LogFAQs > #974742638

Racing games are typically based upon actual Motorsports.

Mario Kart is a fictional motorsport, but the principles of competition are the same.

As an "E-Sport", as video games, they can all be recognized as platforms of sport.

Usually the debate I hear is whether or not Motorsports drivers, professional drivers, are athletes.

As a fan of Motorsports, I'd say not necessarily. It is true that higher levels of racing require athletic conditioning - some arguably more extreme than regularball sports - but the outputting performance is largely in part of the mechanical elements/equipment beyond the human body. The human operates but does not propel the vehicle.