The more I hear from people on this issue who disagree with me, the more it
paints an obvious picture to me (who wasn't there) that this one was blown
big.
Is there danger in autox? Well of course. But there are a couple of key
differences between an event like this and other forms of racing. First
off, cars aren't supposed to contact solid objects! Second off, cars
aren't supposed to contact each other on course! While this may be
acceptable in many forms of racing, it may be an infrequent but known risk
in some forms of amateur racing, it is not supposed to happen in Solo2 or
Pro Solo.
The key is having adequate runoff zones. Is it hard to predict where a car
might go off course? Sometimes, but OBVIOUSLY NOT HERE!!! Was there
adequate run off??? OBVIOUSLY NOT!!! This one shouldn't have happened,
and we shouldn't be complacent about it.
At the same time we are trying to promote the sport to newcomers and
juniors and trying to secure new sites, we have people witnessing close
calls and finally an accident with remarks like "sh*t happens".
My wife's first event was run in a very slow and uncompetitive car. She
ran 8 seconds slower than the wining HS time. She was almost caught be the
ASP car behind her that ran the FTOD. It scared all of us watching. I
inquired and was told that they screwed up a little in spacing, and next
time they'll give her more room (as well as instruct the final zone workers
on the use of the red flag?). Next run 40 second spacing. She ran 100
flat, he ran 68. It was WAY too close! And they knew better! She had to
take it on herself to pull out of grid and let the fastest car in the field
go before her.
If the sport follows the rules and guidelines it has established for itself
then AutoX is indeed safe, and the level to risk to person AND property is
an acceptable one. But if we get lazy and trust others to watch out for
us, then the risk can increase quickly. Peru shouldn't have happened. The
incident I described in LA should not have happened once, but did. For it
to have happened twice is absolutely unacceptable.
-STE
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