Is Racing Priceless Old Cars Up Tricky Hill Climbs An Acceptable Risk?
You might already know where we stand on the issue of driving old, rare cars instead of just hiding them under a sheet in a locked garage. Events at Goodwood this week have led us to ask another question, though: is it really an acceptable risk to fling near-priceless old automotive legends up a hill climb course?
If you haven’t seen the video yet, watch it below. Rallycross expert Pat Doran was piloting a gorgeous 1986 Ford RS200 Evo 2 up the famous – and often famously tricky – Goodwood hill when he lost the back end on the brakes on the way into Molecomb corner, getting onto the grass and losing all ability to slow down. The end result… well, it’s not pretty (update: the car was repaired and back out on the hill climb on Saturday).
Whether you want to listen to it or not, there’s a solid argument for keeping cars like this away from high-risk events like this, where a single wheel on the green stuff can mean the difference between a new personal best and a seriously awkward phone call to the car’s owner, followed by hellish amount of paperwork.
It’s a valid point to make, but we’re going to choose to ignore it. Seeing cars like the RS200 going at full tilt up the narrow, frequently slippery and technically awkward hills at the likes of Goodwood, Loton Park and Shelsley Walsh, among others, is one of life’s big pleasures. We know these are machines from a bygone age but they’re legends, as loud as anything and staggeringly difficult to pilot quickly compared to modern cars.
Seeing them in action on narrow, potentially dangerous race and rally courses means, more often than not, watching proper, undiluted driving skill. It strips back the ever-increasing safety margins you see on newer courses and combines it with spikier cars; far less manageable things that reintroduce a real knife-edge factor that Pat Duran fell victim to. Even the idea of putting any kind of stop to this brilliant madness; this outrageous willingness to drive such valuable and rare cars just the way the manufacturer intended, gets us angrier than a badger who’s been kicked in the nuts, shoved into a barrel and rolled down a hill.
We may not be driving these classics ourselves, much as we’d like to, but their existence alone; their physical presence doing what they were designed for is, for car guys and girls everywhere, a slice of what actually living life is all about. For the crowd it’s an experience to remember, whether you’re five or 50.
We’re not really ignoring the perils facing the cars and their drivers. Clearly, accidents are going to happen, but that’s one of the reasons why hill climbs are so awesome. They’re a ruthless test of skill and bravery, with consequences if you get it wrong. Driving a good course at ten tenths takes a lot more than talent. It’s a metaphor for the human spirit of adventure; of seeking out risk and of overcoming challenges. We can never let that go.
We’re pinning our colours to the mast, here, and saying that we think the risk of racing valuable motors is more than acceptable. Even the occasional destruction of a mighty four-wheeled warrior is a price worth paying to make sure this sort of joy keeps spreading. Until we’re down to the very last example of any one cherished automotive legend, at least one example needs to be thrashed like it was designed to be. That way we can pass our passion on to new eyes and ears, set new pulses racing and keep this wonderful spectacle alive.
Comments
Every single car will have insurance. Every single car will have spare panels and parts. Even if they’re not available trackside, they can be made later. Classic cars are on track more often than you seem to think, they aren’t just dragged out for Goodwood a couple of times a year. There’s a classic car race pretty much every weekend, there’s no point being precious over them.
Tl;Dr: I’d like to see them continue to be demonstrated and driven, but not in a competitive way.
Personally, I’m very much against competitively racing classic cars. Sure, they should definitely continue to be exhibited and shown to the world, and demonstrations like runs up the hillclimb are great for that. But I think they shouldn’t be driven in anger, at the risk of major damage.
The common arguments I hear against my view is “Racing is what they were built for” and “They can always be fixed”, however, at this point, cars like the 250 GTO’s, Shelby Daytona Coupe’s, etc, are incredibly rare pieces of history now, and deserve to be preserved.
They are pieces of history in the same way as World War 2 surviving planes. It’s amazing seeing those old planes being flown and demonstrated, but they’ll never see active duty again, because they’re not up to standard, and would be destroyed. Classic race cars aren’t as safe as modern ones, so the drivers aren’t as safe. Logic says, those racing 60’s and 70’s F1 cars, are only as safe as drivers where at the time.
My other view is, these vehicles are now irreplacable pieces of history, and they’re raced HARD in events like the Goodwood Revival where, every year, some classic metal gets damaged. Surely, every time one of these cars is damaged and parts are replaced, part of the original history is replaced too. And, God forbid, a car is written off, that’s a piece of history that can never be returned.
Personally, I’d like to still see these cars, preserved as they are in 30-40 years time, as the historically relevant vehicles that they are, rather than tell my future kids “It was an incredible vehicle that dominated at it’s peak! But, during a heritage race, it was destroyed and scrapped”
These vehicles are irreplacable, and should be preserved for future generations to see and have the chance to get close to. Being able to see a real 250GTO, the LeMans winning GT40’s, etc, in the flesh is a rare and powerful experience. Risking losing them forever, and being seen only in videos and pictures, it’s just not the same.
Race it. Cars are meant to be driven. If they have enough money to own these cars, they will be repaired.
Its kinda sh*t how people doesnt even care about their cars anymore, its not something that can make you happy a lot of times, every day for them. Its just a need or a thing to show off. Thankfully, there are some car guys out there still having a lot of fun, Because a life that isnt lived with fun, with good moments, with happiness, Its just like a rare car that doesn’t leaves the garage, that isnt driven. Its just kept there for showing off, for no actual purpose.
Do you remember this meme? Flash news, not racing your precious race car is like not banging your girlfriend to keep her fresh for the next guy…
On a serious note:
I saw so many nice F1 cars up the hill and quickly got bored of seeing race cars driven without a purpose ! For me for this reason this FOS was a disappointment.
Questioning risks when we post everyone defying them? What kind of news website is this!?