New to Motorsports but have chronic illness

[Willhm]

Hello everyone,

I am completely new to this forum and new to motorsports in general.

I will give a bit of background, I am 18 and have had a chronic illness for 4 years which now keeps me indoors practically all day everyday now, I used to be very active and enjoy sports but now I can't. For this reason I decided to find new interests and after a long time I have found motorsports something I am very interested. I have decided to follow and watch this seasons F1 but I am also fascinated by things going on at Le Mans, Nurburgring and Goodwood, but I don't really know what is happening there as I am literally a complete novice, they just seem very interesting. I am also willing to look into things such as MotoGP and WRC Rallying but I seem to be interested in racing or shows involving 'supercars' (apologises if you cringe at the word and such a huge generalisation, like I said I am a complete novice), but I don't even know where to begin.

I really want to watch these things on TV or online and buy the magazines and learn about them but don't know where to start. We happen to have at home Sky Sports F1 so I can watch what and also have bought this month's F1 racing magazine and also a magazine called Evo which is about cars, mainly high-powered, in general. But am I also really interested in finding out about the stuff that goes on at the three locations mentioned above, Le Mans, Nurburgring and Goodwood. Like I said I have a chronic illness so can't go to actually races or anything so everything must be able to be accessed pretty much online, in books, on TV or magazines, although please suggest anything.

Thank you for reading all of this, any help is welcome.

[Mark]

Most of us just use online and watch TV. So your going about it the right way.

[Valve Bounce]

Register at F1.com, and then go onto live timing where you get the positions of cars at races, gaps between races and lots more. If you have a laptop, then use Live Timing to tell you what position each car is in during a race. This is particularly helpful when cars pit to change tyres and in so doing their positions on the field changes.

Big Welcome to you, mate.
I will get back to you about watching Aussi Rules football at another time. :)

[MrJan]

If you like Evo magazine then I highly recommend watching the Chris Harris on Cars part of the Drive Youtube channel. This is the most recent video Mercedes SLS Electric Drive. Can Volts Ever Match Pistons? - CHRIS HARRIS ON CARS - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IElqf-FCMs8)

Events at Goodwood are fairly limited, you've pretty much just got the two big ones. The Festival of Speed is at Goodwood House and usually in July (I think) while the Goodwood Revival is held at the circuit in September. There is also a sprint held at the circuit but coverage of that will be very limited.

Rallying is probably my favourite type of motorsport but the WRC is a shadow of it's former self. Personally I prefer to watch old videos on Youtube, things from the 70s and 80s.

[wedge]

Ditch Evo and get Motorsport magazine instead. They do a monthly podcast, Ask Nigel is a pleasure to read even if you may disagree with him and Simon Arron's GP diary has tranferred to their website.

Radio Le Mans and Midweek Motorsport if you're tired of F1 coverage Midweek Motorsport | RadioLeMans.com (http://radiolemans.0157.org/content/midweek-motorsport)

[Willhm]

Thank you very much for all of your very helpful replies. I will certainly look into many of the things mentioned. As I posted earlier, I am a complete novice, but do you think it is worth me trying to learn about cars and their 'insides' and engineering etc. or is it just too complex and my efforts would be some what of a drop in the ocean. If not is there anywhere you suggest I start? Whether it be with a book or website, as I said I am mainly interested in high powered cars but I don't know how much of a difference that makes, it would be nice to read something in a magazine and actually know what they are talking about.

Thanks again.

[steveaki13]

Hi and welcome.

I would personally get to know the sports and people in the sports first, then as you gain an instinctive knowledge about the goings on, you will have picked up quite a lot of info.

Then begin research the techincal side. That is my opinion but there are many sources so you are free to learn as much and as quick as you like.

Are you going to be a regular on here as you go? The F1 section discusses pretty much everything that goes on in F1.

[wedge]

Thank you very much for all of your very helpful replies. I will certainly look into many of the things mentioned. As I posted earlier, I am a complete novice, but do you think it is worth me trying to learn about cars and their 'insides' and engineering etc. or is it just too complex and my efforts would be some what of a drop in the ocean. If not is there anywhere you suggest I start? Whether it be with a book or website, as I said I am mainly interested in high powered cars but I don't know how much of a difference that makes, it would be nice to read something in a magazine and actually know what they are talking about.

Thanks again.

Go with the flow with whatever takes your fancy.

It's not essentially but personally I'd prefer if people took an interest in the technical sides especially as there are fantastic machinery out there to be appreciated.

There are bloggers out there who try to explain technical F1 stuff

ScarbsF1.com | Everything Technical in F1 (http://scarbsf1.com/blog1/)

https://twitter.com/ScarbsF1

SomersF1 (http://somersf1.blogspot.co.uk/)

https://twitter.com/SomersF1

The Technical World of Formula 1 Explained (http://technicalf1explained.blogspot.co.uk/)

For Le Mans style cars:

Mulsanne's Corner, technical analysis of contemporary sports prototype racing cars (http://www.mulsannescorner.com/)

https://twitter.com/mulsannescorner

There's Racecar Engineering magazine Racecar Engineering | The leading motorsport technology magazine | F1, Le Mans, Formula Student, Super GT (http://www.racecar-engineering.com/) and Race Tech magazine RaceTech Magazine - Home (http://www.racetechmag.com/) which are industry magazines but there are stuff the enthusiast will garner.

[tfp]

Hello everyone,

I am completely new to this forum and new to motorsports in general.

