Drivers are not athletes
mark.fr...@usa.net
Villeneuve didn't deserve award
By JIM TAYLOR -- Calgary Sun
VANCOUVER -- The thing I've noticed about Jacques Villeneuve
is that when he wins, he tends to be in a car.
Same thing with jockeys: When they win, you can almost bet the
mortgage that they're on a horse.
In fact, looking back on 42 years of watching sports all over the
world, I cannot recall a single instance where a race car driver has
streaked over the finish line ahead of competitors sitting in cockpits
putting pedal to metal, or a jockey who's ever posted a decent six
furlongs without the benefit of a horse.
So why is Jacques Villeneuve Canada's athlete of the year?
Sure, race car drivers need superb reflexes and hand-eye
co-ordination and the guts of a blindfolded wire-walker, and Jacques
Villeneuve has all these qualities in spades.
He is, indeed, a superb athlete in every sense of the word. But if he
was driving a '52 Chevy instead of a Williams-Renault jetpack, he'd
be the answer to a Trivial Pursuit question: Name Gilles
Villeneuve's son.
Short guys in funny outfits
Horse racing has it right: It names a horse of the year, not a jockey.
It is recognition of an elemental truth: Eddie Arcaro, Johnny Longden,
Bill Hartack, Willie Shoemaker - take them off the horse and they're
just short guys in funny outfits.
Racing knows this. It recognizes the jockeys. Lord knows it pays
them enough money. But at the end of the day it's the horse that's
put out to stud.
This is not to denigrate Villeneuve's dazzling effort on the Formula
One circuits of the world. But surely the title of country's outstanding
athlete shouldn't go to a performer in a sport where the guy with the
best gear has an edge. If it does, maybe the car should get to wear
the trophy as a hood ornament.
Individual awards reward the performance of individuals. Baseball -
a sport so boring that even the brilliant W. P. Kinsella, the game's
current reigning author, admits that one of its charms is that you can
watch and read a book - gives the Cy Young Award to the pitcher,
not to the ball. When Mickey Mantle won the Triple Crown, they
didn't name his bat MVP.
No matter what the ads may claim, Michael Jordan's Nikes do not
allow him to jump higher than anyone else. Hockey's Hart trophy
winner does not roar in on goal on the Zamboni. Joe Montana never
threw a special juiced-up football.
Sure, skiers need the right wax, and hockey players spend hours
blowtorching their sticks to curves often deeper than God and Gary
Bettman have deemed acceptable. But, in the end, they win or lose
on what they can or cannot do on their own.
Walker is the man!
With respect, Jacques Villeneuve was not Canada's outstanding
male athlete in 1997. Larry Walker was. He hit for average, he hit for
distance, he fielded well, and he did it on his own.
When he strode to the plate to attempt what some claim is the most
difficult individual feat in sport - connecting with a pitched ball that
may be sliding, curving, dropping, hopping or hurtling at you like a
Scud missile - there was no receiver in his ear, no dugout crew
whispering up-to-the-instant data on the state of his swing or the
pitcher's arm or the way the outfield was playing him. It was
one-on-one, man-on-man, pitcher vs. hitter.
And over 162 games, individually, Larry Walker won big.
There'll be no such problem in '98, when Canada's outstanding
individual and team athletes of the year inevitably will be Winter
Olympians. Auto racing isn't an Olympic event, and the equestrians
perform two summers later.
But for the second time in three years, the country's top individual
athletic award has gone to a guy who needs to be behind the wheel
of a machine with the power of a zillion horses before he can be a
player.
When Larry Walker goes up to the plate, he goes alone.
-------------------==== Posted via Deja News ====-----------------------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Post to Usenet
Spooky
Baseball bat, or a car... still a tool of the (athlete's) trade... now if
Larry could do all those fabulous things you are impressed with without a
bat, he'd get my vote... I have more respect for a boxer or a speed-skater
than a baseball player... Make mine Jacques!
Spooky
Glenys Williams
mark.fr...@usa.net wrote in article
<882487086...@dejanews.com>...
> When Larry Walker goes up to the plate, he goes alone.
Yeah <snort>, right. Take away his bat and he's just a guy in an even
funnier outfit.
glenys
--
put the relevant stuff including netline and my first name into the message
header
Lemon Gum Drops
Spooky (f...@mts.net) wrote:
: Baseball bat, or a car... still a tool of the (athlete's) trade... now if
: Larry could do all those fabulous things you are impressed with without a
: bat, he'd get my vote... I have more respect for a boxer or a speed-skater
: than a baseball player... Make mine Jacques!
