Is Time Attack Racing?

This op-ed piece is about something that bothers me as a racer. You might ask why it matters and hopefully, this article will clarify that. I remember following drifting in 2005 when you had to go to Little Tokyo in Los Angeles to the back section of a store and buy the videos on VHS. There weren’t even subtitles.

October 12, 2017

Why isn’t Time Attack Racing?

Time Attack is a competition against the clock as opposed to another person on the race track. For this reason, it isn’t racing. When you look at Formula 1, NASCAR and Moto GP they are racing for position in real time with other people. Lewis Hamilton wins a race because he is physically in front of another driver at the end of a two-hour race.

>>Join in the conversation about Time Attack Racing and Other Forms of Racing right here in the forum.

So what about drifting?

Drifting isn’t racing because it is a subjective sport. While I have immense amounts of respect for people who participate in this arena (they are insanely talented as well as crazy) it is simply not a competition that is objective. There is no question when Jimmy Johnson takes the checkered flag at Daytona who the winner was. In drifting it is as simple as one judge’s interpretation of who won. It is definitely motorsport, but not racing.

>>Join in the conversation about Time Attack Racing and Other Forms of Racing right here in the forum.

WRC

World Rally Championship throws an interesting wrench into this argument. People always seem to bring it up as the “aha, I got you” counter-point. In my opinion, WRC is the pinnacle of what I would call “Time Trials.” These are events like hill climbs, rally stages, etc. There is certainly no air of superiority to Racing vs. Time Trials, but there are some key differences.

>>Join in the conversation about Time Attack Racing and Other Forms of Racing right here in the forum.

Nuances of "Racing"

The thing about any form of Time Trials is that you have access to all of the road, by yourself, with no one impeding on you. The only thing you have to think about is driving on the right line. In wheel to wheel racing, you can be pushed off the line, or worse, in between two people off the line. The skill of piloting a machine at over 200 miles per hour without touching someone else’s car, but still figuring out how much speed to carry is an art form. Top level drivers get within millimeters of each other without ever touching.

>>Join in the conversation about Time Attack Racing and Other Forms of Racing right here in the forum.

Chess

Driving against other people who are fighting for the exact same space you occupy is literally a game of chess. Feeling out and anticipating what another human being is going to do is one of the hardest things that separates “racing” from other categories of driving. As one driver moves a certain direction or out brakes another guy it causes a real-time game of chess to unfold that is played by both. Ayrton Senna vs. Alain Prost was one of the greatest rivalries in the history of racing for this reason.

>>Join in the conversation about Time Attack Racing and Other Forms of Racing right here in the forum.

Why is this important?

To me, this is an important distinction to make because it clarifies the different skill sets involved in various forms of motorsport. Drifters are masters at controlling a car that is completely over the limit, Time Attack guys are great at setting up a car for that one flying lap, but racers have to do all of this lap after lap after lap while 50 other people try to push you out of the way. Hope you enjoyed!

>>Join in the conversation about Time Attack Racing and Other Forms of Racing right here in the forum.

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