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Originally Posted by cybersdorf
In general, I believe speed limits have no place in racing; not only are they difficult to police (speed traps in the desert??) but they are also a ludicrous notion in the racing context.
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I would say I agree with this in principle - apart from the obvious and highly sensible speed limits through the villages.
I think though we will see some form of speed restriction soon. Meoni's death happened at low speed, so it can't directly happen from this - but the speeds people travel through the desert does become obscene (as we have already said). I'm not a mechanical expert, far from it, but I'm sure some form of mechanical restriction is possible. What speed - I don't know. But I do feel something is required.
However, the only way to limit speed (on the bikes at least) is mechanicallly through the engine. As cy said, you can't just put a chicane in, and in addition downforce and similar has no possible effect on Rally Raids.
Looking at a totally different area, could the medical provision at these events be looked into? I seem to remember there are 7 medical helicopters at the Dakar for instance - is this enough for the huge length of stages that happen? It took 20 minutes for the Doctor to reach Meoni - looking at the cause of death it is highly unlikely to have made any impact if the doctor was there immediately - but in some situations 20 minutes may be too long.
Another option - are the competitors trained in First Aid? If they are given just basic training (CPR, mouth to mouth, etc) to deal with a serious situation whilst waiting for a helicopter - in effect just to keep the person "alive" until a professional arives - could make the difference between full recovery and no recovery.