Oh fuck. It’s the Molson Steelback Honda Indy.
I was hoping when we finally had some mid-July peace thanks to the cancellation of this boring racket in 2008 but, sadly, it’s back.
What has to be one of the most obnoxious ideas in entertainment ever dreamed up, the event (sigh) managed to find a new sponsor in Honda (which left F1 because of the economic crisis), so everyone from commuters delayed by a Lake Shore Blvd. closure to people just sitting in backyards wondering if their laptops’ fans are dying, are being subjected to this sideshow.
[question to sound science folk: Does the lake affect (through amplification) the way the terrible noise carries across the city?]
And what a show it isn’t. Having seen this spectacle first hand, you don’t get very much. A bunch of cars zip by. Thunderous noise. Wait. Sip beer. Repeat. This year, Gene Simmons and Sass Jordan try to make it interesting, but I’d rather watch the 401 at rush hour. It’s free and you can see the anger in people’s eyes as they slowly squeeze through construction. Who will win the prize of getting home on time? No one!
The Indy isn’t even the cream of car racing. Even though they can reach higher speeds compared to F1, Indy cars are bush league rides when it comes to tech specs of F1 where teams will build a car up from scratch each year (costing as much as $500 million).
F1 races involve team built cars, innovation, big names and exotic global tracks, but Indy cars are all basically the same car – since 1997. You just buy the chassis from a supplier and Honda provides the engine.
Maybe that makes it all about the driver if the playing field is levelled by having the same boring vehicle race itself through the Ex and along Lake Ontario all day. But if it’s all about the driver, how about we eliminate the whole car part, call it a bike race, move it to France and add “Tour de” in front.
[rssbreak]
