Team-BHP - Is motorsport a monumental waste?

While watching the formula 1 yesterday, I was doing some number crunching and realised that the F1 cars average approx. 1.xx KPL during a race. They use approx 260-280 lites of fuel for an entire race of approx 300-310 kms (Data based on the pit stop stats taht display fuel dispenses and the approx laps the car will do before needing to refuel). this set me thinking.

for each race day, all cars combined use approx 6100 ltrs of fuel. this is just for the race day. then you have qualifying, friday testing, midweek testing for hundereds of laps by each team at their bases etc. and this is just F1!

factor in races like the GP2, f3000, A1 GP, various touring car championships, Moto GP, le mans, indy 500.....well, u get the picture!
just imagine the kind of fuel that is used every weekend to satisfy teh egos of a few people and to provide viewing pleasure to motorsport fans (Me included!).

While we are all (or most of us) motorsport fans, i got thinking that in todays times of astronomical fuel costs and dangers to the world's oil reserves from both natural and man made factors, is motorsport an extravagance that mankind can ill afford?

i thought and though but could not come up with one plausible justification for motorsport! i know that manufacturers dish out reasons like real time testing et al....but I think that is just baloney! I would have bought that argument if motorsport derived testing was a substitute for all the other "real world" tests that manufacturers do on their cars with prototypes logging on hundereds of thousands of miles. But no, that does not stop because of motorsport being the ultimate test bed. So what really is the use of motosport?!!!!

Now, dont get me wrong, if motorsport were banned for environmental (or any other reason) I would be as dejected as the next person. But still, given teh fact that we all need to be more socially and environmentally aware and conscious, it makes you think.......

OK guys, let the brickbats flow :D

Himanshu

Quote:

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

fuel costs and dangers to the world's oil reserves

Whats wrong?! They pay for their petrol too :) Although, its quite scary when you think about it this way.

So what really is the use of motosport?!!!!
Maybe to test oil, in just another extreme environment.
Maybe to test tyres.
Maybe engine development.
Maybe aerodynamics development.
So that they can use all of these in their road going supercars.
Its a sport, and a business.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordon (Post 508466)

Whats wrong?! They pay for their petrol too :) Although, its quite scary when you think about it this way. the question is not that they pay for the stuff, but the scarcity of the stuff in the first place. what use having bagfuls of money to buy something, but the product not being there to be bought in the first place!

So what really is the use of motosport?!!!!
Maybe to test oil, in just another extreme environment. You have test mules doing that from the Sahara to Alaska
Maybe to test tyres. Who uses slick F1 tyres on road cars- I can buy this argument for rally cars to an extent though
Maybe engine development. Again, thats what test mules and Dynos are for
Maybe aerodynamics development. wind tunnels/test mules
So that they can use all of these in their road going supercars.read the above....
Its a sport, and a business.

Please see my views in bold italics above

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheap_deal (Post 508488)

always beat down a cricket enthusiast with a cricket bat, pipe wrench is not meant for them ;)

to answer your question, no motorsport is not a waste but Indian cricket is a huge huge monumental waste :Frustrati

who got cricket into this thread:Shockked: . I love cricket as much as motorsport and I have tried my hand at both on a fairly good and compettive level.

But the point is that motorsport is depeleting an esssential global reserve, with no apparent purpose, IMHO at least.

Also, I would rather have no motorsport than have F1 cars replaced by battery operated racers!

Quote:

But the point is that motorsport is depeleting an esssential global reserve, with no apparent purpose, IMHO at least.

By this logic, no sport serves any purpose. And NO sport is totally green either. Every sport requires facilities, electricity, vehicles etc etc. So in a way all sport contributes towards the global depletion of resources. But then there isn't much you can do in life that does not. I don't see a point in 5 guys running round in a stadium which is built using heavy vehicles that in turn use fossil fuels to run. And the same stadium is lit using power hungry lights.

Maybe we could all stop these sports and see if watching chess played in a room lit by candles is as interesting :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami (Post 508525)

Well all sports waste precious resources.
People drive to watch Football cricket matches, right?
Many of those matches cause consumption of water in plastic bottles, and plastic waste problem is monumental.
So the solution is to go start living in the trees like our ancestors did.

Ive gotten all my work forsce to go out and collect all teh big boulders that they can find .... and also called in for one of them sling shots , that wil;l sling those boulders down to the garden city ( anyone have the co-ordinates of this mad man ) !!!!

Should start launching them in a few hours .....

Om a serious note .... there is no justification for a lot of activities --- have you calculated how much fuel is burnt in taking people across teh world -- just so that they can see the mountains of Switzerland or the beaches of Brazil , etc etc ??? So lets do one thing .... stop all air travel -- stay where u r born , walk to whatever place is close by !! Shut down all power plants .... who needs electricity , after all our forefathers also survived in days with out electricty . I could go on and on about things that shudn't be done infact should be stopped that waste a lot of natural reserves .

Lets just rewind back to the good ol days -- yipeeeeeee , I dont mind as long as everyone does and trust me you would be the first one to regret it ;-)

By the way wheres my bat ????