Drifting

[Coxy]

Because it's hot in the car and the suits don't breathe so they sweat a lot. It's not physically demanding beyond that.

Huge mental concentration and skill, for sure.

 

[Coxy]

And cf, the definition of sport you quoted mentioned athleticism.

 

[Coxy]

sport
   [spawrt, spohrt] Show IPA
noun
1.
an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.
2.
a particular form of this, especially in the out of doors.
3.
diversion; recreation; pleasant pastime.

Every single definition of sport includes motor racing as a sport.

The definition at step 1 immediately rules out motor racing as a sport. It is not an athletic activity, regardless of the need to be able to endure a lot of sweating...

 

[Huge]

Coxy,I totally agree that athleticism is a major advantage to just about every sportsperson I can think of. The example did mention racing as well as athleticism and definition three..3.
diversion; recreation; pleasant pastime.

The opening paragraph of the thread did indicate that I originally thought drifting a waste of time and in some way I do still think that. However the people were having fun, were friendly and respectful and had time to explain their passion to me, a total novice. The pastime is not for me but was enormous fun when driven around by the highly skilled driver. No mistake here, he was skilled and that point was well made by the hundreds of runs I witnessed that did not go so well. He was also pretty fit as far as I could tell.

Whether it is or is not a sport is irrelevant and I respect your right to differ. I will endeavour in future to extend that courtesy to all others.

 

[Huge]

Incidentally, simply because athleticism is mentioned did not immediately rule out fishing !!!..In point of actual fact it specifically mentioned fishing, lol . A sport hardly requiring athleticism !! A more sedentary sport is hard to imagine as is evidenced by my photo !!

 

[Porthoz]

Because it's hot in the car and the suits don't breathe so they sweat a lot. It's not physically demanding beyond that.

Huge mental concentration and skill, for sure.

Yes, high temperature is a factor, but the suits and undergarments are especially made for the circumstances, and they have a water tube to keep hydrated throughout the race. The worst part however, is the strain of the huge G-Forces their body has to endure, which is similar to what fighter jet pilots experience.

5 or 6 G is not infrequent during high speed corners or braking, and especially the latter is extremely strenuous and can cause serious permanent damage in unfit people.
It is extremely demanding physically, and while skill makes the difference between the best and the others, all of them have to be extremely fit to even be able to compete!

 

[Nashy]

What the drivers go through is far more physically demanding than a footballer goes through IMO. I'm not getting into the argument, and I would say it's probably not worth having in this thread.

Everyone should be moving on and talking about drifting, and if you personally like it or not. This is no doubt going to turn into a lockable circle jerk by the end of the day.

 

[Porthoz]

I hope I made my point extremely clear! :laugh:

 

[Coxy]

But if I may take an AP moment and have the last say...I will say that even if an activity is physically demanding, unless the success of that competitor is down to their physical fitness and endurance, then it's not a sport.

Even if I were to concede that you have to be a battle hardened fighter pilot to race a V8 (frankly...lol...) the fact that the success or failure is entirely dependent on the vehicle and the performance of the maintenance/support crew means it's not a "sport".

You could make a similar argument for cycling I suppose, but in the end, it's entirely the human that's powering that vehicle.

Drivers in motorsport are essentially just steering/braking/accelerating - playing Forza on the Xbox is no more a sport than V8 supercar racing. IMHO.

That's why it's called "motorsport". It's a separate kettle of fish entirely.

 

[Nashy]

Or, it could be a team sport. But anyway, enough of this. I'll close it before everyone's mate comes in and posts a novel of dribble.