Matters of Moment, April 1990

Browse pages
Current page

1

Current page

2

Current page

3

Current page

4

Current page

5

Current page

6

Current page

7

Current page

8

Current page

9

Current page

10

Current page

11

Current page

12

Current page

13

Current page

14

Current page

15

Current page

16

Current page

17

Current page

18

Current page

19

Current page

20

Current page

21

Current page

22

Current page

23

Current page

24

Current page

25

Current page

26

Current page

27

Current page

28

Current page

29

Current page

30

Current page

31

Current page

32

Current page

33

Current page

34

Current page

35

Current page

36

Current page

37

Current page

38

Current page

39

Current page

40

Current page

41

Current page

42

Current page

43

Current page

44

Current page

45

Current page

46

Current page

47

Current page

48

Current page

49

Current page

50

Current page

51

Current page

52

Current page

53

Current page

54

Current page

55

Current page

56

Current page

57

Current page

58

Current page

59

Current page

60

Current page

61

Current page

62

Current page

63

Current page

64

Current page

65

Current page

66

Current page

67

Current page

68

Current page

69

Current page

70

Current page

71

Current page

72

Current page

73

Current page

74

Current page

75

Current page

76

Current page

77

Current page

78

Current page

79

Current page

80

Current page

81

Current page

82

Current page

83

Current page

84

Current page

85

Current page

86

Current page

87

Current page

88

Current page

89

Current page

90

Current page

91

Current page

92

Current page

93

Current page

94

Current page

95

Current page

96

Current page

97

Current page

98

Current page

99

Current page

100

Current page

101

Current page

102

Current page

103

Current page

104

Current page

105

Current page

106

Current page

107

Current page

108

Current page

109

Current page

110

Current page

111

Current page

112

Current page

113

Current page

114

Current page

115

Current page

116

Current page

117

Current page

118

Current page

119

Current page

120

Current page

121

Current page

122

Current page

123

Current page

124

Anomalies

This Editorial was nearly a calamity! About to attack the lamentable ban on the 24-Hour Le Mans race and question how one individual could, with this ban, accomplish what only war and widespread industrial strikes had accomplished since this famous event began in 1923, we heard that it was likely to be reinstated, to full WS-PC status. So instead we thought to congratulate that great motor racing enthusiast Tom Wheatcroft, on at last getting a Formula 1 race at Donington Park, only to learn that the Easter Monday Gold Cup has been abandoned, due to lack of support. . . .

The “on-off-on” Le Mans situation is bad for everyone, not least for the travel agents and those who plan their holidays around this unique spectacle. We sincerely hope it is now definitely on, which would still leave MLC with the thankless task of telling you whether the proposed ban arose from political, personal or genuine safety first concerns. The two chicanes deemed to make the Mulsanne Straight safe will have cost the organising club much money and in this speed differential race there is the anomaly that they could present a greater hazard than overtaking along the straight. But if motor racing is ever made 100% safe it will be no more exciting than snooker. . .

Motoring sport and motoring abound in anomalies. We sometimes wonder whether the special qualifying periods with very special tyres used to establish F1 starting grid pole positions are really needed and how the public, glued to the TV screens, reacts on discovering that wet and dry tyres are required on the circuits, having been told that racing improves road cars — “the racing car of today is the touring car of tomorrow” — and that today’s racing cars are almost uncontrollable in the wet on slicks? Then there is the anomaly of cars that have retired, or that are running many laps behind the winner, being given placings in the results in modern Grands Prix. What was wrong with flagging off stragglers, and retiring any car that failed to cover the full distance, even if it stopped within sight of the finishing line, as was done before the war? (The writer saw his first motor race 63 years ago, so may be biased; which will save you the trouble of writing in to tell him so!).

To these anomalies can be added that of how World Championships are decided. Apart from possible loopholes in the points system, is it right to have annual champions or should motor racing, as in boxing, require the prestigious titles to go to the driver or car bettering the performances of the existing holder, say on victories won (Alain Prost!) or by exceeding previous points’ totals? Last season there were serious anomalies over one driver being fined, another banned (but reinstated!) for similar breaches of race rules. The big anomaly, of course, is how one man, Jean-Marie Balestre, can wield so much power, even to threatening to kill off Le Mans . . .

Road driving produces that long-lived anomaly that speed is the root cause of accidents, whereas you are just as likely to be snuffed out, along with your passengers, by a drunken driver, an under-age youth joy riding in a stolen car, or a police car out of control in a chase, as someone exceeding an antiquated speed limit. But then road safety is one endless anomaly. . .

It is, however, encouraging that the Association of Chief Police Officers has been advocating an 80 mph motorway speed limit, and recommending that police patrols do not normally stop drivers on motorways for speeding unless they are doing more than 80/85 mph because, it says, roads and cars have improved since the Motorway speed limit was introduced experimentally nearly 25 years ago.

Mrs Thatcher promises billions of pounds for new roads. Let us hope the intended improved traffic flow will not be impeded by out-dated speed restrictions or parked cars. City streets are now clogged-up as much by stationary vehicles as by moving ones. Roads should be for driving along, not parking on. It is now too late to refuse car licences to those who do not possess garages or off-street parking lots, although it might have been possible in the 1920s. So street parkers, like caravan towers, get off with substantial tax-free benefits . . . Some anomalies are merely controversial; others we could well do without. WB