James, I tend to admire the English version of vintage racing(I'm an unabashed
anglophile inb many things). These are after all race cars. their charm is in
seeing them used as intended. That does not excuse stupidity(No, I'm not saying
that Moss did something improper. I did not see it). we tend to have
participants here that never raced and who don't bother to acquire the needed
skills, hence the parade mentality. I, however, don't admire the crash and burn
style, because my experience, limited but greater than most, leads me to believe
that if the proper skill is applied, it is seldom necessary to make contact.
John
James Wiseman - JDW Media wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> As a lurker de-lurking for a bit, and sticking my neck on the line, I have
> to say that I agree somewhat with Paul, if not exactly with everything he
> said.
>
> Maybe we just do things differently here in the UK, but all I know is that
> whilst gentlemanly conduct is admired and largely carried out (at least in
> the HSCC series that I take part in/spectate), the fact is that, yes, these
> cars are race cars, and race cars DO CRASH/MAKE CONTACT from time to time.
>
> We all hope they won't, and if someone is generally at fault, then it's
> considered the gentlemanly thing to offer to pay for your opponent's damage,
> but because we all know each other, if only in passing, there is more of a
> genuine feeling of 'well, these things DO happen' - Sorry, mate! But I'll
> see you in two weeks time'
>
> Anyone who watches the UK events such as the Coy's Historic Festival or The
> Goodwood Circuit Revival, sees drivers great and not-so-great thrashing the
> bollocks off these cars. Yes, red mist is involved, and if a driver is at
> fault, they're usually aware of it.
>
> The PROBLEM comes because when you have celebrity drivers in cars that are
> not theirs (and to be honest, most of the time they know that the owner is
> very rich anyway), they tend to have less worries about recrimination -
> because they ain't gonna be there to pick up the pieces (sometimes
> literally!).
>
> Whilst it is great to see the motor racing heroes in the cars they made
> famous, it also cheeses me off that those people who take part in the sport
> throughout the season get forced out of the big events by the same rich boys
> with their toys -some of which were bought just to get into 'the scene' for
> the weekend. After all, it's the same Ferrari GTOs every year at the Coy's
> Festival. Would've thought they'd have got bored of it by now. I know I
> have...bitter, moi? :-)
>
> Anyway, that' s my two pence worth. I'm now going to zip into my all-in-one
> Nomex romper suit, so fire away...
>
> Regards,
> --
> James Wiseman
> --------------------------
> '64 Giulia SS Racer
> '60 Giulietta Spider Veloce (soon to be Rally Car)
> '96 145 Cloverleaf
>
> > Paul,
>
> [snip]
>
> For the safety of
> > yourself and others, I do pray that you do not venture upon a race track
> > before you learn the fundamental difference between professional racing and
> > responsible vintage racing.
>
> [snip]
>
> I comment only on your irresponsible view
> > of vintage racing. Were this view to become widespread it would without
> > doubt end vintage racing.
>
> [snip]
>
> >> was a tad ill-advised, but more importantly perhaps what we all seen there
> >> was a vintage racer doing what a racer does (whether it's his car or
> >> not)...he tried a large scale pass that would have netted him accolades if
> >> pulled off successfully but has instead caused a lot of expensive damage
> > to
> >> several cars and left many of us whining about his skills. WAKE UP RACERS!
> >> What we witnessed was racing, not a parade! While it's important to
> > respect
> >> the vintage cars and their vulnerability to expensive damage or
> > destruction,
> >> they are nonetheless RACE CARS. If you don't want your prize-winning
> > trailer
> >> queen to suffer a crumpled fender....DON'T RACE IT ANYWHERE!
> >>
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