Williams as a true racer? When he was young, he did race in F1. Afterwards he got paralyzed in his lower body and then started his own team. I'd take him as a true racer.

Frank had the F1 team before he had the car accident

As for the question of "what is or who is a true racer" I think Fact Only has got it right,
Now you don't need to build you r car from scratch but someone who spends their free time a way from their day job working on a car or motorbike all night long just to go racing for peanuts every other weekend, would qualify for me

So are you insinuating that how he drives on the track does not matter as much? Interesting.

[PlatinumZealot]

Facts Only, I'd also count having driven in races as being a requirement to being a true racer. Else you'd be the engineer who built the car, but never raced it.

By that assessment, do we see Frank Williams as a true racer? When he was young, he did race in F1. Afterwards he got paralyzed in his lower body and then started his own team. I'd take him as a true racer.

Sorry yes I should qualify that for me to be a true racer you need to have driven as well.

Frank Williams, Bruce McLaren and many others have done it but for me Dan Gurney is the real deal.

Is actually racing a car a requirement? Can't the "true racer gene" be in your blood? Your temperament in the face of competition? An undying will to win?

[turbof1]

Facts Only, I'd also count having driven in races as being a requirement to being a true racer. Else you'd be the engineer who built the car, but never raced it.

By that assessment, do we see Frank Williams as a true racer? When he was young, he did race in F1. Afterwards he got paralyzed in his lower body and then started his own team. I'd take him as a true racer.

Sorry yes I should qualify that for me to be a true racer you need to have driven as well.

Frank Williams, Bruce McLaren and many others have done it but for me Dan Gurney is the real deal.

Is actually racing a car a requirement? Can't the "true racer gene" be in your blood? Your temperament in the face of competition? An undying will to win?

That same discription could qualify for a sprinter or soccer player. I agree with Facts Only that a true racer should have come in contacts with all facets of racing, not just with driving it.

[PlatinumZealot]

Aah now this is a good question! What one person believes that term means compared to another is a huge debate in itself.

For me it is all sorts of things and this is just my feelings on that heading, I am not stating that it is THE meaning.

I have built/prepared and raced my own cars (with a lot of kind people helping). Nothing high tech or fancy, never had the money to do that. I raced on dirt ovals for a while driving American styled Midgets when I first started racing. I raced one night ( 3 races) with no brakes at all as they had failed, stupid or a "true racer" ? Hmm probably stupid. Some feelings experienced whilst racing would include feeling ill anytime I was overtaken, absolutely HATED it that much. As a weekend racer I dieted, exercised, studied driving and setup ect. Drove through the night after work to get a track the next day and raced. Some of the best races I ever had where I was involved with great tussles and came out on top but did not win were more satisfactory to me as a racer than some races I won. Some would say that means I am not a true racer, I disagree ( of course I would). racing is that absolute tussle, chess game, psychological war game on the edge of adhesion, not being the first to blink, not being the first to miss a braking point or a gear shift. Being the first to go flat out on a drying track through a challenging high speed corner and reaping the rewards of it being more important than having a quick car on the day and driving alone in the front to the flag. Don't get me wrong I loved winning! It did not happen anywhere enough for me at all lol. I wanted to win all of them of course, any race driver on a track anywhere wants that. Question is how many BELIEVE that they can?;)
So for me a true racer is the driver who just absolutely lives and breaths to RACE and being successful without feeling the need for dirty driving. I would feel no sense of accomplishment as a driver by overtaking someone due to me giving him a nudge/leaning on him/ramming him and so on. No skill there just being an arsehole showing that you do not believe you can do it cleanly.

To be honest I cannot see how any F1 driver cannot be a true racer because to get there he had to go through many years of very intense racing successfully and to do that you have to have that.

Well that was my 2c worth

Great post!

[PlatinumZealot]

Sorry yes I should qualify that for me to be a true racer you need to have driven as well.

Frank Williams, Bruce McLaren and many others have done it but for me Dan Gurney is the real deal.

Is actually racing a car a requirement? Can't the "true racer gene" be in your blood? Your temperament in the face of competition? An undying will to win?

