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Why I like racing? Just watch this video of Formula One greats and their quotes, and realize that many of the men pictured here were killed on track, doing what they loved. Some, like Nikki Lauda, are horribly disfigured. Some managed to live long enough to retire.
What common bond do they all share and what is it I admire about them enough that I want to watch?
Passion.
Coupled with brilliant skills, managing to do miracles with machines.
Competition. So much passion about winning that coming in second is a defeat. Winning is the only thing.
If you ever get the chance, watch the movie Rush. It was released earlier this summer, directed by Ron Howard, and it was about the rivalry between Nikki Lauda and James Hunt in the 1976 Formula One title competition. Lauda was horribly burned at the Nurburgring in Germany, only to push himself to come back and compete far too early. Probably one of the very best racing movies ever made. Also, a documentary about safety and the lack therof in Formula One from the first to the present was released called 1. I watched it on demand with DirecTV and understand it's on iTunes as well - but it's very good. There are interviews with the stars and period footage all blended together so you get to see a lot of vintage racing shots, and old interviews with drivers who were killed. At one point, about a driver per week lost their life - that included the junior Formulas as well, but back in the day, it was a damn dangerous sport. Still is, just not as much.
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| Nikki (after being burned) and James Hunt share a moment. Regardless of the impression from the film "Rush," they were good friends. |
I'm certainly more of a NASCAR fan than a Formula One fan, but it's all racing in the end.
H/T Jalopnik
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2 comments:
Cool. Library has both titles, though it's a long wait for Rush.
I can still hear Jackie Stewart announcing the Monaco Grand Prix. I read somewhere that he drove barefoot. Kind of funny that I don't recall Hunt at all, but lots of other drivers I certainly do, such as Depallier and Fittipaldi. But I'm not as much a racing fan as you are, Jeffro. For a while, years ago, I did keep an eye on some of it. I'm sure I'll enjoy those movies.
I enjoyed the racing scenes and the quotes were priceless. Something about racing brings out the poet in men who may never have opened a book of poetry.
I can't afford a real car but I recently got a '97 Honda Civic with close to 300K on it, which has a VTEC and 5 speed, not to mention a head gasket I'll have to replace when it warms up. At least I can pretend....
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