My "please help ID these old negatives" thread

[JimmyB10]

The decision whether or not to continue the race was debated by French officials very ardently and seriously. The final decision to continue was based on the growing number of confirmed dead and injured, the availability of rescue vehicles and the logistical nightmare of getting everyone who needed to be evacuated away from the facility. If the race were stopped, there would be a mass exodus away from the track, and all access roads would have been flooded with traffic. It would have called even more attention to the disaster and would have made it much worse.

It almost destroyed racing as it was.


Dan

As I recall, the accident was in about the 3rd or 4th hour of the race, at first pit stops. Are you telling me it took 20 hours, or even 10, or even 5, to evacuate all the injured? Of course not. So, clearly it was a PR decision, or a lack of regard for loss of life, not a safety issue. Obviously.

[atrackforumfan]

I don't see any concrete reason to doubt that Moss has his faculties other than that he disagrees with your opinion of his experience.

[JimmyB10]

I don't see any concrete reason to doubt that Moss has his faculties other than that he disagrees with your opinion of his experience.

No? Really? Perhaps. I suppose you may be right that there's no concrete reason to doubt Moss' sanity besides his own statements, which begs the question that they are generally outside the bounds of most any other driver's on-the-record opinion about safety and danger. You don't think they sound a little daft? You don't think they are outside the norm of what you hear other surviving drivers say? You see his peculiar opinion as spokesman for a generation? Even the 1966 Hollywood movie Grand Prix included a scene with the drivers debating safety at SPA and contemplating a boycott.

Perhaps another example besides the eccentric, anecdotal Moss would be helpful in clarifying the point. Offer one, and we'll discuss it further.

[atrackforumfan]

I agree that most of Moss' contemporaries look back and shake their heads. The consensus seems to be, "It was ridiculously dangerous, but I still really wanted to do it, so I did it despite the danger." But there are some drivers who got a buzz from danger itself, or liked the high stakes game. And probably a few who were literally fearless; I've wondered that about Danny Ongais.

[JimmyB10]

I agree that most of Moss' contemporaries look back and shake their heads. The consensus seems to be, "It was ridiculously dangerous, but I still really wanted to do it, so I did it despite the danger." But there are some drivers who got a buzz from danger itself, or liked the high stakes game. And probably a few who were literally fearless; I've wondered that about Danny Ongais.

Fair enough. I guess in the end that's about the way I see it, too.

After I posted the last reply, I worried that it sounded obnoxious or provocative, and around here some people have a short fuse, so I have avoided the thread for fear of what might be waiting here. I'm glad you didn't take offense at my tone (or if you did to some degree, you didn't make an issue of it. No offense intended.