Greatest Racing and Race Car Rivalries

[JohnBM01]

Hello, GTPlanet.

Similar to "Greatest Street Car Rivalries" in the Automotive\Cars in General thread, this one is about racing rivalries. These rivalries are about racers who either just can't get along, or compete actively almost all the time. There have been racing rivalries that have resulted in cursing, ramming, rough driving, and even fights. So what were some of the biggest racing rivalries either among race cars or among race car drivers?

I'll start.

I think last year sparked a huge rivalry in F1 Racing. Michael Scumacher vs. Juan Pablo Montoya. I'll tell you one thing, J.P. is one of the best in the world. Won the Champ Car title in 1999, the 2000 Indy 500, his first F1 win at Monza (am I right?), and nearly had a chance to win the 2003 Driver's Championship. Does this kid have spunk or what? All due respect to Schumacher, though. In F1, he's as dominant in F1 as the Audi R8 in the LMP1 class in sportscar racing. So far, Schumacher is undefeated in race wins, and Montoya is 4th in the title fight. Next round should be Spain, I think.

Any more racing rivalries? Come on in and talk about them! They can even be past rivalries, even if they are dead or retired. A rivalry is a rivalry. And by the way, street racing rivalries don't count.

 

[millencolin]

biggest racing rivalry is without a doubt FORD Vs HOLDEN

its just massive and intense. you are born either a ford or a holden supporter. its awesome. the fan base out at every race, more so at bathurst.

go ford

 

[Sleek Stratos]

Ayrton Senna Vs. Alain Prost

Even when they were teammates they would wage war on each other out on the track, sometimes even getting together.

 

[kart racer]

Vette vs Viper,back in the early days of the ALMS.Now it looks like the Vette vs Ferrari.
The Ford GT40 MK IV vs Ferrari

 

[Dorifto]

Schumi vs. JPM in some ways?

 

[Solid Fro]

This is an obvious one:

Camaro vs. Mustang

It goes back all the way to the first Z28 and Boss 302 days. The Boss 302 was built to compete against the Z28 in Trans-Am. Both weighing in at 290 HP with 302 cubic inches.

 

[Schrodes]

biggest racing rivalry is without a doubt FORD Vs HOLDEN

Definatley Ford V Holden on this side of the world. Almost every motor racing series over here has some element of Ford V Holden whether it be Touring Cars, Drag Racing, Speedway, Sports Sedans, Production Cars, Hill Climbs, Burnout Comps, anything.

 

[VIPFREAK]

Isn't Holden owned by Ford?

 

[Mike Rotch]

Originally posted by JohnBM01


I'll tell you one thing, J.P. is one of the best in the world. Won the Champ Car title in 1999, the 2000 Indy 500, his first F1 win at Monza (am I right?), and nearly had a chance to win the 2003 Driver's Championship. Does this kid have spunk or what

The sooner you realise that winning Champ Cars is not a ticket to being labelled "best in the world", the better. Driving around an oval is hardly the same as driving around Monaco. Montoya is a whining hot-head who cannot match the temperment of Schumacher or Raikonnen.

That said, McCrae (Subaru) V Makinnen (Mitsu) in the WRC in the late 90's was a rivalry of note.

 

[Schrodes]

Isn't Holden owned by Ford?

No, Holden is owned by General Motors.

 

[DQuaN]

F1 in the 90's, Williams Renault vs Benneton Renault

 

[wee_man]

Here ya go, just a few:
Hill vs Schumacher
Cobra vs Ferrari
The Ferrari 512's vs Prosche 917's (even though the Prosche's walked away with it most of the time)
Jaguar XJR9's vs Porsche 956's (Le Mans 1988 particularly)
Paul Stoddart vs the rest of F1
Bently vs Mercedes (pre ww2 Le Mans)

Milen: biggest racing rivalry for Australians with out a doubt is Holden vs Ford. Personally to me they both seem the same in V8 supercars, can't really see the differance. Both are big sportts saloons with V8's . Although my g/f says that your only a proper Aussie if you like Holden , be it she lived in Pirth for about 10 years...

 

[kart racer]

Originally posted by VipFREAK
Isn't Holden owned by Ford?

Them are fighting words down under.

 

[millencolin]

Originally posted by wee_man

Paul Stoddart vs the rest of F1

hahahaha

it could be Paul Stoddart vs Ron dennis in some ways

only a proper aussie if you support a holden? so according to your girl, im not a proper aussie now? damn.

 

[VIPFREAK]

Originally posted by kart racer
Them are fighting words down under.

oh... eh... sorry...

 

[kart racer]

Originally posted by VipFREAK
oh... eh... sorry...

Not a problem,we are lucky we live over here and can say that without getting jumped.

 

[VIPFREAK]

lol, yeah... I didn't mean it the way it sounded, I honestly didn't know.

 

[Schrodes]

Ferrari V Ford in the 60's. Ford was set to buy Ferrari to get into motor racing, in particular, Le Mans. Ferrari then sold to Fiat, much to Fords disgust, and Ford built the GT40, which won three consecutive Le Mans 24 hour races against Ferraris.

 

[JohnBM01]

I think one great rivalry here in the States was Audi vs. Panoz. I still remember when the Audis were slipping and Panoz cleaned up.

I would surely say that Subaru vs. Mitsubishi stages one of the biggest rivalries not only in World Rally, but Japanese automobiles as well. 1999 Tommy Makinnen vs. 1995 Colin McRae. Then again, since I am looking at this like this is football (for example: "1971 Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. 1972 USC Trojans").

That is another interesting touch to this topic. You can talk about drivers as if football teams. So let me see if I can provide another example:

2001 Michael Schumacher vs. 1999 Mika Hakkinen

Next reply?

 

[Crayola]

GT-R Vs. Supra
Evo Vs. WRX
BMW Vs Mercedes (In F1 and touring cars etc.)

 

[Wastegate]

Here's a few more, going back a few years

1) Reutemann v Jones
2) FISA v FOCA
3) Turbo v Cosworth teams
4) BMW v Ford (70s touring car racing, and again with the M3 vs RS500)

 

[kart racer]

Jackie_Stewart vs Graham Hill
Two of the best old school drivers of all time.

 

[millencolin]

Originally posted by Wastegate
Here's a few more, going back a few years

1) Reutemann v Jones

that was a very good rivalry

another one now will be skaife and ingall. that would be interesting to see

 

[zoxxy]

Button vs. Schumi in the same car.