Motorsports have always enjoyed universal popularity since they were first introduced.
Popular competitions such as Formula 1, the World Rally Championship, and Moto GP attract millions of spectators every year. Millions more enjoy these competitions through television broadcasts.
What is it that gives motorsports their universal appeal? This article aims to answer that question.
Fans Identify with Race-Car Drivers
Obviously, one does not have to participate in a sport to appreciate it – but it helps.
Most adults, especially in developed countries, are licensed drivers. It is much easier to appreciate the skill of a professional who engages in something you do every day.
The fact that professional drivers can achieve performance levels unmatched by billions of ‘civilian’ drivers is one of the main reasons behind the sport’s popularity.
It’s Fast-Paced
Sports are all about entertainment, and fans are naturally drawn to fast-paced adrenaline-fueled sporting events.
The combination of top-notch engineering in vehicle development and skilled drivers means that motorsports offer unmatched excitement.
Thanks to improved racing safety, the average lap speed in Formula 1 racing, for example, rarely drops below 215 kilometres per hour, thus ensuring that race tracks are always sold out on competition days.
It’s Super Competitive
Rivalries fuel passion in fans, and very few sports can match the hard-core competitiveness of motorsports. All across the motor-racing spectrum, from NASCAR to Moto GP motorbike racing, there are fierce rivalries every season.
With talented new drivers joining each year, the dynamics of these fierce rivalries are always evolving, which inevitably raises the entertainment factor.
Motorsports Attract Big-Name Personalities
To be successful in motorsports, racers must have extreme confidence in themselves and be aggressively competitive.
This hyper-competitive environment means that most of those involved in motorsports have really big egos. Such supremely competitive (and often controversial) people tend to boost the entertainment factor even further.