I will give a bit of background, I am 18 and have had a chronic illness for 4 years which now keeps me indoors practically all day everyday now, I used to be very active and enjoy sports but now I can't. For this reason I decided to find new interests and after a long time I have found motorsports something I am very interested. I have decided to follow and watch this seasons F1 but I am also fascinated by things going on at Le Mans, Nurburgring and Goodwood, but I don't really know what is happening there as I am literally a complete novice, they just seem very interesting. I am also willing to look into things such as MotoGP and WRC Rallying but I seem to be interested in racing or shows involving 'supercars' (apologises if you cringe at the word and such a huge generalisation, like I said I am a complete novice), but I don't even know where to begin.

I really want to watch these things on TV or online and buy the magazines and learn about them but don't know where to start. We happen to have at home Sky Sports F1 so I can watch what and also have bought this month's F1 racing magazine and also a magazine called Evo which is about cars, mainly high-powered, in general. But am I also really interested in finding out about the stuff that goes on at the three locations mentioned above, Le Mans, Nurburgring and Goodwood. Like I said I have a chronic illness so can't go to actually races or anything so everything must be able to be accessed pretty much online, in books, on TV or magazines, although please suggest anything.

Thank you for reading all of this, any help is welcome.

you signed up on this website, so you already did the first thing correct :cool:

you want to talk about rallying, first of all, if you have a smart phone, download the irally app. Then, research a bbc documentary called "madness on wheels".
And prepare to be amazed!

[Willhm]

Wow,

thanks for all this info, I will certainly look on the F1 Technical Websites you mentioned wedge, I haven't looked on them yet but they sound like the exact thing I am looking for, I would really love to learn about the technical side of F1 and how the cars work etc. In terms of if I am going to be a regular steveaki13, I think I will be more of a reader than a poster as I wouldn't know what to write at all, but maybe if I learn more I may be able to. And thanks tfp for the tip for the documentary, I will look it up, I have found a few things that are on TV at home in the coming days on the motorsport TV channel but they don't seem to do much rallying, but they have got the Endurance races starting at Silverstone I think which seem interesting, I will just have to see how things go.

[webberf1]

Welcome to the forums Willhm. We're glad to have you here. Cheers :beer:

[D-Type]

For coverage of current the weekly newspaper Motorsport News Motorsport News - The Voice of British Motorsport (http://www.motorsport-news.co.uk/) is your best bet. There is also to Autosport magazine, and associated forum, autosport.com - the authority on Formula One, F1, MotoGP, WRC, IndyCar, GP2, F2, Le Mans, NASCAR and more (http://www.autosport.com/) but these days the magazine is very Formula 1 focussed. The forums on the Autosport website are worth joining (you don't have to subscribe to join the forums), in particular their Technical Forum and Nostalgia Forum (despite the name more of a serious history forum).
I can't really advise on the monthly magazines. Your approach of buying one to see what it's like is the best approach. For history/nostalgia there's Motor Sport and Octane (who appear to have a 3 issues for £3 offer at the moment) plus a couple of others. For classic cars there's 2 or 3 - Classic and Sports Car and Classic Cars come to mind but both tend to focus on MGB's, E Type Jaguars , Morris Minors etc.

[steveaki13]

Dont be afraid to post questions and thoughts though.

Most of us are friendly

[Willhm]

Thanks again for more links to websites and magazine ideas, I hope I can start to learn more about all this stuff but so far I'm really enjoying it.

[Knock-on]

Don't worry about posting just because you don't know much about the sport. You will fit right in with half the posters here :D

You have a wealth of information people have provided so fill yer boots. However, you don't have to read up on everything, just enjoy watching and see where it leads you. Having fun is the most important thing in any aspect of Motorsport which might suprise a few people that visit the F1 forum :laugh:

[Willhm]

Thanks, I am really finding it very interesting and fun even after such a short period of time, so I hope that continues.

[Spafranco]

Hello everyone,

I am completely new to this forum and new to motorsports in general.

I will give a bit of background, I am 18 and have had a chronic illness for 4 years which now keeps me indoors practically all day everyday now, I used to be very active and enjoy sports but now I can't. For this reason I decided to find new interests and after a long time I have found motorsports something I am very interested. I have decided to follow and watch this seasons F1 but I am also fascinated by things going on at Le Mans, Nurburgring and Goodwood, but I don't really know what is happening there as I am literally a complete novice, they just seem very interesting. I am also willing to look into things such as MotoGP and WRC Rallying but I seem to be interested in racing or shows involving 'supercars' (apologises if you cringe at the word and such a huge generalisation, like I said I am a complete novice), but I don't even know where to begin.

I really want to watch these things on TV or online and buy the magazines and learn about them but don't know where to start. We happen to have at home Sky Sports F1 so I can watch what and also have bought this month's F1 racing magazine and also a magazine called Evo which is about cars, mainly high-powered, in general. But am I also really interested in finding out about the stuff that goes on at the three locations mentioned above, Le Mans, Nurburgring and Goodwood. Like I said I have a chronic illness so can't go to actually races or anything so everything must be able to be accessed pretty much online, in books, on TV or magazines, although please suggest anything.

Thank you for reading all of this, any help is welcome.

Hi Willhm,

Sorry to hear about your illness.I hope some medical advancement will come through to help you.

As to motor sport, the other posters gave you some great links. Here in the US we have IndyCar. It is our version of F1. Even though it is far removed from the high technology of F1 it is still entertaining.