A lot of people would say that riding silly bikes over obstacles is shit and pointless too...and they'd be right. That's what those guys do, leave them to it!
I personally find no thrill in drag racing, but incredible feats like Richard Noble's Thrust SSC car which broke the sound barrier to me is brilliant, when people told him it was impossible he fought and went ahead with it. There was a lot more to that project than a hunk of metal going fast.
Dave