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Lewis Hamilton started karting at about 8 years old. I don't even follow F1; I guessed that, and Googled it to confirm, because that's how all race drivers star

by vba616 4y ago

Lewis Hamilton started karting at about 8 years old. I don't even follow F1; I guessed that, and Googled it to confirm, because that's how all race drivers start - let alone the best ever. It would be a different, and strange, world where people typically got to be professional drivers by taking out loans at 18 to buy brand new 500 hp sports cars and majoring in "Race Car Driving" at universities.

bigiain 4y ago
Counter example, Max Biaggi. 3 times runner up in MotoGP (or 500cc), and 2 time World Superbike Champion. “ Biaggi was more interested in football as a child. But in 1989, after he was given a motorcycle for his seventeenth birthday, he began his racing career in the 125cc class at age eighteen.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Biaggi https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Biaggi Definitely not “typical”, but you don’t _have_ to be a child prodigy to be a world champion (motorcycle) racer. (Sadly, I suspect the one guaranteed indicator of world champion potential in motor racing is being a “rich kid”. )
- vba616 4y ago
  Yes, "all" was an exaggeration. But "racing in the 125cc class" vs. the sort of person who begins on a liter bike sort of amounts to the same kind of dichotomy I was thinking of. People who have a career in one sport, may grow up playing a different sport, but they were still likely doing something that demanded endurance, strength, and coordination.
  - bigiain 4y ago
    Yeah. I would suggest though, that the jump from “500hp sports car” to F1 is quite a lot bigger than 125cc GP bike (or Moto3 these days) to a premier class MotoGP (or 500cc GP) bike. Those things were tiny little jewels of pure race bike, a world apart from even my Cagiva Mito (125cc sports street bike). I’ve ridden a friends late 90s vintage Honda RS125 at a track day, and it’s such a joy to ride, beautifully precise - and way way more capable that I’ll ever be on a racetrack. I could match my own personal best lap times on my 900cc Ducati, but the club level racers could do 10 seconds a lap or so faster than me on their 125GP bikes, and the GP riders from 5 or 6 years earlier when the World Championship ran on the same track were almost 10 seconds faster in races than the club guys.
    - vba616 4y ago
      Originally, I was making an analogy to ordinary people, who become mundane professionals. People don't normally start learning to read, write, or program in undergraduate classes. "the jump from “500hp sports car” to F1 is quite a lot bigger..." is what I was trying to say; someone imagining a career pipeline might point out that the power level is numerically closer, but in fact, that doesn't capture the proximity.
      - simonh 4y ago
        In fact I’d agree and go even further. I expect driving a sports car on the road is no preparation for GP driving whatsoever. Seriously, go cart racing is a thousand times closer.

by vba616 4y ago

bigiain 4y ago

Counter example, Max Biaggi. 3 times runner up in MotoGP (or 500cc), and 2 time World Superbike Champion. “ Biaggi was more interested in football as a child. But in 1989, after he was given a motorcycle for his seventeenth birthday, he began his racing career in the 125cc class at age eighteen.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Biaggi https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Biaggi Definitely not “typical”, but you don’t _have_ to be a child prodigy to be a world champion (motorcycle) racer. (Sadly, I suspect the one guaranteed indicator of world champion potential in motor racing is being a “rich kid”. )

vba616 4y ago
Yes, "all" was an exaggeration. But "racing in the 125cc class" vs. the sort of person who begins on a liter bike sort of amounts to the same kind of dichotomy I was thinking of. People who have a career in one sport, may grow up playing a different sport, but they were still likely doing something that demanded endurance, strength, and coordination.
- bigiain 4y ago
  Yeah. I would suggest though, that the jump from “500hp sports car” to F1 is quite a lot bigger than 125cc GP bike (or Moto3 these days) to a premier class MotoGP (or 500cc GP) bike. Those things were tiny little jewels of pure race bike, a world apart from even my Cagiva Mito (125cc sports street bike). I’ve ridden a friends late 90s vintage Honda RS125 at a track day, and it’s such a joy to ride, beautifully precise - and way way more capable that I’ll ever be on a racetrack. I could match my own personal best lap times on my 900cc Ducati, but the club level racers could do 10 seconds a lap or so faster than me on their 125GP bikes, and the GP riders from 5 or 6 years earlier when the World Championship ran on the same track were almost 10 seconds faster in races than the club guys.
  - vba616 4y ago
    Originally, I was making an analogy to ordinary people, who become mundane professionals. People don't normally start learning to read, write, or program in undergraduate classes. "the jump from “500hp sports car” to F1 is quite a lot bigger..." is what I was trying to say; someone imagining a career pipeline might point out that the power level is numerically closer, but in fact, that doesn't capture the proximity.
    - simonh 4y ago
      In fact I’d agree and go even further. I expect driving a sports car on the road is no preparation for GP driving whatsoever. Seriously, go cart racing is a thousand times closer.