Annis, Casey wrote:
>
> The recent tragedy at Summit Point has brought to the forefront of my
> mind a few serious but interesting points. For the most part, we drive
> cars from the most dangerous era of motosports.
I agree with that. But because we 'mix and match' cars so much, the
levels of performance of the cars and the competence of the drivers in
any vintage race is probably as diverse as in a 50s Mille Miglia or Le
Mans, and we know what happened in those races.
The mixture of driver/car performance was responsible for many tragedies
during the era and it's amazing how safe vintage racing has been. (There
have been several fatalities in the last few years of vintage racing in
the US: a Jag driver in FL (SVRA?) when the car rolled and his seat came
loose and a VSCCA MG TD driver at Pittsburgh of unknown cause.)
I think the reason for the safety record is MOST drivers are just out
there having fun, and while they (we) may be driving close to the limit,
we are very careful about taking chances. The majority of incidents seem
to be passing incidents, mechanical failure or spinning into something
hard.
Putting Chevron B19s on the same track as BMW sedans, however, is asking
for it. Each year at the Jefferson 500, I run the "slow, little car"
race to avoid being passed by cars of incredibly higher potential. As
long as they are driven by Brian Redman and Bob Akin, I'd feel safe. But
when some stockbroker, banker, or high tech entrepreneur is driving a
car of that potential on one of two or three outings a year, I just as
soon spectate!
The vintage and automotive press, I think, is exactly the opposite of
the evening "news", trying to gloss over these tragedies - bad for the
business, you know. But each year, more drivers get involved, thinking
it's as safe as playing a round of golf, when in fact it's more like
private flying, speedboating, jumping horses, or scuba diving. (But
safer than hang-gliding!)You can get hurt in any of these activities if
you are not careful or overstep your limits.
Passing cars is a big issue, and the one the unexperienced drivers have
the most problem with. I'd vote for a "rookie year" marking on the back
of every newcomer's car, not for two races, but at least a half-dozen.
At least we'd have some warning. That was sure my problem when I
started! Any VMC reps here?
(I also once suggested one of those giant "bang-aids" from the joke
catalogs on every car of a driver on 13/13. Equal warning!)
--
Jim Hayes Winchester, MA, USA
hayes@highway1.com http://www.fotec.com/jim.htm
jeh@fotec.com http://www.fotec.com/
All generalizations, with the possible exception of this one, are false!
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