hf1

This is what I don't understand. The guy had supposedly raced for 30 years. He was sitting head and shoulders above the highest point of his car. What outcome did he expect in case his car rolled over? Or was he counting on the odds of a flip being acceptably small?

He either hugely miscalculated the risks, or he knew them very well and considered them acceptable compared to the pleasure he derived from taking them. Could have been a little bit of both.

Coochas

I'm not sure I agree with this Frank. Every day at the track is a good time for me. While I certainly don't want to die at the track, it would be by definition be "while doing something he loved."
I also recognize that every time I go to the track that I could be seriously hurt or killed and I take maximum precautions to minimize this. But **** happens.

JCP911S

Life is a death sentence. We all make calculated risks.

I believe we should all be informed about risks, but also be allowed to make informed decisions about how we choose to live our lives.

hf1

Of course. I don't think anyone here has been advocating that some higher power orders people how to live/die, supposedly for their own good.

Captain Slow

IMHO, I think Mr. Duran fully understood the perils of driving the car, but his love of driving it must have outweighed his calculation of the risk involved.

To me, this seems no different than tracking/racing a motorcycle. There are fatalities at least every few years at each track, and everyone seems to accept this inevitability and continue on.

Personally, I would never get near either of the aforementioned death traps - but everyone should be allowed to make their own personal risk/reward conclusions

gums

I think we get too complacent or too comfortable and start to overlook the real picture.
To me, well, I don't even want to say what I think of that car and what's so great about driving it anyway?
By today's standards, so many of these vintage ****boxes have no lure for me whatsoever, especially considering the risk, and I LOVE the history of this sport. But hey, that's just me.

gums

Yeah, well you're driving cool *** cars, Cooch. I don't see you going all gaga over a 1934 MG. Sorry to say.

Gary R.

I saw the car (and many others) before the race, its a death wish scenario.. If you are old and have no reason to live? Go for it...

winders

Wow....another something we all know yet you choose to be Captain Obvious.

Racing, Vintage or not, is a sanctioned event. As Formula 1 made so obvious in the past, there will always be racers willing to race no matter how dangerous the cars/events are. So it is up to the sanctioning bodies to think about safety for the drivers and the fans.

There needs to be a minimum safety standard for these pre-war cars. If that standard requires more modifications than the owner is willing to make, then retire the car to exhibition events where no real speed is involved.

The safety standards in place now are a joke.

Coochas

True dat Frank but we've seen a number of weekend warriors perish in modern cars as well. Sad reality.

ajcjr

Sorry Peter, i was a little busy running around soccer tourneys and didnt see this post, otherwise it would have been down sooner.

ProCoach

Thank you, sorry for appearing to be too sensitive, but I have been to over a dozen events in the last quarter-century that experienced fatalities... It hits close to home.

RickBetterley

Peter, your reaction is completely understandable.
I would never have guessed that there have been 12 or more fatalities in just the events you attended (which I realize is a lot of events, but still...).
I don't buy the ''died doing what he loved" argument, but I support people's freedom to take risk.

danielyonker

"but I support people's freedom to take risk"......

Amen

ProCoach

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...9&l=719a954612

Racing my pristine Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider Veloce at a VSCCA event...

VSCCA has no trouble finding underwriters for their Club event insurance.

You pay your money and you make your choice...