RE: Sir Chris Hoy: PH Meets

[cidered77]

ukaskew said:

treetops said:

What I'm saying is this is marketing fluff, it's such a shame we couldn't see some genuine racing talent in the seat.

The 'pinnacle' of motorsport (F1) has quite a few paying drivers, so Hoy at the 24HR is hardly unique in that he may not quite be the best man for the job. The greatest natural driving talent of all time might be sat in a mud hut trying to survive day to day for all we know, that's life unfortunately.

At the other end of this, one of his primary sponsors (Nissan) have gone to considerable effort and expense to find new talent via the GT Academy, a couple of their drivers going on to secure 2nd and 3rd in LMP2 at LM24. Even that, when broken down, is still a marketing exercise.

let's also not forget that the rules absolutely and quite specifically promote *amateur* drivers into the race.

LMP2 you need a min of one silver or bronze rated driver. The very top teams have 3 pros and the quality of the so-say "inferior" silver driver is usually the determining factor in success, but there are plenty of amateurs who are silver rated also. Other teams have more bronze drivers because they bring the money.

How on earth do moaners think P2 teams make their money anyway? Very few teams can raise the ~EUR 3m or so *per car* it would take to run a full season LMP2 on sponsorship alone, so as in all motorsport it's the drivers who fund the majority with either their own wealth or in Hoy's case personal sponsorship. The whole sport runs this way.

I watched Hoy at Silverstone for the ELMS race and his times were better than some of the other more established gentlemen drivers. To compete at that level after just 3 years is impressive, full stop. If you think it's wrong because "It's only because of who he is", then look at the many many other drivers in ELMS and WEC who are only there because their life outside of racing allows them to compete.

[anonymous-user]

treetops said:

I'm not jealous at all, driving endlessly around a track doesn't sound that interesting if I'm honest.

What I'm saying is this is marketing fluff, it's such a shame we couldn't see some genuine racing talent in the seat.

It's life I know, they need the fluff to make a programme.

I don't think you understand the LMP2 concept, or racing in general to be honest. Do you think all the seats in all the classes are filled with the 'best' drivers? The saddest part of all is that you don't see the value in this, writing it off as 'marketing'.

Exposure, marketing, funding.

Think about it

[nickfrog]

I finally found the time to watch the program. You would indeed have to know very little about motorsport to think that Hoy doesn't have raw talent as a driver and that it's essentially about marketing.

Doing what he can do with a tricky LMP2 after just 3 years of racing demonstrates that easily, at least to anyone who understands racing and the qualities required. This is not quite road driving.

He is a sportsman through and through and can apply his inherent predisposition to win.

His ability to learn LFBing despite not having gone through the conventional karting/open wheel formula is amazing.

Edited by nickfrog on Sunday 16th October 13:03