That same discription could qualify for a sprinter or soccer player. I agree with Facts Only that a true racer should have come in contacts with all facets of racing, not just with driving it.

Yeh, i see now. Actually racing a car should be a part of it.

[OneAlex]

So for me a true racer is the driver who just absolutely lives and breaths to RACE and being successful without feeling the need for dirty driving.

We've mostly talked about winning and being successful, but on the "lives and breathes to race" front, this is also why I have a lot of respect for the minnows in F1, and particularly Caterham last year fighting as hard as possible just to make it onto the grid one last time.

You can argue against wishing to be competitive vs needing to be competitive as a sign of a true racer (or in this case racing team), but I would argue that the mentality of "rather be at the back and in it than not racing at all" is the sign of a true racing spirit.

Then again how many great drivers quit (or seem about to) because they've gone from winning to not any longer? Does that take away the fact of them being true racers?

[strad]

In the dictionary next to "true racer" should be a picture Gilles.

[mertol]

Having superior racecraft, being able to race close to other cars without making mistakes, being able to trick oponents into making mistakes. Having contacts with other cars is bad for your true racer image.

[bdr529]

By that assessment, do we see Frank Williams as a true racer? When he was young, he did race in F1. Afterwards he got paralyzed in his lower body and then started his own team. I'd take him as a true racer.

Frank had the F1 team before he had the car accident

As for the question of "what is or who is a true racer" I think Fact Only has got it right,
Now you don't need to build you r car from scratch but someone who spends their free time a way from their day job working on a car or motorbike all night long just to go racing for peanuts every other weekend, would qualify for me

So are you insinuating that how he drives on the track does not matter as much? Interesting.

I didn't mention driving on the track, so I have some difficultly understanding how you thought that I insinuating bad driving was OK
By the way your suppose to drive in a manner befitting the rules, I thought that was a given,

I only notice or point out the drives that run afoul of that. and if they keep tick off that box then I wouldn't consider them as a true racer. to me a driver doesn't even have to win a race in their driving career to be thought of as a true racer

[flynfrog]

I don't think it has anything to do with driving style. Hell a racer doesn't have to even by a driver. Its the neighbor kid that comes over at 2 AM to help you get the car prepped. its the old guy who still drags his car out to the track even through its 10 years out of date. It's the fans that sit in the stands getting soaked during a rain delay. If you think it has something to do with shitty driving and over aggressive moves you are missing the point of racing.

[rich1701]

Nigel Mansell talks about it in his recently released autobiography. He spoke of Damon Hill as being a superb driver but he wasn't a racer. Racers who are quick come once in a generation he says, maybe twice. Probably counting himself and Senna.

Racers make opportunities and cease upon them with exactly the right judgement.

Personally i think Mansell was probably the best racer of modern times. Boxing in Senna using Johanson at Hungry was inspired. That move on Berger at Mexico 90, The dummy he sold to Piquet at the British GP. Not giving an inch to Senna at Barcelona in 91.

Hamilton too is a racer, but it has taken him a long time to get his judgement right. He tripped over way too many people at Mclaren. But he is better now.

[schick]

Facts Only, I'd also count having driven in races as being a requirement to being a true racer. Else you'd be the engineer who built the car, but never raced it.

By that assessment, do we see Frank Williams as a true racer? When he was young, he did race in F1. Afterwards he got paralyzed in his lower body and then started his own team. I'd take him as a true racer.

Sorry yes I should qualify that for me to be a true racer you need to have driven as well.

Frank Williams, Bruce McLaren and many others have done it but for me Dan Gurney is the real deal.

By your assessment Jack Brabham was a genius, World Champion in a car he built, in fact the only one to have done so.

[bauc]

I don't think it has anything to do with driving style. Hell a racer doesn't have to even by a driver. Its the neighbor kid that comes over at 2 AM to help you get the car prepped. its the old guy who still drags his car out to the track even through its 10 years out of date. It's the fans that sit in the stands getting soaked during a rain delay. If you think it has something to do with shitty driving and over aggressive moves you are missing the point of racing.

You've nailed it, respect! =D>