Hehe...sounds like the time some sports writer grumbled when Greg Lemond
won SI's athlete of the year for taking another Tour de France. Something
about "my kid could ride a bike up a hill..."
I heard he was invited for a little ride with Greg. Never took him up on
the offer.
Gawd, compared to a baseball player of all things! No offense, but IMHO,
if you call a baseball player an "athlete" you might as well call golfers
"athletes" as well...
(Yes, I have done all 4. Cycling, baseball, golf and autoracing.)
IL
RPP
On Thu, 18 Dec 1997 17:21:32 -0600, mark.fr...@usa.net wrote:
Baseball players are not atheletes, because atheletes need to be
athletic not fat slobs.
Janne Mantyla
Try to drive flat out two hour in a top race car and you'll find out
what it takes ...
regards Janne, Nokia FINLAND
mark.fr...@usa.net wrote:
Ken Brown
mark.fr...@usa.net wrote:
>Villeneuve didn't deserve award
> By JIM TAYLOR -- Calgary Sun
dumb column deleted...
The ABC TV network in the USA used to have a competition called
Superstars where athletes from many sports competed in common events.
Maybe they still have it. Anyway, I recall that a race car driver won
it, perhaps about 15 years ago. Can anyone remember who it was? It
certainly demonstrated that the driver was a supberb athlete.
Ken
*******************************************************
Ken Brown - Toronto, Canada
e-mail: br...@idirect.com
(remove ".nospam" if using reply button)
*******************************************************
Cheek Sr.
Ken Brown wrote:
>
> mark.fr...@usa.net wrote:
>
> >Villeneuve didn't deserve award
>
> > By JIM TAYLOR -- Calgary Sun
> dumb column deleted...
>
> The ABC TV network in the USA used to have a competition called
> Superstars where athletes from many sports competed in common events.
> Maybe they still have it. Anyway, I recall that a race car driver won
> it, perhaps about 15 years ago. Can anyone remember who it was? It
> certainly demonstrated that the driver was a supberb athlete.
>
> Ken
I think Jody Scheckter,World F1 Champ in 1979,is the man you remember
doing so well.
Anybody who has driven a racing car in anger will appreciate the
athletic qualities required.Carrol Smoth claims race driving is one of
the most demanding tasks man has learned to perform.
Doc
--
Fredrik B. Knutsen MD !!please remove "NoSpam" when replying!!
Director,
Cheek Racing Cars
Fax: 47 69 19 02 55
Mobile: 47 90 78 70 32
E-Mail: kare...@sn.no
http://home.sn.no/~kareknut/
John Luttenberger
Irwin Sabath wrote:
> "Cheek Sr." <kare...@sn.no> wrote:
>
> >Ken Brown wrote:
> >>
> >snip
> >Anybody who has driven a racing car in anger will appreciate the
> >athletic qualities required.Carrol Smoth claims race driving is one
> of
> >the most demanding tasks man has learned to perform.<
> Not to belittle race drivers, I've always felt basketball called for
> the most in pure athleticism: speed, quickness, strength, agility,
> endurance, hand-eye coordination.
>
> Soccer and tennis rank well up there as well.
>
> --
> Irwin
>
> t.i.n.s.t.a.a.f.l.
> (Helping victims of conventional wisdom)
Sounds like the requirements for a top level racing driver as well as
a top level Rally driver to me. The thing that most motorsports require
that other sports don't is an elevated level of concentration for
extended periods of time. Two Hours in the case of a F1 race as opposed
to spans measured in seconds or minutes in most other sports.
John
Irwin Sabath
"Cheek Sr." <kare...@sn.no> wrote:
>Ken Brown wrote:
>>
>> mark.fr...@usa.net wrote:
>>
>> >Villeneuve didn't deserve award
>>
>> > By JIM TAYLOR -- Calgary Sun
>> dumb column deleted...
>>
>> The ABC TV network in the USA used to have a competition called
>> Superstars where athletes from many sports competed in common events.
>> Maybe they still have it. Anyway, I recall that a race car driver won
>> it, perhaps about 15 years ago. Can anyone remember who it was? It
>> certainly demonstrated that the driver was a supberb athlete.
>>
>> Ken
>
>I think Jody Scheckter,World F1 Champ in 1979,is the man you remember
>doing so well.
Cheek Sr.
