Brock death brings call for rule change... "and here come the do-gooders"

[Peddler]

http://www.smh.com.au/news/motorspor...826816758.html

[Silent Number]

I am inclined to agree with Jim Richards (who does this stuff all the time) against Jon Davison and Dick Johnson

[Silent Number]

Originally Posted by Peddler

...However Davison said the Targa tarmac rallies were extremely dangerous and accused the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport of double standards for sanctioning the rallies while enforcing tough safety standards on circuits.

now there is something in that for all of us

[GTRMagic]

Didnt Dick Johnson land over the side of an embankment in Targa Tasmania one year?

[emjaya]

Three-times Bathurst winner Dick Johnson has called for racing authorities to consider limiting the horsepower of entrants

That could apply to your V8's too, Dick, some would say their getting a little too fast and powerfull.

and the Sandown motor racing promoter Jon Davison wants the sport to be "seriously reconsidered" or banned

Of course he does.Too many people are turning away from racing on circuits like his to run in the Targa's and Dutton rallies.

[SRabbit]

Utter nonsense - it's not like someone turns up to these things in a V8 or a turbo'd-whatever and goes 'what....??!! there's trees and stuff???'

They know what the risks are before they start - if someone is prepared to take a risk to do what they enjoy then so be it - it's thier (our ) choice.
If someone isn't prepared to then there are plenty of club and track days to attend.

Never seen them try and ban parachuting.....

[Alwaysfirst]

It's just a stupid kneejerk reaction. If any motor sport had said that it should be banned because a driver was killed then there would be almost no motorsport today. Perhaps Jon Davison should remember that if the same principle applied to road racing then there would be no need for Sandown & he'd be out of the job.

All drivers know the risks. If you don't like them then dont compete.

[Chucky]

Originally Posted by SRabbit

Never seen them try and ban parachuting.....

That is interesting. Especially considering the amount of them that go for a bounce every year far outweighs the number of people killed or injured.

For that matter, why not ban horse riding? Statistically far more dangerous to life and limb than motor racing. And usually putting our children at risk to.

Tut, tut.

[PVDA]

There has been a lot of grumbling below the surface about Tarmac Rallies for many years.

Let's face it, we've been very lucky to have such a low injury toll in the many Targa style events over the past few years.

It does need to be looked at but not in the days after a crash such as Brock's but slowly, carefully to ensure the minimum safety standards can be applied to ensure they are run at an acceptable level of safety.

[billy bigtime]

I'm told there were no side intrusion bars in the Brock Daytona. Maybe safety should be looked at 1st.

[Langers]

Originally Posted by billy bigtime

I'm told there were no side intrusion bars in the Brock Daytona. Maybe safety should be looked at 1st.

Really? I just automatically assumed the car would have a full cage. Personally, if I were competing in such an event I would have to have one.

But as everyone else said, the drivers and codrivers know the risks.

[BlueMax]

The car had a cage but no side bars. I don't think side intrusion bars would have helped in Peter's case.

[Conrod Kieron]

Originally Posted by emjaya

That could apply to your V8's too, Dick, some would say their getting a little too fast and powerfull.

They havn't got much faster/powerful for some time BUT the big difference is the tracks V8's race on have increased in safety so your point isn't valid really valie

Hoewever, I do agree with Richo.

[racer69]

I have to admit the thought crossed my mind in the hours after Brock's death was announced that this will put tarmac rallying in the spotlight.

Tarmac rallies are common right round the world, granted they are more dangerous than circuit racing, but they aren't anymore dangerous than hurtling through the forrest on an ARC event are they?

[Langers]

I was just about to say that. If they want to ban tarmac rallying then they might as well ban WRC as well!

[Grimace]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

Didnt Dick Johnson land over the side of an embankment in Targa Tasmania one year?

yep GTR you're right, in a sports car similar to Brocks-a sort of Viper style sportscar!

[Langers]

I fail to see how Targa-style events are any more dangerous than the early days of Bathurst where Johnson was racing!

[racer69]

Originally Posted by Langers

I was just about to say that. If they want to ban tarmac rallying then they might as well ban WRC as well!

Exactly right, i've no idea (there may well have been), but were there calls to ban tarmac rounds of the World Championship when Henri Toivonen was killed in Corsica in 1986 (though that crash was the catalyst for the ending of Group B, and canning of Group S)

[woodpecker]

So in effect Langers, you are saying that we should be happy using the standards from touring cars twenty years ago as the measuring stick for safety?

It seems crazy that we are here denying that there are any lessons that can be learned from such a tragedy, and rather than saying "let's make sure its as safe as it can be (without taking away the competitive aspect)" and instead are justifying the status quo by comparing it with parachuting, etc.

We have moved past this point and its no longer acceptable to just say - well its dangerous and we all know it.

[jd yort]

Originally Posted by Grimace

yep GTR you're right, in a sports car similar to Brocks-a sort of Viper style sportscar!

It was a Maserati Barchetta, fantastic looking open top Sports Car. They only ever made a handful of them. Dick had a smirk on his face when being interviewed beside the tow truck trying to pull it out of the gully.

[Oaksnaf]

And this would have been brought up if average joe had of been killed?

Would they have been able to get all the "high rollers" in motorsport fraternity to comment on the issue, and complain about tarmac rallies?

I doubt that.

In my opinion Dick is probably looking for some comfort in his own way. Blaming the tarmac rally and the safety conditions probably gives him a reason why Brock is dead. Im not saying that it is the case, but it might be.

But Jim is right. Calling for it to be banned is ridiculous.

[pete55]

I was talking to John Teulan this afternoon and he said the area that will be looked at is the 'kit car' type cars such as the one Brockie was driving. He said he has seen pictures of the car and that a normal car would have stood up a lot better than that. He said that maybe the roll cage was not strong enough also.

[Chatters]

I'm not going to mince words on this one. This is bull****. Simple as that. Deaths in motor racing is a fact of life, it will still continue to happen, though modern safety devices have significantly improved the chance of a driver surviving a serious accident.

All it takes is for one person to be killed and everyone is up in arms about the whole debate. Brocky always knew that every race could be his last, but he continued to race because he loved it, and no-one was forcing him to compete in this event.

So all you whingers out there that say that road rallying should be banned, or restricted, grow up. These people know the risks they take when they compete.

[kosher_pig]

and should AFL football be banned becos someone died in a match at the weekend???? not to mention horse racing

[cptkablamo]

Lets hope that they all think about it properly after the shock has subsided before making any decisions...,

You could always ban it and just have more unofficial meetings with people turning up driving too fast on open roads without the regard for safety that the organisers of Targa events have...