More often than not these days you'll hear people lamenting 'the lack of real racing' in some avenues of motorsport, particularly Formula 1.
Whether they are right or wrong is debatable. It is however true that some classes of racing can be much more entertaining for spectators.
The Porsche Carrera Cup – the French iteration of it in this case – is a fine example of a dramatic, entertaining and genuinely engaging class of motorsports.
I'd seen snippets of the Carrera Cup before, usually catching the tail end of it as I tuned into whichever event I'd set my alarm to remind me to watch.
This time though, sat in the Audi motorsports centre prior to the start of the Le Mans 24, I watched an entire race from start to finish – and was utterly enthralled by it.
The first thing that drew me to it was the fact that the playing field was so level, with all the competitors driving new 991 GT3s. So, no questions about who has the better car.
Its real appeal, however, lay in the entertainingly wide range of talent in the field. Clearly there were some very experienced competitors, pulling off bold yet safe passes on a regular basis.
The other drivers, predictably, didn't operate in such a controlled and consistent fashion. Their abilities seemingly ranged from "that's a bit of an optimistic line" to "here, watch this" levels of inadvertent crash induction.
Each may have just turned up for a fun race, mind, without ultimate competitiveness being a concern – and be driving to their preferred style. Either way, I wasn't going to complain, as everyone was putting on a superb show. Spins, lock-ups, shunts and clench-inducing passes were the order of the day.
Consequently the racing was intense, non-stop and – often – hilarious to watch. So, if you've been feeling that your motorsports viewing has been falling a bit short on the entertainment or enjoyment front, give the Carrera Cup a try.
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