Wouldn't disagree on the pure athletic requrements,thought cross-country
ski-ing might merit being up there for all-round atheletic performance.
What sets motor racing apart is having to perform athletically in a very
hostile environment (heat,noise,vibration,g-forces) for hours yet
maintain incredibly high levels of concentration.
Peter Scoular
"Cheek Sr." <kare...@sn.no> writes
>Wouldn't disagree on the pure athletic requrements,thought cross-country
>ski-ing might merit being up there for all-round atheletic performance.
>What sets motor racing apart is having to perform athletically in a very
>hostile environment (heat,noise,vibration,g-forces) for hours yet
>maintain incredibly high levels of concentration.
France in the athletic scheme of things? It stikes me that cycling 8 to
10 hours a day up and down mountains for two weeks must about take first
place! (concentration apart)
--
Peter :-) Merry Christmas Hill is the man - Keep the faith.
Note: All statistics quoted are provided by the UK Governments Department
of Guesswork and as such are guaranteed to be up to 100% accurate.
Cheek Sr.
Peter Scoular wrote:
>
> "Cheek Sr." <kare...@sn.no> writes
> >Wouldn't disagree on the pure athletic requrements,thought cross-country
> >ski-ing might merit being up there for all-round atheletic performance.
> >What sets motor racing apart is having to perform athletically in a very
> >hostile environment (heat,noise,vibration,g-forces) for hours yet
> >maintain incredibly high levels of concentration.
> Veering markedly off topic, how do you rate the cyclists of the Tour de
> France in the athletic scheme of things? It stikes me that cycling 8 to
> 10 hours a day up and down mountains for two weeks must about take first
> place! (concentration apart)
> --
> Peter :-) Merry Christmas Hill is the man - Keep the faith.
One word for the guys who finish the Tour de France:Awesome!
ADenis
Moto-Cross racing is another sport where the fitness of the riders is grossly under estimated.
Andre
ade...@idirect.com
"Man is a tool-using animal, without tools, he is nothing, with tools he is all"
--Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881)
______^______
On Thu, 18 Dec 1997 17:21:32 -0600, mark.fr...@usa.net wrote:
>->Villeneuve didn't deserve award
>->
>-> By JIM TAYLOR -- Calgary Sun
>->VANCOUVER -- The thing I've noticed about Jacques Villeneuve
>->is that when he wins, he tends to be in a car.
all this bozo did was show that he knows nothing about
autoracing.
when larry walker goes up to the plate he may go alone but he
goes for a second or two of concentration. if he loses
concentration the umpire calls "ball one" or perhaps even "strike
one".
when villeneuve climbs into his cockpit (also alone) (and doesn't
need a bat for company either) he faces two hours of intense
concentration. when he loses concentration the consequences can
be......
if this yo-yo from vancouver is a sports writer he needs a new
job. he doesn't understand one of the major sports.
>->Same thing with jockeys: When they win, you can almost bet the
>->mortgage that they're on a horse.
>-> In fact, looking back on 42 years of watching sports all over the
>->world, I cannot recall a single instance where a race car driver has
>->streaked over the finish line ahead of competitors sitting in cockpits
>->putting pedal to metal, or a jockey who's ever posted a decent six
>->furlongs without the benefit of a horse.
>-> So why is Jacques Villeneuve Canada's athlete of the year?
>-> Sure, race car drivers need superb reflexes and hand-eye
>->co-ordination and the guts of a blindfolded wire-walker, and Jacques
>->Villeneuve has all these qualities in spades.
>-> He is, indeed, a superb athlete in every sense of the word. But if he
>->was driving a '52 Chevy instead of a Williams-Renault jetpack, he'd
>->be the answer to a Trivial Pursuit question: Name Gilles
>->Villeneuve's son.
>-> Short guys in funny outfits
>-> Horse racing has it right: It names a horse of the year, not a jockey.
>->It is recognition of an elemental truth: Eddie Arcaro, Johnny Longden,
>->Bill Hartack, Willie Shoemaker - take them off the horse and they're
>->just short guys in funny outfits.
>-> Racing knows this. It recognizes the jockeys. Lord knows it pays
>->them enough money. But at the end of the day it's the horse that's
>->put out to stud.
>-> This is not to denigrate Villeneuve's dazzling effort on the Formula
>->One circuits of the world. But surely the title of country's outstanding
>->athlete shouldn't go to a performer in a sport where the guy with the
>->best gear has an edge. If it does, maybe the car should get to wear
>->the trophy as a hood ornament.
