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Re: Rules, Accidents, and Vintage Racing

To: <fot@autox.team.net>
Subject: Re: Rules, Accidents, and Vintage Racing
From: <triumph_marx@freenet.de>
Date: Sat, 23 Jul 2005 23:29:25 +0200
We here in Germany/Benelux do standing still starts. What about to start a race 
like we do? The cars are a lot slower entering the first corner. 

Chris

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <Editorgary@aol.com>
To: <fot@autox.team.net>; <MGVR@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, July 23, 2005 9:20 PM
Subject: Rules, Accidents, and Vintage Racing


> In a message dated 7/23/05 9:52:14 AM, owner-fot-digest@autox.team.net 
> writes:
> > The solution [to problems like the BRIC incident} can only be when the 
> > organizations state that a certain list of modifications is legal or open, 
>[and 
> > others are forbidden}. There can
> > be no worse regulation than one that is not enforceable. (worse yet, is not
> > TRYING to enforce the rules)
> > 
> While the speed and power (legal or otherwise) of the cars involved in the 
> BRIC incident certainly contributed to the intensity of the outcome, and that 
> power may attract a certain personality of driver to that particular race 
>group, 
> I don't believe that this is an issue that can be handled by emphasis on 
> rules. 
> Much faster, more valuable, and more vulnerable cars than these, such as the 
> vintage formula car group, manage to have clean starts and relatively 
> incident-free races by simply recognizing that the cars are faster than 
>amateur 
> weekend drivers are capable of handling in difficult circumstances and 
>driving 
> accordingly. 
> The vintage formula car drivers also recognize that the pace lap and start 
> are perhaps the most dangerous portion of the race. (Imagine a group of fast 
> formula cars having a multi-car pile-up like that at the BRIC. Open wheels 
>would 
> cause cars to be launched in all directions, and period cockpits, roll bars 
> and gas tank configurations would make injury and death an almost certain 
> probability).
> Consequently, as I understand it, there is a clear though tacit understanding 
> that no one starts "racing" (i.e. no passing) until the cars have spread out 
> a bit, generally after the first turn on most courses. That still leaves a 
>lot 
> of track time left to show how fast the car is and how good the driver is, 
> while avoiding the possibility of a truly awful situation at the start.
> Regardless of the legality and power of the cars, we need to focus the VMC 
> discussions this fall on policies and procedures for pace laps and starts. If 
>it 
> means that we no longer get to play Dale Earnhardt or Mario Andretti when the 
> green flag is dropped (or believed to have been dropped), that seems like a 
> small price to pay for the assurance of increased safety.
> Cheers
> Gary Anderson

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