
今年7月,已年屆四十的舒馬赫復出的消息一經(jīng)傳出,馬上掀起了賽場上的紅色風暴。2006年宣布退役時,他就幾乎打破了F1的所有記錄。在其職業(yè)生涯中,舒馬赫7次獲得F1大獎賽的車手總冠軍,可以說“車神”的封號是實至名歸。但很遺憾,復出的消息傳出不久,舒馬赫就宣布放棄復出。然而人們一直對這位天才車手重返賽場充滿期待。如果能夠復出成功,他將是F1賽場上年紀最大的現(xiàn)役車手。
即將在北京舉行的世界車王爭霸賽是每年世界職業(yè)賽車界的壓軸大戲和年終慶典,不知中國的車迷能否如愿在賽場上看到車神的英姿?雖然舒馬赫已經(jīng)確定參賽,但是不到最后一刻難保不會出現(xiàn)變數(shù)。不過,不管王者最后能否歸來,他的傳奇依然是不可復制的。未來也許會有許多新車王脫穎而出,但車神舍他其誰?
這一期就讓我們走進車神的內(nèi)心世界,去認識車神不為人知的一面。
He started racing 1)go carts in Germany at the age of 4. Today, the most obvious signs of his success are
2)chartered helicopters and his own private 3)jet. But at home in Switzerland, he continues to race go carts and play soccer with the local team. At the 4)track, his
5)dedication and focus are 6)legendary. He exercises 4 hours a day, mostly on the muscles in his neck to fight the 7)incredible G-forces he faces every race.
Interviewer: Take me inside of a race; you there in the
8)cockpit…with your hands on the wheel…going more than 200 miles an hour. What are you thinking?
Michael: It is very different. If I’m…If I just finished the corner and I am about to go on the long straight, it happens I…I think about my family, I think about my wife, my kids, what are they just gonna do at this moment. I remember, in ’97, I knew I was about to become a father, and I was thinking about that—how it’s gonna be, being a father.
Interviewer: Still, at 200 miles an hour, there is a lot to keep him focused.
Michael: Nobody of us wants to die, I mean, everybody wants to live. We don’t do it for the 9)thrill of the danger, we do it for the thrill of speed, sensation, being on the limit but not really wanting to go off and have
an accident.
There are racing risks he is not willing to take. One of them is America’s 10)premier auto race, the
11)Indianapolis 500. The cars may look similar and they drive at about the same speeds, but Schumacher is not interested and he is not afraid to say why.
Interviewer: But you’re not challenged by the Indy 500.
Michael: No. That’s...first of all it’s a…a step down from Formula 1, and second, it’s too dangerous.
Interviewer: Too dangerous?
Michael: Yeah.
Interviewer: Michael Schumacher says, I don’t want to go there. It’s too dangerous.
Michael: The speed you do, that close to the walls, if you have an accident, there is no way a 12)chassis can survive a certain way of having a crash and more, that means your legs gonna be heavily damaged or even further, and I don’t see any point in that. I’ve nothing to prove there. I…I don’t see a challenge in it.
Interviewer: The fact that others have done it doesn’t make it any more challenging for you?
Michael: No. No, because usually the people who can not survive in Formula 1, they go to “Indy”. People who coming from “Indy” hardly survive in Formula 1.
Still, each time he climbed into his car, he has something to prove.
Interviewer: You were the best in the world, and you are by everybody’s judgment. Nobody even questions that.
Michael: You know, in sport, it is always questioned. You win a race, the next race it’s a question mark. Are you still the best or not? That’s…that’s what is funny, but that’s what is interesting and that’s what is challenging; you have to prove yourself every time.
在德國,4歲的他就已經(jīng)開始參加卡丁車賽。今天,他所擁有的包機和一架私人噴氣式飛機就是他成功的最明顯標志。但在他的老家瑞士,他依然和當?shù)氐能囮犕婵ǘ≤嚕彤數(shù)氐那蜿犔哂⑹阶闱颉T谫惖郎希膱?zhí)著和專注就是一個傳奇。他每天訓練4個小時,大部分時間用在鍛煉頸部肌肉,以讓它能承受在賽車時由于重力加速度帶來的巨大壓力。
主持人:跟我說說一場比賽。當你坐在賽車座艙里……手握著方向盤……以每小時超過200英里的速度在飛奔著的時候,你的心里會想些什么?
邁克爾:我想的東西經(jīng)常變。假如我……假如我剛剛開過一個轉(zhuǎn)角,進入長長的直道……通常我,我會想起我的家人,想到我的妻子、我的孩子們,心里會想他們此時在做些什么呢。我記得,1997年的時候,當時我即將成為人父,當時在賽場上的我就想……我當爸爸后,將來會怎
樣呢。
主持人:然而,每小時200英里的速度使他依然得十分專注于比賽。
邁克爾:我們沒有人想玩命,我的意思是,每個人都想活著。我們賽車并不是為了感受冒險帶來的刺激性,而是為了享受速度所帶來的震撼和快感,挑戰(zhàn)一種極限,但要保持不超出這個極限,以防止發(fā)生車禍。
有一些比賽是他不愿意參加的。其中就有美國本土最早出現(xiàn)的汽車比賽,即印第安納波利斯五百英里賽。其比賽用車(與F1相比)外形看起來差不多,速度也是一樣的,但舒馬赫就是對其不感興趣,他也不忌諱說明原因。
主持人:但你還沒有挑戰(zhàn)過印第安納波利斯五百英里賽。
邁克爾:沒有。原因就是……首先,它……它的級別比一級方程式賽車低,再者,它太危險了。
主持人:太危險?
邁克爾:是的。
主持人:邁克爾#8226;舒馬赫說,我不想?yún)⒓樱驗樗kU了。
邁克爾:比賽時所達到的速度,再加上又幾乎是貼著墻,如果你發(fā)生意外,你的車身的底盤難逃被撞個粉碎的命運,這也就意味著你的腿會受重傷,或者還可能更嚴重。我看不出這么拼命有什么意義。我不需要在那里證明什么……我也不認為這有什么挑戰(zhàn)性可言。
主持人:就是說別人參加這項賽事并不會使你覺得它更具挑戰(zhàn)性?
邁克爾:不,不會。因為通常無法在一級方程式賽車中立足的選手才會跑去參加那項賽事。而從那項賽事出來的選手也很難在一級方程式比賽中立足。
每一次當他爬坐進他的賽車,他都會向世人證明些什么。
主持人:你已經(jīng)是世界最優(yōu)秀的賽車手,這是每個人都認可的。沒有人會質(zhì)疑。
邁克爾:你要知道,在體育比賽中,它是經(jīng)常被質(zhì)疑的。你贏得了一場比賽,但下場比賽的結(jié)果依然是個未知數(shù)。你是否還是最優(yōu)秀的?這就是……就是(競技體育)有趣之處,令人感興趣的地方,也正是挑戰(zhàn)性所在。每一次你都必須重新證明自己。