Is motor racing the most dangerous sport in the world?
Last week Porsche racing driver Sean Edwards died on the track in Queensland.
Earlier on in the year Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa both could not compete in the race because of collar bone injuries.
During the Canadian F1 Grand Prix earlier on in the year, a marshall tragically died. And for those who follow IndyCar racing, Dario Franchitti had one of the most horrific crashes I have seen in years.
Two times Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso is arguably the best driver in the world But, he still says when he gets in a Formula 1 car, he scared. Yes, motor sport is bloody dangerous.
It’s probably the only sport where its just as dangerous for the spectators. According to the Formula One directory, there were over 25 fatal deaths alone in the 1950s.
Engineering was starting to dominate the sport. The teams had only just found out about aerodynamics, mid engines and big rear wings. This meant the cars used to go off the tracks and hit trees and spectators.
After the death of the great Jim Clark in 1968, Sir Jackie Stewart decided, it was time for a change.
Despite Juan Manuel Fangios dominance, Jim Clark was widely believed to be the best driver around.
Today, many including current F1 drivers, argue Clark is up there with the great Ayrton Senna as F1′s greatest of all time.
Weather his death was the major catalyst for safety changes or not, it certainly woke some drivers up.
Ayrton Sennas crash is arguably the most famous of them all.
On may the first 1994, Senna was killed following terrible weekend of racing, which saw Austrian Roland Ratzenberger die during qualifying.
That crash was tough to handle for teammate David Brabham (son of the great Sir Jack Brabham). He quit racing soon after.
No one knows for sure what killed Senna in that crash, but, no driver has died at a Formula One race weekend since.
Ron Howard’s Rush came out a couple of weeks ago. For those who have not seen it, it’s an eye opening film. In total, 79 F1 drivers alone have died.
We really would like that number never to reach 80. It is much better today, but you can’t help but think that these guys must fear for their lives every time they drive one of these machines.
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