i've been toying lately with getting my formula license. i think that is the only way i am ever going to be satisfied. i'm just so bored when dragging around a 3000lb car. being enclosed also bugs me. i never liked racing with a roof. it's just not as safe as open cockpit. you can't see anything, and the cage is always more poorly designed from a load transfer and rollover perspective. in an open car, you don't worry about working within the confines of a roof, and put things where they need to be and only where they need to be. even a formula 2000 does 0-60 in 4.2, runs up at about 130mph, pulls 2g in the corners, and stops on a dime. now that's fun! you can also see all around you, so it's much safer.
if i had learned in a bigger and heavier car, i might feel differently. but having started off in a very light car to begin with, the whole idea of tracking a big GT just makes no sense to me. i've had people want me to drive their IT cars and such for them, but i tried it, and while i did well, it bored me silly. it's kind of like trying to make the best time through a canyon dragging a trailer. it's one thing to use such a car to learn to drive, but then it's time to move on. i have never understood the idea. i do understand the idea though when applied to a spec class. the cars are all identical. that makes it just a driver competition. it doesn't matter what the setup spec is, as long as it's identical. i can understand the attraction there, pitting yourself against other drivers, and removing the car and budget from the equation.
i'm quite sure i'm in the minority here, but i'm probably also one of the few here who have experienced things beyond the 968. i'm pretty sure that if others had the same opportunities, they would come to the same conclusions, and be just as bored and frustrated with the car on the track.
but again, what i am talking about is racing and not these kinds of events. people constantly talk about safety, and think that racing is less safe. reality is quite the contrary though. in racing, the course workers have to complete a school before being allowed out there. there are many more of them. rules prevent incidents. there is much more organization. the cars are far more scrutinized. the drivers are far more scrutinized. there are very real penalties for breaking rules. everything about it is safer.
these open events are a train wreck waiting to happen. unskilled workers present a hazard. they are always understaffed. it takes dozens of people to properly staff such an event, and i have never seen more than a dozen or so at any of them, and often as few as 6. cars let out on the track without proper scrutiny and inspection begs for a tragic failure. the lack of requirement of fire equipment and fully track prepared cars in a situation that nears racing speeds and traffic, is a recipe for disaster. as these events get looser, which is certain to happen, as they are mostly done for profit, they become less and less safe.
proceed at your own peril.
