I don't post an awful lot on here outside the sections where I promote my events, but I do read a lot. What is with the toss and bollocks over safety? If you know me you'll know that there aren't many rules on the days I run but the ones I have are there for good reason and are enforced. But I see time and time again problems with things like twinning 'Because it's too dangerous without cages'. How? Doesn't everyone steam down the motorway at 90 with someone they don't know from Adam a couple of feet from their door in the next lane? The Teeside thing with the race suits is another example. Have you been to a trackday at a major circuit and seen GT3 Porches following Radicals into a braking zone at a ton thirty plus? Oh but it's because it's a competition? No trackday insurance I can find considers anything other than timed or first past the post events a 'Competition'. These kind of things are cropping up more and more and I really don't want to see drifting in this country get wrapped in cotton wool. Also making people spend hard earned cash on unnecessary safety gear is to me unfair. Sorry for the mini rant but have been giving this some thought over the last few days.
its the same with the hill climb and sprint scene dude and its shit, if i want to lob my car up a 40 second hill climb i need a £300 nomex race suit £100 specific helmet becuase apparently my motobike one is not safe enough and a pair of FIA gloved at £40 minimum, its all gone way too far and is totally ruining clubman motorsport, the no twinning thing for drifting is bollocks too, i see more crashes at castle coombe open days than i do at drift days yet im allowed to go on the track with all sorts of talentless scooby owners at coombe with nothing more than a long sleeve t shirt and a scabby lid they hand out to everyone and there dog. but at the much slower speeds of drifting im not allowed to twin with someone i know for a bit of fun between friends. the one that topps it off completely is the 'no passangers' rule, i mean what the fuck is that all about, if they want to get in my car then its there dam choice surely!!! aaaaahhhh that feels better, rant over
Ahhhhh. So it's not just me. Well my events will continue to run 10 car trains, twinning, 3 car team events and other downright dangerous activities as long as I am able to. And please, drive in your fucking boxers if you want to.
Totally agree, it should be down to the driver to accept the risk of not having the safety gear. Would love to have a go at proper twinning, but not allowed at Teesside. But maybe they insurance just doesn't allow it. If you gotta buy a race suit, might aswell buy 1 that is BDC compliant.
exactly, its there cars, there lives, there money. if anyone else is at risk then thats fair but every single rule ive seen makes as good as no difference to anyone. just costs more and stops people being able to afford the sport, just like pretty much everything that the FIA gets its rich bastard mits onto.
Well said guys, health and safety sucks bigtime! Its this culture of fucking everyone for money that has done it, everybody is so afraid of having their arse sued for somthing that they try and cover all angles to prevent it! Dont get me wrong you need safety in any motorsport as it is potentially dangerous. But its relative, for example, if there is a driver that is clearly displaying no etiquette, like constantly spinning and then rejoining right in front of people while they are mid drift, he/she needs to be bollocked in the first instance and sent home in the second. That makes days safer imo, making everyone where a full race suit, lid and hans does not help when someone is being a prick and unnecessarily wreckless, take the prick out of the equation and the day is safer and cheaper!! My rant over cheers chaps
Its a competition. Look at rallies - One car at a time - Race suits up to full FIA standards when all thats been said about NDC is something fire retardant. It's only for the competition - Not the practice days. If it was down to them - I know for a fact that the drift days would be open pitlane, huge car trains all the time. But its due to Bob trying to keep the track looking great for the people who spend far too much on hiring the track for car/karting/supermoto events as opposed to drifting who pay £60 per car/driver to ruin the track edges/grass (Don't take me as a tree hugger - I do it myself! But it does damage the track without a doubt). If people wanted twinning/trains/shit like that then the price would be well over what it is at the moment (probably looking at £120 each)... I'm sure you'd all rather have cheaper drift days than all out, twin/train drift days that cost an arm and a leg. David is only in it for your own safety being an ex race driver/seeing many people burn in fires. If you moan over something that'd be cheap (As has been posted... You can get fire proof overalls for as cheap as £20/£25 if not less, Then don't expect to be able too afford BDC/JDM Allstars etc... Afterall - Isn't that what we'd all like to aim for?
But the dangers are still there? Whether its a competition or a practice day... EDIT: Not allowing myself to fall into a deep "dw troll" hole again... - I'm not a safety conscious numpty (being a marshall you'd think so). Personally I'd drift on a chassis with an engine and wheels and everything you need to get a car moving and leave all the body off. I'l accept anything dangerous but when people are moaning about the simplest of things - I will jump in and help out
yeah it was proper competition.. it was still a 60mph impact on the drivers door.. a similar indecent is possible at Teesside.. even a impact at half that speed direct to the drivers door would still fuck the driver good and proper. Dont get me wrong John, I love what your doing with Drift one. But I do strongly agree with cages when twinning.
Rallies are against the clock, a timed competition as I said earlier is an insurance recognised competition. Do you really think you are in more danger drifting side by side with someone you trust at 70 mph MAX anywhere in the country than barrelling past a 44 ton truck at 80 on the motorway?
full on BDC competition etc is one thing, these guys are doing much faster speeds than practice days, they also skid closer to solid walls etc, most practice days have large run outs and generally cones to hit not bricks. and once again i shall use the castle coombe argument, the speeds are faster than any drifting that i know of (that is unless 130mph entry speeds are common these days) and the last time i went i was next to 4 other 200sx's doing 110-120 mph, none with cages, and we had never met in our lives, but the organisers of those track days deem it safe enough. mainly because its not a competition, but is desighned to be fun and allow you to learn at your own pace, just like practice drift days are. i know for a fact that i wouldnt try twinning with someone i didnt know well and how they drive, which is where common sence etc comes into it, if two drivers ask to be allowed to twin then why shouldnt they. if they were competing togeather then thats a totally different story and i believe cages and a simple set of overalls should be required. oh yeah and do you have a cage in a daily road car, no, and thats where your more likely to have some old bat crash into the side of you because they missed the lights at a cross roads