>-> Individual awards reward the performance of individuals. Baseball -
>->a sport so boring that even the brilliant W. P. Kinsella, the game's
>->current reigning author, admits that one of its charms is that you can
>->watch and read a book - gives the Cy Young Award to the pitcher,
>->not to the ball. When Mickey Mantle won the Triple Crown, they
>->didn't name his bat MVP.
>-> No matter what the ads may claim, Michael Jordan's Nikes do not
>->allow him to jump higher than anyone else. Hockey's Hart trophy
>->winner does not roar in on goal on the Zamboni. Joe Montana never
>->threw a special juiced-up football.
>-> Sure, skiers need the right wax, and hockey players spend hours
>->blowtorching their sticks to curves often deeper than God and Gary
>->Bettman have deemed acceptable. But, in the end, they win or lose
>->on what they can or cannot do on their own.
>-> Walker is the man!
>-> With respect, Jacques Villeneuve was not Canada's outstanding
>->male athlete in 1997. Larry Walker was. He hit for average, he hit for
>->distance, he fielded well, and he did it on his own.
>-> When he strode to the plate to attempt what some claim is the most
>->difficult individual feat in sport - connecting with a pitched ball that
>->may be sliding, curving, dropping, hopping or hurtling at you like a
>->Scud missile - there was no receiver in his ear, no dugout crew
>->whispering up-to-the-instant data on the state of his swing or the
>->pitcher's arm or the way the outfield was playing him. It was
>->one-on-one, man-on-man, pitcher vs. hitter.
>-> And over 162 games, individually, Larry Walker won big.
>-> There'll be no such problem in '98, when Canada's outstanding
>->individual and team athletes of the year inevitably will be Winter
>->Olympians. Auto racing isn't an Olympic event, and the equestrians
>->perform two summers later.
>-> But for the second time in three years, the country's top individual
>->athletic award has gone to a guy who needs to be behind the wheel
>->of a machine with the power of a zillion horses before he can be a
>->player.
>->When Larry Walker goes up to the plate, he goes alone.
>->
>->-------------------==== Posted via Deja News ====-----------------------
>-> http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Post to Usenet
Ken Brown
mark.fr...@usa.net wrote:
>Villeneuve didn't deserve award
> By JIM TAYLOR -- Calgary Sun
dumb column deleted...
The ABC TV network in the USA used to have a competition called
Superstars where athletes from many sports competed in common events.
Maybe they still have it. Anyway, I recall that a race car driver won
it, perhaps about 15 years ago. Can anyone remember who it was? It
certainly demonstrated that the driver was a supberb athlete.
Ken
Marc A.
mark.fr...@usa.net wrote in message
<882487086...@dejanews.com>...
>Villeneuve didn't deserve award
>
> By JIM TAYLOR -- Calgary Sun
>VANCOUVER -- The thing I've noticed about Jacques Villeneuve
>is that when he wins, he tends to be in a car.
>Same thing with jockeys: When they win, you can almost bet the
>mortgage that they're on a horse.
======================================================================
Bozo Taylor also forgot to mention that Walker cheapenned his so called
accomplishments this year by skipping games when the opposing pitcher was
hot in an effort to protect his batting average !!
Calling these spitting, scratching, overgrown cry babies (outch... the ball
almost hit me ... I'll be on the disabled list for 10 days...) "Athletes" is
a huge assumption.
But hey, I'm sure Taylor is impartial and the fact that Walker happens to
also be from BC is just a coincidence.
Marc A.
Aslan
Marc A. <marc...@total.net> wrote in article
<349e9...@news.total.net>...
>
> mark.fr...@usa.net wrote in message
> <882487086...@dejanews.com>...
> >Villeneuve didn't deserve award
> >
> > By JIM TAYLOR -- Calgary Sun
> >VANCOUVER -- The thing I've noticed about Jacques Villeneuve
> >is that when he wins, he tends to be in a car.
> >Same thing with jockeys: When they win, you can almost bet the
> >mortgage that they're on a horse.
> ======================================================================
>
Hey, I could do that job, stating the obvious is my forte.
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tsk! That pest Miriam Stoppard has been chewing the sofa again!
