Proof that Ken Block can't race

**Halon** · 12-09-2010

I'm not trying to pick sides or anything here as this guy really has no impact on my life or anything so I could care less about the guy really. But I guess I don't understand the "I could do it if I had as much seat time as him" arguement. Maybe help me understand that arguement more?
Because they way I see life in general, a majority of people get to be professionals at what they due (whether its sports players, or the accountant in the cube next to you) with practice. Sure thre is the occasional prodigy that comes along. But most people are good at what they do from practice. So I guess I don't see where that makes them wrong.

But everyone is entitled to their own opinion, different strokes for different folks

That's all, good day

s1ngletracker · 12-09-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by Halon

Sure thre is the occasional prodigy that comes along. But most people are good at what they do from practice. So I guess I don't see where that makes them wrong.

I don't agree with this. Most of the people who are at the top of a sport are there because they are genetic, naturally gifted freaks. The people who can just pick up the sport and, from the start, are beating people with a lot more experience. If we could all be at the top with just practice, well, then we wouldn't be at the top, by definition.

We could all likely be close to Block with practice, but we would still be nowhere near Sebastian Loeb. Sure, he practices a lot, but he's also a genetic freak.

**Tachyon** · 12-09-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by s1ngletracker

I don't agree with this. Most of the people who are at the top of a sport are there because they are genetic, naturally gifted freaks. The people who can just pick up the sport and, from the start, are beating people with a lot more experience. If we could all be at the top with just practice, well, then we wouldn't be at the top, by definition.

We could all likely be close to Block with practice, but we would still be nowhere near Sebastian Loeb. Sure, he practices a lot, but he's also a genetic freak.

True to a point, but more so of sports that are based around physical ability. Racing is more of a practiced skill than physical feat.

It would be worth noting, some of the reason Loeb has so much success over some of the Finn's is his driving style is fairly atypical of traditional rally canon. Lobe's background is Tarmac. He understands clean racing lines and at an instinctual level. He keeps things neat and tighty, with a minimal of the showyness that people associate with rally. Mix that with 15 years of racing before WRC and it's easy to see how his approach works. I have witnessed faster drivers time and again than Loeb, especially on loose surfaces. But the rate of DNFs from those drivers is their undoing.

Of course unless you grew up racing from a very early age, I suspect it may be very difficult if not impossible to reach the skill level and consistency of a top world-class driver in any format of racing.

BTW, does anybody know if they were using a control tyre in that video? If they were, amazing difference in tyre preservation between drivers.

s1ngletracker · 12-09-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tachyon

True to a point, but more so of sports that are based around physical ability. Racing is more of a practiced skill than physical feat.

I dont know if that is true. There are going to be people who are better than I at physics, no matter what I do. Same goes for video games, throwing a frisbee, and most things, physical or mental, and anything in between. The idea is more than genetic predisposition makes certain things easier, makes you naturally better at certain skills or ways of thinking.

But in a sense I agree, it makes less of a difference than say, sprinting, where physical composition is hugely important.