Motorsports are easily one of the most popular sports in the world. Formula 1 alone is the 7th most popular sport in the world according to totalsportek.com and brings in the interest of around 550 million fans from all around the world. These sports take place professionally on all continents excluding Antarctica. Some examples of different motorsports include trophy truck racing, NASCAR, Formula Drift, motocross, rally racing, and even boat drag racing. Many enthusiasts even attempt to replicate racecars and make them street legal. Also, many car manufacturers sell a variety of high horsepower gas cars to the public.
Many people would like to see motorsports and high horsepower street legal vehicles banned. First of all, race vehicles obviously use lots of fuel which affects our environment and leads to global warming. People also argue that this fuel is being burned with only the purpose of racing. For example, the average trophy truck gets around 4 mpg when racing the Baja 1000. They argue that this fuel should be used in commercial vehicles rather than have applications in racing. Racing is also a dangerous sport. Some forms of racing also require certain amounts of forest to be cut down in order to build a track. In terms of street legal race vehicles, many think that having this much power on the street is "so inherently dangerous to the common safety of motorists that its registration as a road-worthy automobile should be banned" (Automotive News). Drivers of higher horsepower street cars also have a higher tendency to drive more irresponsible than the average driver. Some even argue that a car is more dangerous than a loaded gun.
Supporters of motorsport and high horsepower street cars make some good points. Motorsports, for starters, create many job opportunities whether it be in the pit crew or the guy at the hot dog stand. Racing has also helped normal commuter cars become more aerodynamic, safer, fuel efficient, and reliable. For example, Toyota’s win at Le Mans in 2019 with a hybrid prototype car shows all automakers that hybrid is faster and more fuel efficient. This win also convinced consumers to buy a hybrid vehicle. Turbos were also invented for a racing application and now many commuter cars have turbos that make them more fuel efficient. When it comes to danger, racing has actually become a lot safer than it used to be because of new safety rules. Also, they say that in the grand scheme of things, motorsports does not contribute to carbon emissions all that much.
So, should we ban motorsports and fast cars because they eat up so much fuel? Should fast cars be removed from the streets? Or, do you believe that we should allow motorsports to continue to take place?
Motorsports should not be banned. The beginning of motorsports was just to see who was the fastest and although this element still remains many circuits of motorsport like NASCAR, Formula 1, and trophy truck provide evidence for many studies that could help reduce pollution and make cars better for consumers. NASCAR for example, stand for the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. In NASCAR all the car they use are available to the public. Of course the cars seen on the track have modified engines to allow extra horsepower and have chassis made for racing the overall car is what you would find in a dealership. In Formula 1 car manufacturers have more of an incentive to win. Although they don't use car available to the public the races can be used to study engine performance. Starting in 1950 there weren't many rules in terms of engine size and power, but as we progressed in technology engines could be smaller and use up less gas and oil. In today's races a F1 car uses a 1.6 liter V6 with a turbo charger. This engine doesn't use as much oil, and the turbo charger allows for more horsepower by using the exhaust. There is also a racing circuit called Formula E which uses car running completely on electricity. These cars are the future of racing and shows the power that can be achieved with electric engines. This circuit has tracks that require conservation of the power which can be helpful as it can reduce pollution. It also uses chargers under the track to recharge the car's battery which could be used in the future to charge electric car used in the public. All in all motorsport should not be banned because they provide helpful evidence to improve engines and help shape the future of transportation.
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