Sunday, May 24, 2015

Monaco GP vs. Indy 500 comparison test

This afternoon offered a rare opportunity to view two iconic races at the same time. The Indy 500 was on ABC while TSN had a tape delayed Monaco F1 race on. What's the better race?

Geography

Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a two and a half mile oval in the Midwestern plains. Boring. The Monaco street circuit has hills and tunnels and scenic vistas. Monaco wins hands down.

History

This was the 99th running of the Indy 500, but only the 86th running of the Monaco GP. Indy wins.

Speed

No contest. Indy is flat out at 220 mph all day. They rarely top 175 at Monaco.

Drivers

The guy who won Indy today has also won Monaco. Monaco had the youngest driver, Max Verstappen at 17 year old, and the world's best-paid driver, Lewis Hamilton. That gives Monaco the edge on the human interest factor.

Social Relevance

One of the cool things about car racing is it doesn't pretend to have any. It's just another circus to keep us amused when we should be doing more constructive things with our time.

Crashes

This is the main reason people watch motorsports, and Indy had more of them. Also, at Indy you can see more of the track from the grandstands, so the odds are better.

Conclusion

Even though Indianapolis is faster and has more crashes, there's something appealing about Monaco. Those yachts in the yacht basin at the edge of the track, the beautiful buildings in Monaco; it's the more aesthetically appealing venue for sure.

I'd call it a tie.




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