ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!! Some great life lessons

 

Movie was excellent and was liked by a much wider audience than just track/racing junkies. I'm still confused about one thing though. What was with Lauda's constant repeating that there's "20% risk" in a race?

 

^^MY understanding of his comment was this: We all take a certain percentage of risk in everything we do. Lauda allowed himself 20% - Hunt's % was much higher - as he stated at the end of the movie.

At my last DE, they announced it was going to rain, so I informed my instructor that I would not be running if it did - too high of a % for me.

 

love the "would go for a **** up" comment from Niki........we wish James was here also

 

Why not learn to drive in the rain? It's actually easier on the car and the driver - fewer g's available, so less stress on the suspension, brakes, etc. Plus, you're going slower, so if something does happen, an impact won't be as severe and you have more time to correct and recover. Heck, I LOVE to race in the rain - last time out in the wet I led every lap but one. Just brake a lot sooner, corner slower, and learn to feel where the grip is across the track. If you can do this successfully, you'll be faster inthe dry, too.

I sort of assumed that the 20% comment referred to the likelihood of fatality in those years (prior to Jackie Stewart leading the charge for real safety improvements).

 

But if his acceptable odds of fatality/injury were really 20% then he would expect to die or get injured in every fifth race, on average (?). And he was supposed to be the calculating, 'numbers' guy in the movie. Still don't get it. 20% is way too high.

 

I mostly track at MO and when my steel ***** are as big as the rest of yours, I will
I took it that he meant the circumstances for each race - track, weather, car, etc. And yes, 20% is way too high, but he was riding on top of a gasoline bomb...........

 

At last I got to see it, went with a track buddy. Fantastic movie. Just the right amount of "creative license", great story. Sadly there were about 6 persons in the theater, counting the two of us.

 

I meant to comment about that...our theater was about 1/3 full, which I thought was pretty good. But it was the PEOPLE in the crowd that surprised me: a few groups of young girls, older couples, a handful of young "I'm too cool for you" guys, a couple groups of older ladies...not at all the crowd I expected...which, I guess is good???

 

Same here...

Fantastic movie! Lynne came home and studied wikipedia, read the New Yorker review and she read my copy of Motorsport magazine featuring the actual events and making of the movie...

 

Awesome movie and the wife really liked it .

I pointed out to her the scenes with all the hot chicks and champagne flowing were very similar to an average PCA race weekend

 

same here only about 10 people in the theatre.
Really enjoyed it but found the first half of the movie was better than the second. Loved the scene where he drove the Italian guy's car on the street

 

Just the Summit Point event, it's a typical evening at Vixens.

 

I think 20% was the maximum odds he would allow himself. Most times the risk of death was probably way under that. Dry+Brands Hatch= 2%, Rain+Nurburgring= 19%. Rain+Fuji= over 20%.

 

The trick to driving in the rain is mindset and rain tires. If you think you will be scared, you will be scared. If you think it will be fun, it will be fun. It's a good exercise in controlling the fear that if you go over 30 MPH in the wet that the car will magically shoot of the track, roll over, and explode Hollywood style.

You can slide the car around more at lower speeds and really improve your car control skills. This is especially true if it has been dry and just started raining as the track will be a bit more slippery and the grass won't be so muddy.

As an added bonus, you may find that in the rain you can be at the pointy end of the run group even if you are a solid mid-pack/back half driver in the dry. There is a satisfaction of being let out first in the wet and three laps later wondering "Where did everybody go?"

Don't fear the wet, embrace it.

-Mike