Tom Cosgrave
...tell Sarah Kavanagh that drivers aren't athletes :-)
Tom
--
Tom Cosgrave t...@indigo.ie
Guinness Grand Prix
The F1 Test Site :-
http://www.rtc-carlow.ie/student/downeys/f1test.html
Support Sarah Kavanagh and the RASF1 car in Formula
Nippon
http://www.sarah.org/sarah/rasf1
Username : rasf1 Password : gogirl
Steve Zivkovic
My two cents:
Baseball players are, I suppose, athletes. Compared to F1 drivers however,
they are the athletic equivalent of Chris Farley.
An F1 driver needs incredible-hand eye coordination, upper body strength,
full body agility, concentration, intelligence and endurance. He must then
exhibit all of these attributes for nearly two hours straight with the
price of the tiniest mistake being failure, injury or death. And all this
must be packaged in a relatively small height and weight window; they are
truly world class athletes.
Robert Sveinson
>
> > By JIM TAYLOR -- Calgary Sun
>
> The ABC TV network in the USA used to have a competition called
> Superstars where athletes from many sports competed in common events.
> Maybe they still have it. Anyway, I recall that a race car driver won
> it, perhaps about 15 years ago. Can anyone remember who it was? It
> certainly demonstrated that the driver was a supberb athlete.
I seem to remember that a Canadian soccer player won
three years in a row. The of course he was banned because
he beat all the yank "ATHLETES"!!!!
I would have no fear in betting on any F1 driver as an
athlete.
>
> Ken
> *******************************************************
> Ken Brown - Toronto, Canada
> e-mail: br...@idirect.com
> (remove ".nospam" if using reply button)
> *******************************************************
--
MZ
Robert Sveinson
Ken Brown wrote:
>
> mark.fr...@usa.net wrote:
>
> >Villeneuve didn't deserve award
>
> > By JIM TAYLOR -- Calgary Sun
Don't forget that some so called sports writers can't
comprehend any contest that doesn't use a stick and ball.
Unless it is WWF raslin.
> dumb column deleted...
>
> The ABC TV network in the USA used to have a competition called
> Superstars where athletes from many sports competed in common events.
> Maybe they still have it. Anyway, I recall that a race car driver won
> it, perhaps about 15 years ago. Can anyone remember who it was? It
> certainly demonstrated that the driver was a supberb athlete.
>
Robert Sveinson
Remember when Cherry the mouth was belittling balet dancers,
saying that they weren't athletic??
Any way he did, and he was called on verbal bull.
Of course he had an excuse when the smallest girl dancer
at the Royal Wpg Ballet put him to shame. He did win the
verbal diahoeria contest
DougF
On Mon, 22 Dec 1997 05:35:06 GMT, happy@holiday (______^______)
wrote:
<snip of quote of Jim Taylor's column once again attempting to
compare drivers to baseball players and dissing motorsport>
>if this yo-yo from vancouver is a sports writer he needs a new
>job. he doesn't understand one of the major sports.
All I have to say is that I'm not surprised. There are VERY
few N. American sports/newscasters/journos who understand motor racing
in the slightest. It'd be nice though if they could at least
pronounce the names properly - I mean they don't have problems with
whassisnmae, Olajuwon - so why should Schumacher, Panis, Villeneuve
cause them trouble? It must not be on the curriculum for the
journalism schools - or perhaps it is, but sportswriters are the ones
who don't make it that far...
"Those who can do. Those who can't, teach. Those who can't
teach, write about sports" (apologies to Shaw)
--------------------------------------------------------------
"Surely it is an instinctive action not to crash into someone"
- Damon Hill responding to the '97 Schumacher incident
--------------------------------------------------------------
Robert M. Mihalek
> Steve Zivkovic wrote:
> >
> > My two cents:
> >
> > Baseball players are, I suppose, athletes. Compared to F1 drivers however,
> > they are the athletic equivalent of Chris Farley.
> > An F1 driver needs incredible-hand eye coordination, upper body strength,
> > full body agility, concentration, intelligence and endurance. He must then
> > exhibit all of these attributes for nearly two hours straight with the
> > price of the tiniest mistake being failure, injury or death. And all this
> > must be packaged in a relatively small height and weight window; they are
> > truly world class athletes.
They also have incredibly strong legs: primarily from the heavy braking
forces required (Villeneuve apparently damaged his back muscles because
he was pushing with about 150kgs of force on the brake pedal everytime
he had to brake), but also to stabilize their bodies in the car. They
have a dead pedal that they will rest their left foot against when
turning right.
I saw Alesi, Irvine, Schumacher, Hill, Nakano, Berger, and Coulthard
outside of their hotel in Canada. All of them appear to have very
strongly developed leg muscles (especially Alesi). Also, their necks
are huge.
