The State of NZ Motorsport.

[screwdriver]

Wall thickness etc on roll cages on an existing car should never have been a major issue, as this is classic case of the law of diminishing returns.
I have been a spectator since the early 1950's, a competitor since 1970 and have lost count of the number of racing miles I have witnessed on everything from grasstrack to speedway, F1 to truck racing. In all that time, I don't think I have ever been at a meeting where there was a fatality and from memory, I can recall just three where there was any serious injury and very few where there was any minor injury. One of those was broken arm caused when the fire extinguisher came adrift! Ironic really.

I would be far more concerned at the paucity of fire extinguishers at marshals posts, given that 1 extinguisher is next to useless in a fire and the fact that the distance between posts is often quite long. Even a triple layer suit will not save you if the fire isn't extinguished within 30 seconds, meanwhile, we are fluffing around with roll bar thickness, when fire is the single greatest enemy to driver safety.

Motorsport (personal) safety took huge leaps forwards with the following innovations:
1) Hard hats/helmets
2) Fire resistant suits
3) Seat belts
4) Roll over bars
5) Roll cages.

The only item that has been introduced in recent years is a head and neck restraint. Improvements to any of those items in terms of specifications has such a tiny overall effect, it is immeasurable, so excluding a car with an older roll cage is petty in the extreme.

Most of us are not running F1 cars at F1 speeds and for those who only race less than 10 times a year, some of these so called safety improvements are no more than 'personal choice.'

You can still legally race an unmodified car in NZ with a 15 year old 2" lap/diagonal belt, yet up until recently a six year old 3"race harness could be deemed scrap, even it it had never even been used.

We need to get away from the US lawyer ambulance chasing mindset and apply reality. To exclude any Dave Silcock produced vehicle on a technicality, when quite clearly, the man is a proven engineer, is farcical.

Most updates to the rule book could surely wait until the end of the season, as bulletins every couple of weeks merely show that something hasn't been thought out properly in the first place. Building a race car can take years and I have a car that had its cage fitted years ago, to the then current regulations, but had it photographed and noted by MSNZ at the time. If it fails to be accepted now the car is almost ready, I'll simply remove it altogether, as the car will still be legal without it - and that is a crazy situation.