The "I can't believe they raced it!" Thread.

  • Thread starter adam46
  • 772 comments
  • 168,538 views
@Har1MAS1415 please remember that this is a forum not an Out of Context twitter feed. We are here for a discussion and would like information about interesting things that are posted, as it's not obvious most of the time. You're posting a lot of stuff and seem to be racing to be the last person to have posted something in each of the threads you are partaking in and it's getting tiring as you're sacrificing quality of posts for quantity. Try to tell us the story of what random video or photo you have found. I appreciate you have found an audience who are interested in the same things as you, but this scattergun approach of posting every thought or Google search is not quite working on a forum for discussion. Instead of double posting or sending one image in between multiple other people engaging in conversation, please try to combine similar stories into one. It'll allow us to enjoy them more and give you time to find interest in the process of crafting the story.
I find this comment really odd, since there's plenty of threads on this forum that aren't really discussion and just posting photos? Look at the Cars In General area, the Imports thread, the Muscle Cars thread, it just a community photo album, little discussion.

Yeah look, he could've added some more info on occasion, but he's added more value to this otherwise dead thread (It's taken 2 years for 2 pages to develop), if he hadn't added been adding stuff to the thread that some people actually find interesting, this thread would've just been lost in the depths.

I looked at the just first few pages of this thread, and it's all basically the same as what he has posted... Cars that are unusual to varying degrees, posted with often with little information. I don't see how his contributions to this thread, and even others he posts in, are so egregious.

He's just wanting to share things he finds interesting with others, and he might not have much of an audience to do it else. I genuinely don't see the big deal, and the reason for the pile on.
 
I find this comment really odd, since there's plenty of threads on this forum that aren't really discussion and just posting photos? Look at the Cars In General area, the Imports thread, the Muscle Cars thread, it just a community photo album, little discussion.

Yeah look, he could've added some more info on occasion, but he's added more value to this otherwise dead thread (It's taken 2 years for 2 pages to develop), if he hadn't added been adding stuff to the thread that some people actually find interesting, this thread would've just been lost in the depths.

I looked at the just first few pages of this thread, and it's all basically the same as what he has posted... Cars that are unusual to varying degrees, posted with often with little information. I don't see how his contributions to this thread, and even others he posts in, are so egregious.

He's just wanting to share things he finds interesting with others, and he might not have much of an audience to do it else. I genuinely don't see the big deal, and the reason for the pile on.
This is fair enough and yes I didn't plan it to end with him leaving in such a manner. However some points do stand and we (as in generally in the thread, not just to Harmas) have discussed previously in other threads that although this thread began as a dump of pictures, it's still a better place when new things are added and explained. Why we can't believe it raced is important and everyone posting things needs to be prepared for scrutiny or to justify their opinions on a thing. The Unpopular Motorsport Opinions embodies this, where the whole point of the thread is to bring up why you don't like something that a lot of others do, because then the discussion following it will be constructive and useful, rather than rebuttals or just a bunch of confused people trying to understand a shock post designed for clicks rather than discussion.

Harmas has of course been posting a lot of good things and finds in the Motorsport forum. The Celebs thread gained nearly 50 replies in just a few days, that's awesome! He's the biggest conversationalist about the BTCC and knows history history about the sport. But, I am not the only one who has noticed threads was filled with double posts and I have recently got frustrated with him for a few reactions to my posts either asking for these clarifications or stories that has been discussed before.

Perhaps publically was not the place, but my comment here was piggybacking off another user's callouts first.
 
On the topic of the thread, I don't know whether "Street Nights" (a drag strip opens to the public for runs and anyone can run what they want) count... Do they?
 
On the topic of the thread, I don't know whether "Street Nights" (a drag strip opens to the public for runs and anyone can run what they want) count... Do they?
RWYB are fairly common, I think the interest in the thread more comes from entries into professional, or at least pro-am or pro-celeb competitions.
 
I've decided to come back, now I have slept on it.

I've calmed down now.

I know I am not the only neurodivergent here. I just obviously haven't properly explained the difficulties I have since no neurodivergent is the same in that respect.

I got too carried away with the threads I have recently started. I have seen them work on other forums so I thought they were worth a try here. I tend to get carried away in general when I am in my element, especially on here, since I have followed Motorsport (mainly F1 and the BTCC) since 1993.

I am better at explaining things when I am not asked to because it puts me on the spot when I am. That makes it harder for me to find the right words, even when I know perfectly well what I am trying to say. That also makes me feel overstimulated and therefore, uncomfortable and liable to have a meltdown.

I never actually intended to leave and never come back but daan's last comment touched one nerve too many when I was already on edge.

I didn't mean to frustrate Jimlaad43 but I did feel the responses I was getting came across as rude and uncalled for now and again and I didn't immediately understand the posts in question. I obviously didn't help the situation by reacting with the Poo emoji. I agree that if people don't like something then they should explain it, rather than just using things like the Poo emoji, though sometimes they need time to think about how they are going to provide an explanation, I certainly do more often than not.