Additionally, I had the opportunity to drive a 125cc shifter kart this
past summer. I'm in fairly good shape from racing mountain bikes, and
when I climbed off the kart after about 10 minutes, I was drenched in
sweat and could barely feel my arms. Granted most of my strength and
endurance is in my legs, but I really couldn't believe the forces. We
had to drive over a small bump in the circuit, and I truly lost my
vision for a fraction of a second. The vibration goes straight thru
you. Most F1 cars have very little suspension travel, and apparently
handle very similar to a kart. After driving that shifter kart, the
strength and endurance required to race an F1 car for two hours seem
super-human!
Bob Mihalek University of Pittsburgh
PLEASE NOTICE:
remove formula1. for non-commercial e-mail replies
David Bailey
Robert Sveinson wrote:
>
> Ken Brown wrote:
> >
> > The ABC TV network in the USA used to have a competition called
> > Superstars where athletes from many sports competed in common events.
> > Maybe they still have it. Anyway, I recall that a race car driver won
> > it, perhaps about 15 years ago. Can anyone remember who it was? It
> > certainly demonstrated that the driver was a supberb athlete.
>
> three years in a row. The of course he was banned because
> he beat all the yank "ATHLETES"!!!!
>
> I would have no fear in betting on any F1 driver as an
> athlete.
>
and also a Canadian international and yes he was banned by ABC.
Don't remember who the driver that won was but it's certainly no
surprise.
db
munch
John Luttenberger wrote:
>
> Irwin Sabath wrote:
>
> > "Cheek Sr." <kare...@sn.no> wrote:
> >
> > >Ken Brown wrote:
> > >>
> > >Anybody who has driven a racing car in anger will appreciate the
> > >athletic qualities required.Carrol Smoth claims race driving is one
> > of
> > >the most demanding tasks man has learned to perform.<
> > Not to belittle race drivers, I've always felt basketball called for
> > the most in pure athleticism: speed, quickness, strength, agility,
> > endurance, hand-eye coordination.
> >
> > Soccer and tennis rank well up there as well.
> >
> > --
> > Irwin
> >
> > t.i.n.s.t.a.a.f.l.
> > (Helping victims of conventional wisdom)
>
> a top level Rally driver to me. The thing that most motorsports require
> that other sports don't is an elevated level of concentration for
> extended periods of time. Two Hours in the case of a F1 race as opposed
> to spans measured in seconds or minutes in most other sports.
> John
> Testing athletes from various sports concluded that moto-cross riders
> were tops in fitness level, cardio, etc. Riding on or in a machine at
> life threatening speeds requires skills and levels of dedication and bravery that ball players could only wish for. Had this author been around in the thirties he'd be spouting off about the athletic merits of
that fat, drunken slob Babe Ruth.
gra...@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca
This is from a letter I sent to our local radio station when they said the
same thing. Most of the comments refer to Schumacher, but all the drivers
have trainers and fitness programs...
Date: Sat, 16 Dec 1995 23:34:48 -0700 (MST)
From: gra...@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca
To: ra...@edmonton.cbc.ca
Subject: Sports Ignorance
Dear Edmonton AM:
I was more than a little shocked and dismayed to hear the terribly
uninformed comments of your sports announcer last week regarding the
winner of the Lou Marsh trophy. The announcer openly said that not only
was he unhappy that Jacques Villeneuve won, but that he was not an Athlete
because of the horsepower strapped to his back.
So are downhill skiers and high divers also denied sporting status because
gravity pulls them towards their ultimate destination? And perhaps rowers
should be denied the title of "athlete" because they are, after all,
sitting down.
When Jacques Villeneuve "hits the road" to start his new season he will be
enduring more physical stress and exhibiting more physical and mental
skill than perhaps he is given credit for. So for your liberal education
I have provided some information about his SPORT and the people he races
against.
The source of the following information is Human Performance International
(HPI), Daytona Beach, Florida. (Incidentally, it is run by two Canadian
Doctors). Many of the figures quoted below are based on Michael
Schumacher (MS) the current reigning world champion, as I could not locate
any figures specifically for Jacques (sports reporting is not MY job).
* MS's resting heart rate is 42 beats per minute. The average resting
heart rate for a 25 year old male is 70.
* A Formula 1 Grand Prix lasts about 1 hr 45 min and during that time, a
typical racer's heart beat will average 170 bpm. Maximum's are over 190.
Would you like to spend an hour and forty-five minutes driving a roller
coaster?
