Vintage racing these old open wheel cars is a real dilemma, and I don't know what the answer is. I love to go to the vintage races to see these cars running wide open. There were 2 mid 30s Alfa 8C 35 Grand Prix cars in this group, as well as a bunch of Bugatti Type 35s, Blower Bentleys, etc, and Lee's 1934 MG PA special- fantastic! It is just great to see, hear, and smell these cars being driven as they were meant to be driven - fast. Putting big roll bars/cages on them would be a sin. Which leads to the dilemma - put the cars in museums or private collections and start them every once in a while, or continue to race them? I'm thankful to the enthusiasts who maintain and drive these beasts, so that I can get a little inkling of what it must have been like to watch the Grands Prix of the 30s. And most of the time everything ends well, nobody gets hurt, and everyone goes home happy. Unfortunately it's a fine line, and when things go sideways it can get ugly fast. Having said that, I read in the paper this morning that a local guy and his wife were riding their bikes to breakfast a couple days ago, a bee flew into his helmet and stung him on the forehead. He knew that he was allergic to bee stings and always had an EpiPen and Benedryl with him. He immediately used both, but his throat swelled and he went into anaphylactic shock, when the ambulance arrived it took 13 minutes until they revived him. The doctors said he wouldn't recover, they ended up disconnecting the respirator the next day and he died. He was 50 years old and had 5 daughters 13 to 27..... My point I guess is bad stuff happens, and you never know when it's coming. Lee at least had some control over his destiny and was having a ball doing it.
I think the problem in this case was a roll bar that was too short, and the driver being belted in - when the car barrel rolled, he didn't stand a chance. I think that he almost would have been better off with no roll bar or belts, at least he would have stood a chance had he been thrown clear. And really who knows, he might have lost control because of a heart attack, it wouldn't be the first time that's happened.
I imagine there is going to be a lot of pondering by the organizers before next years event. I think that they did everything right, sometimes it's just not enough to prevent a freak accident.
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