I didn't understand exactly what the problem was with what I was doing and trying to do so only overstimulated me and caused me to have a meltdown.

I just wish to be accepted because I have been through so many instances of not being accepted because of people not understanding me or just not bothering to because of my being a neurodivergent. This has caused me to grow up with a distrust of neurotypicals.

I am obsessed with the failures thread because I grew up fascinated with the now-defunct F1 Rejects site.

I am sorry for all the trouble I've caused recently and in the past. I didn't mean to be such a pest to everyone. It is nice to know that I am actually adding something to this forum. I have often felt I wasn't really contributing anything and felt like I shouldn't really be here and the recent trouble only confirmed that in my mind so I felt like I should leave and never come back. I often feel like I am just a thorn in everyone's side.

I also don't immediately provide an explanation because I was always taught that when I am asked a question, it requires an answer, and if I didn't answer right away, I was proverbially pushed until I gave one.

Also, when it comes providing an explanation, that comes across as having to dig deeper for further information and more information can lead to things getting more complicated and if my brain takes on too much information at once (i.e. taking on information quicker than it can process it) it becomes overstimulated and causes me headaches, at worst, driving me to depression and/or frustration. I struggled in school and college because of this. I will admit to have been more uncomfortable about providing an explanation in general than usual in recent times as I also have an account with TV Tropes under the username Nononsensecapeesh (Yes, Jimlaad43, the same NNC from the Robot Wars Wiki. There I said it.) and I got suspended from that site earlier this year because of not providing enough explanation for the edits I was making and trying to get the suspension overturned was like pulling teeth!

The things I put in threads like this one and the "Failures" thread. I put them here more to see what you guys think rather than what I think, because more often than not, I am sure what I think. I tend to have a better idea of where I stand on things, once have had time to think about it.

That piece I put in the "Failures" thread about the autonomous racing series in Abu Dhabi. I noticed it being referred to as a "failure". At this point, it was easy for me to take that literally because that is a trait of my Autism, but I thought "There's a thread covering "failures" on GTPlanet, I'll show it to them and let them be the judge of this." I now know that the series simply got off to a bad start. I am certainly not one of those "confused" people whom Jimlaad43 refers to (or at least I try not to be) but it is difficult not to be such a person when you have a disability that causes you to be literal-minded.

My perception of how these threads work may also be different how they were intended to work.

Take the Top Gear BMW for instance, nothing unusual about it when it comes to being a racing car, but it would be hard for some people to believe it started off as a four-year-old repmobile and got turned into an endurance racecar in 10 days, regardless of who were the ones to do it. That's where I was coming from (or, at least trying to).

The double-posting thing, that I had the hardest time understanding because I have done it on other forums and they tend be less stringent on the matter. I got the part not doing a new post so soon after my previous one (or, at least, I tried to), so I tried to get into the habit of waiting until the next day before doing a new post. For some reason, I thought I should only add to an existing post if the information I am adding is relevant to it, that was a cock-up on my part but I have already apologised for all the trouble this has caused.

I would not be on this forum at all or other forums if not for the Motorsport aspect because I have never been comfortable in crowds and to me, forums constitute crowds, online crowds but crowds nonetheless, which is why I tend to steer clear of the more popular threads, like those covering upcoming F1 races for instance.

I am inexplicably obsessed with ending my sessions on here (and other forums) with an even number of edits! That, I definitely can't explain, other than it being a trait of my Autism. Even I find it annoying sometimes!

Oh, I am prone to unpredictability and randomness in the way I conduct myself but I don't mean to put people off as a result.

Right, I think have covered everything, unless anyone thinks otherwise.

Back on subject:

Earlier in the thread, the unraced nose-winged Arrows from Monaco 2001 was mentioned.

Here's the unraced boomerang-winged Tyrrell from 1983.
UjgbzAbvNwWXbx3qp1FlNMGu-iH8XPlHLTOvLm7myCQ.jpg


"Maurice Philippe had an idea in mind about how to give the 012 an aerodynamic an advantage over its competitors, realising a conventional wing could only do so much with the maximum width given by the FIA, he set out to maximise the surface area within the available space.

As he couldn’t simply make the wing wider, he bent it into a point resembling the boomerang. In theory this was supposed to create a larger wing with more surface area, which in turn would generate more downforce without exceeding the maximum width limit. Large gurney flaps on top of the wing were intended to exploit the effect even further. He would fix the peculiar looking wing in place with large struts connecting to the sidepods, with a third example connecting to the rear differential and a smaller boomerang attaching to the rear diffuser.

Tyrrell tested the Boomerang in a short private test in England, before heading to Osterreichring (Austria) for its public test prior to the Austrian Grand Prix.

Michele Alboretto set off in his 012-01 (with Boomerang) in the first practice session. He completed a few laps with relative ease, showing the space-age wing worked at least as well as its normal winged sister.

Unfortunately a water leak ruined the session, forcing the Italian to pull into the pits. His feedback lead Philippe and Tyrrell to conclude the Boomerang wing didn’t live up to its promise, leading to Tyrrell favouring the normal wing."

