Food for thought: Speed TV article about recent accidents

[chernaudi]

Speed's Marshall Pruett has written an article about recent accidents in sportscar racing that raise some questions about safety and if things could've been done different to mitigate the effects of the accidents.

The Allan McNish and Mike Rockenfeller LM accidents, the Grand Am Camero accident from Road America, and the BMW that took out a guardrail at the N24 are examined and the main point that Marshall brings up is the state of the barriers and their technology and paved vs gravel run off zones, and the pro vs am driver debate.

My take is that track owners/sanctioning bodies should do more as far as catchfencing technology to protect media and fans. However, paved runoff areas are a basically the same doubled edged sword that gravel traps are. In the dry, they may work better, but in the wet, the wet asphalt will do little to slow a spinning car.

And I also feel that sanctioning bodies should be a little more strict about certifying drivers in the pro-am classes--when one ignores blue flags/lights 10 times, he's either intentionally blocking (which is bad enough), or is ignorant of the situlation around him. And at the speeds these cars can achieve, we can't have that, as mayhem very well can--and sometimes does--ensue. Also, depending on experience level, rookie drivers at LM--be it pro or am--probably shouldn't drive at LM unless they know the circuit and have night racing experience.

Feel free to discuss the points in the article and if anything could've made a difference, or if we should take the fact that racing can be hazardous to anyone one involved and accidents happen. Just as one corner worked told Pruett in his comment on the Speed article "I appreciate your concern for us, but this is racing and we know and accept the risks."

As a side note, Marcel from Planet Le Mans and DSC warned the ACO officials about photogs getting too close for comfort and the ACO advised them to move back.