brake dust

Actually enjoy watching the Tag Heur iRacing Porsche Cup Car racing. Would rather watch the real SuperCup racing - but find the iRacing to be a good subsititute. It's also quite clear that Porsche has informed it's drivers that virtual racining is important to the Porsche brand during the pandamic. So you now have drivers like Nick Tandy putting in the time on simulators to be competitive. That's how the Porsche factory works drivers are approaching this current virtual world.

ProCoach

Oh, the irony...

Veloce Raptor

Lol I didn't claim immunity!

LuigiVampa

I have versions of that conversation every day. Usually with my clients and sometimes with my wife.

I wish I could enjoy it but when you take away the physicality and risk of real racing it becomes just a game for me.

dgrobs

If I ever pulled that "defensible gray" crap with my wife......never mind.

Steve113

Listen I get the bad stuff that a couple of racers did and they deserve what they get . But I think some of the things that drivers are getting in trouble for is BS .

The long and the short is this is NOTHING like real racing . No real consequences for your driving except if you do or say something stupid outside of the GAME. It might be fun and entertaining for some but its a glorified video game.

Just my 2 cents - tired of hearing about a real driver quieting during a VIDEO game after he was crashed out and now loosing sponsors

sbelles

There's a difference between an informal irace and a sanctioned event where sponsors are watching and paying you to represent them.

Steve113

That is true

I guess the old days of of flipping the bird and getting better ratings is over

LuigiVampa

It is a rare race weekend where I do not flip the bird at someone at least once. It's usually a cup car driver on the receiving end!

The way I see the three incidents are:

1. Saying the N word - he got what he deserved.

2. Hiring a "ringer" - make a real apology and have to do some kind of service but you don't lose your ride over it.

3. "rage quiting" - this is a non-event. Ridiculous that the sponsor backed out.

Matt Romanowski

1. Agree
2. He deserves to get canned
3. The sponsor was a little over-reactive to me, but I'm not forking out a few million a year on someone else's driving.

LuigiVampa

Agreeing on one out of three is a start.

It is an unfortunate truth that there is a fair amount of cheating in racing. I understand it somewhat at the pro level, when money is on the line, but think it is ridiculous on the club level. So, in comparison, was this guy cheating? Was there something on the line? I don't know but sim racing is not real racing so I feel like the guy should be cut a break.

Lastly, the sponsor pulling out because Bubba "rage quit" is only a little over-reactive? Again, it isn't real racing and is the internet equivalent to getting out of your car and throwing your helmet (which I personally did a bunch of years ago only to find out you should really buy a new helmet if you bounce it as high as I did, so that was a nice lesson in impulse control for me!) I would boycott the sponsor for their stupidity.

sbelles

If I'm paying someone to play ball with my name on their jersey but instead they take their ball and go home, I think I'd find another ball player too.

Matt Romanowski

I don't think of it as he did something in a game, but he did something in the public eye that his sponsor didn't like. No different than if he showed up to a media day drunk, got caught on video doings something stupid in public, etc. It was conduct unbecoming.

There's cheating and there's cheating. He had someone else drive in his place. That's over the line IMHO.

LuigiVampa

I could be convinced on that one because I hate cheating.

In my home office I still have a second place trophy which was handed out Saturday night and when all the cars were inspected Sunday morning the guy had a flashed ECU in a stock class. He was DQed but never gave me the trophy. It's just a stupid trophy but it still burns me. Also explains how he was a second a lap faster than me even though the previous year I was only a two tenths off the lap record in class.

So with that background, and my hatred for cheaters, I can meet you half way and say the guy should have some consequences but still think being thrown out is harsh. Maybe a several race suspension.

But I will stand firm on Bubba. That sponsor should have yawned about what happened because regardless of whether it is sim or real racing getting a little pissed off is racing.

Carrera51

^^^ Wow! The dude kept the trophy? Let me guess, he was running his Sunday Tune all weekend.