I also can't believe Michael Schumacher managed to win the 1990 Macau GP with his broken rear wing trailing behind him after his collision with Mika Hakkinen.

 
Last edited:
(I think my previous post is already long enough as it is)

This Subaru Forester XT came 5th outright at the 2023 Sunraysia Safari Cross Country Rally running the original 2.5lt XT Turbo Charged Boxer Engine, with upgraded STI 6 Speed non DCCD STI Gearbox.


There's also a drift racing Subaru Forester in Canada.
18b768bc48b971070091cb0157897e98.jpg



https://enkei.com/can-jam-drift-taxi-on-enkei-rpf1/ (For further information on the drift racing version)
 
Last edited:
(I think my previous post is already long enough as it is)

This Subaru Forester XT came 5th outright at the 2023 Sunraysia Safari Cross Country Rally running the original 2.5lt XT Turbo Charged Boxer Engine, with upgraded STI 6 Speed non DCCD STI Gearbox.

Any examples here that anyone can identify?
(The images don't have any descriptions!)
 
Before Formula Woman, W Series, F1 Academy and the like, there was the 1979 Fabergé Fiesta Challenge.
One notable competitor was future Lady's Rally Champion Louise Aitken (-Walker)!

(Not wishing to be sexist!)
 
Last edited:
Before Formula Woman, W Series, F1 Academy and the like, there was the 1979 Fabergé Fiesta Challenge.
One notable competitor was future Lady's Rally Champion Louise Aitken (-Walker)!

(Not wishing to be sexist!)
...and BEFORE THAT, there was the 1972 Fast Girls Consul GT Challenge
 
stock-photo-racing-1988-95056.jpg

The Lancia Lady Cup took place in Sweden from 1984 to 1989. The car of choice was the motorcycle-engined Autobianchi A112 Abarth, badged as a Lancia. The series even branched out to include a Hungarian GP support race once in 1987. The inaugural champion was Åsa Johansson, sister of F1 driver Stefan. The most notable competitor was future BTCC Class Winner Nettan Lindgren who dominated the series, winning the title every year from 1985 to 1988.

The A112 was replaced by the Opel Corsa for 1990.
 
Before SEAT entered the European Touring Car Championship in 2003 and the BTCC in 2004...
919.jpg

...a 1st generation SEAT Toledo graced the Supertouring era for most of the 1993 to 1996 period in France, Belgium, Germany and Spain, usually with limited success. The last Supertouring Toledo appeared in the first 14 rounds of the 1996 Spanish Touring Car Championship in the hands of David Bosch. The car's best result was 8th at Estoril and was replaced with a BMW 318i for the final 2 rounds in Barcelona.
 
Last edited:
A few GT1 examples....

De Tomaso Pantera
Ascari FGT
Lancia 037
Darrian T90
Mosler Raptor
Harrier LR9 / LR9 GT97 / GT1-98
Quaife R4 GTS
RGS Mirage GT1
Sintura S99
Renault Sport Spider V6 / Helem V6
MiG M100 / Mega Monte Carlo
 
Last edited:
The Audi RS6 in Speed Vision Touring Cars
SpeedVision Touring Cars. It featured a separate class for GT( SpeedVision GT World Challenge) cars and one for Touring Cars.

A note about the GT cars, the early fields had Corvettes, Mustangs and Vipers versus M3, 911 and chalk this one up to another can’t believe they raced it…. Audi RS6! It was like the return of the Audi GTO.
View attachment 1414183

I was at this race with my ex. Standing under cover at the outside of Turn 1, couldn’t believe the Audis were struggling(more like driver errors) in those conditions. Good stuff for my first visit to a circuit.

A176344_web_2880.jpg
 
Last edited:
I've just seen this subreddit, lots of photos of race drivers showing up in places you wouldn't necessarily expect:


In a similar vein here is 1x rally driver Raffaele Marciello running Monza (2019) in a Citroen C3 Rally2, with a lovely throwback scheme to the old Xsara WRC's:
1734866102062.jpeg



Edit: I don't look at this section of the forum often, I had no idea this thread existed for this exact subject: https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/threads/they-drove-that-car.429542/
 
Last edited:
1734870561075.jpeg

1734870918577.jpeg

1734870895238.jpeg


Perhaps you’ve heard of folk racing, an inexpensive form of rally cross if you like, popular in Scandinavia and Finland, and featured in the game Wreckfest. Well, there’s a caravan variant as well.
 


(SPOILER ALERT!)

Edsel
Jaguar
Austin-Healey
MG
Alfa Romeo
Porsche
Citroen
Tucker
Mini Cooper
Volkswagen Beetle (No, it's not just a clip from the movie "Herbie: Fully Loaded"!)
 
1000002630.jpg

How many of us had even heard of the Subaru Levorg before it raced in the British Touring Car Championship from 2016 to 2019?

Notably won the 2017 title with Ashley Sutton.
 
Last edited:
Back