* The temperature endured by the driver may reach 50 degrees C and by the
end of the race the driver's BODY temperature can reach almost 45 degrees
C.
* Professional tennis players can lose up to 2kg of weight in a vigorous
tennis match. F1 drivers regularly lose 3kg per race.
* Because of the G forces obtained when turning and slowing from over 300
kph (4.5 G's), the drivers head (and helmet) have the same effect as
strapping an 18kg weight to the skull. The steering wheel becomes a 15kg
weight that must be tossed around for almost 2 hours. The pedal load
required to stop an F1 car is up to 70kg.
* The vibrations and 120db noise level also contribute to a less than
pleasant experience.
* Compared to other athletes, Formula 1 racing drivers have above average
short term memory and concentration. They scored #1 in reaction times of
all athletes tested.
These drivers do not come by these skills by birthright alone. Most
drivers are not only intensely concerned about fitness, but they must also
concentrate their training on mental preparedness and nutrition. For
instance, MS worked out intensely for 5 hours a day until recently. As a
result he had to have knee surgery. Now he only swims for 1 hour, does 2
hours of calisthenics and weight training and then does one hour of
cycling DAILY.
MS will be Jacques' prime opponent in 1996 and you can bet that Jacques is
preparing himself in every way possible. By the way, Michael Schumacher
was in the Forbes top ten for earnings by an athlete. Next year he is
expected to be in the top three. Not bad for a "Sunday driver".
I hope this helps relieve some of the ignorance in your sports
"reporters".
Grant Beattie
Edmonton
Bosco Moriones
We were dead set athletes at the Brands Hatch of the late fifties and
sixties. We'd meet at the pub Friday night, do a little private practice
on Saturday arvo and then get stuck into the REAL business on Sunday.
You had to be fit to handle a Mini Cooper round the short circuit for
ten laps in a club race meeting. You had to be even fitter to survive an
evening in the paddock bar with people like Gerry Marshall, Tony
Lanfranchi, Sid Fox et al, often egged on by John Webb and Anthony Marsh
(or going back even further, by the late John Bolster).
Where are they now?
Whatever happened to motor racing?
Robert M. Mihalek
In article <34A41F...@ozramp.net.au>
Bosco Moriones <to...@ozramp.net.au> writes:
> We were dead set athletes at the Brands Hatch of the late fifties and
> sixties. We'd meet at the pub Friday night, do a little private practice
> on Saturday arvo and then get stuck into the REAL business on Sunday.
>
> You had to be fit to handle a Mini Cooper round the short circuit for
> ten laps in a club race meeting. You had to be even fitter to survive an
> evening in the paddock bar with people like Gerry Marshall, Tony
> Lanfranchi, Sid Fox et al, often egged on by John Webb and Anthony Marsh
> (or going back even further, by the late John Bolster).
>
> Where are they now?
>
> Whatever happened to motor racing?
If I understand the slang you have used, the drivers of old drank alot
of alcohol and, reading between the lines, they didn't care much about
physical fitness. Maybe they have died from liver and/or heart disease.
As far as what happened to motor racing, it is alive and well. Would
you want your company to spend anywhere from 1 to 30 million dollars to
sponsor a team and/or driver only to find out that your driver's poor
performance in a race was due to his having a hangover? Or that he
crashed your 5 million dollar car because his arms got tired?
Bob Mihalek University of Pittsburgh
Ivan
In article <688akb$1...@usenet.srv.cis.pitt.edu>,
mih...@formula1.smtp.anes.upmc.edu (Robert M. Mihalek) wrote:
>
> If I understand the slang you have used, the drivers of old drank alot
> of alcohol and, reading between the lines, they didn't care much about
> physical fitness. Maybe they have died from liver and/or heart disease.
If you'd ever driven one of the old racing or sports cars you wouldn't
make these comments, physical strength was vital for hauling the things
around and keeping them on the road. Getting drunk after the race was a
good way of hanging onto one's sanity.
A lot died in car and plane crashes.
> As far as what happened to motor racing, it is alive and well. Would
> you want your company to spend anywhere from 1 to 30 million dollars to
> sponsor a team and/or driver only to find out that your driver's poor
> performance in a race was due to his having a hangover? Or that he
> crashed your 5 million dollar car because his arms got tired?
I much prefer the pre-sponsorship days, when racing was fun...
