Interesting article on motorsport safety

[longrider]

Just hours before a public memorial service for IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon was due to start in Indianapolis, where the Briton twice won the famous Indy 500 race, Italian MotoGP rider Marco Simoncelli died after an horrific crash at the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang.

The 24-year-old Italian was widely admired as a rising hope and his death, confirmed at the circuit medical centre, came as a deep shock to a sport still reeling from Wheldon's accident.

Motor racing, on two wheels and four, was left facing its greatest safety inquest for a generation.

Article: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/23/motor-racing-safety-idUSL5E7LN0N220111023

My take on it: While Simoncellis death was an unfortunate accident that no amount of safety procedures or equipment could have prevented, Wheldons death was arguably preventable. Now will safety regulators come down on motorsports in general or will they not see the difference and come up with standards that there would no way for motorcycles to meet? Unfortunately I don't see the safety/control mentality realizing that everyone involved in motorsports realizes the risk and voluntarily accepts it :(

[tecknojoe]

There's no way to stop something like that. Bring on the psycho conservative mothers of america who have never seen a motorcycle race and want to ban the sport

[Ghost]

There's only one way to stop something like that. Ban the sport

Fixed...at least as far as how some might react.

But, I think overall the outcry won't really be that loud or from that many people. Especially here in the US where only a tiny fraction of the population watches MotoGP.

This was a tragic accident, and sports all have their risks. Kids have died of heart attacks playing college and high school basketball, yet the sport goes on. To be honest, I don't think this will have any effect on MotoGP's future.

As to Weldon's death, perhaps we'll see some amount of safety review and maybe some form of new policies enacted, but I think that at most it'll be viewed as a learning experience--similar to Earnhardt's death and how HANS gear is now mandatory as a result.

[TinkerinWstuff]

who knows what will come of the investigation. Just because people want to ask questions about safety doesn't mean the only answer is "ban the sport".

The hans device came out of Dale Earnhart's death. Arguably one of the best safety enhancements motorsports has seen in many years. Who can tell what sort of safety enhancement/device/technology that could come of these accidents.

Accepting the accident as "just part of racing" is just as bad as assuming the only answer is to quit.