We’re sure many of us have some annoyances about certain things — commonly referred to as pet peeves — that puts us in great discomfort every time we think about it. Everyone’s got something that makes them tick, so it shouldn’t be unusual to hear even racing drivers have a few of their own, as they often find themselves in rough and seemingly merciless conditions. NISMO TV has a sampling of the personal bugbears its racing drivers grapple with, including GT Academy grads.
The video above briefly names the top 5 pet peeves as emphasized by GT Academy drivers. Not very surprising, two of them are related to competitors’ on-track manners (or lack thereof). Sean Walkinshaw and Alex Buncombe both talk about needless position defending and on-road rivalries during qualifying and practice sessions. This should come as no surprise to sim racers, as it’s been a common problem in the digital world since the inception of online competitions.
The first of the breed, 2008 champion Lucas Ordóñez is ever the consummate race car driver: his biggest problem is being saddled with old tires on the car. An understandable issue for a man aiming to give 100%!
The most unexpected issue was mentioned by Matt Simmons, winner of the 2015 European GT Academy season. “I just want to be in a race car every time I’m here,” said Simmons, “and when you hop out you have to learn how to stay entertained and control (your) nerves.” Anxiety can present as much of a challenge to drivers as the physical aspect of racing, so learning how to cope with it before undertaking a risky activity is definitely of great priority to racing drivers.
And Romain Sarazin? He just hates being sweaty. Though really, who doesn’t?
Do you agree with the Nismo athletes’ list? Got some driving pet peeves of your own, from the real world or the digital realm? Let ’em out!
Feature image courtesy of Drew Gibson.
See more articles on Alex Buncombe, Lucas Ordonez, Matt Simmons, Nismo, Nismo Athletes, Nissan, and Romain Sarazin.
As a school bus driver, l actively operator a rolling traffic control device. Not a day goes by that at least twice a day a inattentive driver rolls or blows through my ‘reds’. They come close too, at times, especially early in the school year, when l have yet to crack those thick skulls into fear of being knocked down and dragged underneath until bleeding to death while the survivors laugh their asses off of the victims’ ignorance of missfortune.
Do you know how hard it is to convince a parent to not walk the down the middle of the road. With a death star (sun) laying low in the early morning… something sooner than later is going to break my heart. Yall will be the death of me ;(
haha I dont see how Matt Simmons’ peeve is all that unusual…if you had the once-in-a-lifetime chance to drive a racecar to its limits, and its all being funded for you..why would you want to just keep looking at it?
Central Il is full of horrible drivers on the roads. From those who think it’s the place to race to those who don’t know where or what a turn signal does.