Subject: Re: [Healeys] Welch's death

From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 13:36:28 -0400 (EDT)

The news of the death of Denis Welch is an unbelievable tragedy. The idea
that someone would actually get killed in a vintage racing accident is so
unlikely that we really have to ask what happened. I hope that vintage racing
organizations all over the world are asking for details on Welch's death to
learn whether it might have been prevented by better safety equipment (English
drivers often choose not to equip vintage race cars with modern style roll
bars, and even safety harnesses because they aren't "period"), less aggressive
driving and more active stewardship (English racing has a deserved reputation
for being more aggressive than what we tolerate in the U.S.), bad track
design, or just the luck of the situation.

To have a driver of this level of
experience die in a frequently raced style of race car is just unacceptable.
G.

Gary Anderson
Editor-in-Chief, The Star Magazine
Mercedes-Benz Club of
America
Editor at Large, Austin-Healey Magazine
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From: "Healey Bruce" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 11:45:15 -0700

How terribly tragic and sad.  

Bruce
Brea, CA
1960 BN7

-----Original Message-----
From: Healeys [mailto:[email-masked]] On Behalf Of
[email-masked]
Sent: Monday, July 28, 2014 10:36 AM
To: [email-masked]
Subject: Re: [Healeys] Welch's death

 The news of the death of Denis Welch is an unbelievable tragedy. The idea
that someone would actually get killed in a vintage racing accident is so
unlikely that we really have to ask what happened. I hope that vintage
racing organizations all over the world are asking for details on Welch's
death to learn whether it might have been prevented by better safety
equipment (English drivers often choose not to equip vintage race cars with
modern style roll bars, and even safety harnesses because they aren't
"period"), less aggressive driving and more active stewardship (English
racing has a deserved reputation for being more aggressive than what we
tolerate in the U.S.), bad track design, or just the luck of the situation.

Gary Anderson
$12.75

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From: Mark J Bradakis <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 14:14:53 -0600

> experience die in a frequently raced style of race car is just unacceptable.

Being a Triumph guy, the one that hit me the hardest was Jack Drew's death back
in 2008. But those circumstances were quite different.

mjb.

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From: Michael Oritt <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 17:19:06 -0400

Without knowing any details of the accident if you consider that open-wheel
formula cars, or for that matter most sports racers such as the Elva MK IV
that I race, have little or no protection for side intrusion.  At last
weekend's PVGP races at Schenley Park a Lotus 23B in my race group--really
not very different than the Lotus 18 that DW was driving--hit a pole
amidships on the right (driver's) side and was all but torn in half with
the driver going to the hospital with serious injuries.

It does no good to indict vintage racing in general or UK racers in
particular--all of the HANS devices, roll bars and harnesses in the world
will do no good if the driver's compartment is penetrated.  Racing remains
a dangerous sport.

Best--Michael Oritt

On Mon, Jul 28, 2014 at 2:45 PM, Healey Bruce <[email-masked]>
wrote:

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