I was there for the transition, when tobbaco money changed the face of
racing for ever. (We did have a ball spending their money though)
Ian
Spencer Pieters
> > * MS's resting heart rate is 42 beats per minute. The average resting
> > heart rate for a 25 year old male is 70.
> >
> > * A Formula 1 Grand Prix lasts about 1 hr 45 min and during that time,
a
> > typical racer's heart beat will average 170 bpm. Maximum's are over
190.
> > Would you like to spend an hour and forty-five minutes driving a
roller
> > coaster?
> >
> > * The temperature endured by the driver may reach 50 degrees C and by
the
> > end of the race the driver's BODY temperature can reach almost 45
degrees
> > C.
Hmmm, I SERIOUSLY doubt the part about body temperature reaching 45
degrees.
> > * Professional tennis players can lose up to 2kg of weight in a
vigorous
> > tennis match. F1 drivers regularly lose 3kg per race.
> >
> > * Because of the G forces obtained when turning and slowing from over
300
> > kph (4.5 G's), the drivers head (and helmet) have the same effect as
> > strapping an 18kg weight to the skull. The steering wheel becomes a
15kg
> > weight that must be tossed around for almost 2 hours. The pedal load
> > required to stop an F1 car is up to 70kg.
I agree 110% with this one. I have my own 100cc 2-stroke go-kart and drive
it every now and then on several tracks in Holland and Belgium and after a
few hours of driving the helmet-thing becomes a real problem, and that's
only in a go-kart !!
After a few hours my arms feel like jello, too, but that's probably because
I'm a couch-potatoe and I'm not really in shape. :->
> > * The vibrations and 120db noise level also contribute to a less than
> > pleasant experience.
> >
> > * Compared to other athletes, Formula 1 racing drivers have above
average
> > short term memory and concentration. They scored #1 in reaction
times of
> > all athletes tested.
Concentration and reaction times can be improved and come naturally with
experience. Most of these guys are driving around since they were between
6-10 and are now around 25. No wonder they have good reaction times.
Spencer
Ma...@wordstream.nospamdammit.co.nz
>> * MS's resting heart rate is 42 beats per minute. The average resting
>> heart rate for a 25 year old male is 70.
>>
>> * A Formula 1 Grand Prix lasts about 1 hr 45 min and during that time, a
>> typical racer's heart beat will average 170 bpm. Maximum's are over 190.
>> Would you like to spend an hour and forty-five minutes driving a roller
>> coaster?
>>
>> * The temperature endured by the driver may reach 50 degrees C and by the
>> end of the race the driver's BODY temperature can reach almost 45 degrees
>> C.
>>
>> * Professional tennis players can lose up to 2kg of weight in a vigorous
>> tennis match. F1 drivers regularly lose 3kg per race.
>>
>> * Because of the G forces obtained when turning and slowing from over 300
>> kph (4.5 G's), the drivers head (and helmet) have the same effect as
>> strapping an 18kg weight to the skull. The steering wheel becomes a 15kg
>> weight that must be tossed around for almost 2 hours. The pedal load
>> required to stop an F1 car is up to 70kg.
>>
>> * The vibrations and 120db noise level also contribute to a less than
>> pleasant experience.
>>
>> * Compared to other athletes, Formula 1 racing drivers have above average
>> short term memory and concentration. They scored #1 in reaction times of
>> all athletes tested.
>>
>> These drivers do not come by these skills by birthright alone. Most
>> drivers are not only intensely concerned about fitness, but they must also
>> concentrate their training on mental preparedness and nutrition. For
>> instance, MS worked out intensely for 5 hours a day until recently. As a
>> result he had to have knee surgery. Now he only swims for 1 hour, does 2
>> hours of calisthenics and weight training and then does one hour of
>> cycling DAILY.
>>
>> MS will be Jacques' prime opponent in 1996 and you can bet that Jacques is
>> preparing himself in every way possible. By the way, Michael Schumacher
>> was in the Forbes top ten for earnings by an athlete. Next year he is
>> expected to be in the top three. Not bad for a "Sunday driver".
>>
>> I hope this helps relieve some of the ignorance in your sports
>> "reporters".
>>
>> Grant Beattie
>> Edmonton
>
Jean Elizabeth Milanese
In article <349BE67B...@nexor.fi>,
Janne Mantyla <janne....@nexor.fi> wrote:
>Try to drive flat out two hour in a top race car and you'll find out
>what it takes ...
>
>regards Janne, Nokia FINLAND
>
>
>
>mark.fr...@usa.net wrote:
>
>What about the G force at that speed!