Subject: [alfa] Brits and Classics

[RonHorowitz <RonHorowitz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>The Brits really do have the right attitude,

Your opinion of your conception of someone else's attitude.

>And we
>,the spectators, are the beneficiaries.

If you want to see a smash-up derby, certainly. If you want to see a
spectacle, perhaps. If you want to exclude from participation anyone who
wants to conserve his property of who simply can't afford not to be
careful, so be it.

> 5, I repeat, 5, Lola T-70
>wipped each other out going into the FIRST turn after the sart line on
>the FIRST lap.

>There was quite a bit
>of damage done to the cars,

So, the right attitude is abuse it and loose it? Not sure what point you're
illustrating by this example.

>I talked with one of the owners and he really
>seemed non pulsed about it all

Few people can afford to be nonplused when they smash-up a daily driver,
much less a valuable, historic car thatthey love. Anyway, what did you want
him to do, break down and sob?

>and said they were all going off to the
>shop and would be back on the race circuit within a week or two.

If that's true, either there wasn't much damage, or spares, funds, and shop
time were all readily available. From what little I can gather, it sounds
more like some arcane form of bragging, like the fellow "complaining" in a
louder-than-necessary voice about how much his yacht cost, or maybe it was
just an embarrassed owner doing what little he could to save face after an
embarrassment.

Couldn't say, as I wasn't there, but if it had been a man's legs that had
gotten damaged, it would have been more than a week or two in any case.
Ignoring how UNSAFE the old cars are and indulging one's ego with dare
devil driving is foolishness at best.

>Their historic races make ours look like controlled pace laps or
>restricted "racing".  I have never seen such hotly contested vintage
>racing and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I must admit, to see the old cars truly raced is indeed a spectacle. It
would be quite a spectacle to see a couple of squadrons of ME109's dog
fighting for life and limb with a couple of squadrons of Spitfires, too,
but I can accept that such things are largely things of the past.

>The Brits do try to respect each others cars while racing but don't let
>the cars value restrict their fun.

You seem to imply fun is defined as putting at risk your car (or worse.)

> there were very incidents of contact just real good racing.

Very few incidents and real good racing. Well, I'm all for that.

>I know my comments are going to lead to rebuttals

Yup.

>but their are very few
>totally original race cars out their,

True. What's original is only original once. On the other hand, to the
extent that the balance of what's _still_ original is reduced every time a
car gets damaged, caution represents the conservator's view.

To be a realist, there are a hell of a lot of
not-even-trying-all-that-hard-to-be-original cars running in the US.
F'rinsance, how many front runners in the classes using old American V8's
are still running cast iron heads? Hell, I know a fellow who says he
_specializes_ in coating aluminum heads to make them magnetic enough to
pass tech (as if they check).

>they were race cars and damage and
>replacement parts were not of a concern.

False. Virtually all of the teams of the fifties and sixties had
_significantly_ smaller budgets (even adjusted for inflation) and far more
limited resources than the top NASCAR and F1 teams of today. One of the
stories that pops to mind is the story Fangio told about leaving Maserati
when, after a practice session, the team refused to change
_shock_absorbers_ because they couldn't afford them!

>If the car is truely original
>then they won't be in this sort of thing.

Sounds more like self-selection via the exclusion of those with common
sense.

>Parade laps are fine.  But if
>you have the money

There's the rub. Discouraging caution, or simply allowing overly aggressive
driving, means only the rich or foolish need apply.

> use the car as it was
>meant to be used.

Following the logic, cars run in production classes should be used as meant
by commuting to work and picking up groceries? Or perhaps cars should be
used only as they were meant to be used by those with whom one agrees, and
that definition is immune to review regardless of the passage of time and
changes of circumstance.

If you want to see hard-fought racing, there are any number of modern
series to watch. Myself, I pretty much go along with the philosophy of "the
cars are the stars." I'm happy to see the cars conserved, even if it means
only seeing them running at 9/10ths and below.

While I support your right to disagree, I don't support your contention
that there is only one right attitude, or that that attitude is exemplified
only by the sport in Great Britain.

RON
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