Bike takes more skill
Formula 1 is a video game. There may be as much or more risk, but it doesn't take more skill. I'm not saying it doesn't take a lot, more than I have--but no way does it take more than bikes. There's no real physical skill, and for that matter F1 cars are fly-by-wire. It's a video game, except you can get hurt. Compare body fat percentages of F1 drivers and roadracers--now that'd be interesting. And someone said bikes are limited by contact patch. Compared to F1, yes, but most small streetcars do not have more contact patch per pound than a bike, and the bike needs less proportionally (lighter requires a smaller ratio). The limitation of bikes is how far you can lean. Motorcycle riders take it all the way over, and then that's it--any faster would widen the turn. The problem is not lack of contact patch though. Lots of cars can be made to have a bike-like power-to-weight ratio, but they can't accelerate because they're spinning all that contact patch while a bike just takes off. Less weight requires a smaller traction surface-to-weight ratio, and motorcycles still have a better ratio than most small street cars. An F1 "car" is a purpose built vehicle that happens to use 4 wheels, and uses kazillions of dollars more than motorcycle racing has available. And anyway, they should've waited for GP lap times, or for a better "comparison" show the street-based race cars' times against superbike.