Quote:
Originally Posted by Dutton
You will have to properly explain and define this. It is entirely possible for things to occur in the interests of safety which are of detriment to motorsport (and can be counter-productive in safety terms).
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You are correct.
It is possible to introduce rules into motorpsort which ultimately are actually detrimental to safety because they have an influence which actually defeats their purpose.
One example would be bodywork (nosecones and sidepods, and lately rear bumper bars) on CIK karts.
Initially the argument was the protection and safety but the extra safety has infact simply led to driving styles where leaning on people, shoving, barging, and tapping people into spins has in some quarters become de rigueur.
The CIK may argue otherwise but the driving standards of 2008/2009 are not the same standards regarding contact we saw in the 1980's before sidepods became a mandated item.
Similarly if racing cars is so safe you can drive into someone without endangering them or yourself does common sense, sportsmanship and courtesy go out the window?
Valid safety items are those that operate at a personal level in terms of driver and spectator protection, but if the result is a lowering of professional ettiquette that in itself creates a more dangerous practice then that has to be weighed up against the benefit of the introduced item.