Roll-over bars

The Bulletin of the Riley Registe, another excellent printed Club magazine, in its issue of last December, posed the question of whether we want roll-over bars (safety cages) on open-bodied pre-war racing cars, in Europe, having seen these on the team of Austin 7s that came here from Australia, and were splendidly competitive, last season – such equipment being compulsory for racing in Australia. The Riley Register asked for its members’ views.

Our feeling is that we most certainly do not want such unsightly and non-appropriate fittings here; bone-dome crash hats make historic racing look sufficiently unauthentic as it is. Safety precautions for modern racing, where speeds and crowds have increased since pre-war days, and on the road to satisfy the public health service, are one thing. But pre-war racing cars are not going any faster, generally speaking, now than they were in their hey-day, and are racing mostly over safety-improved courses. So why should the do-gooders think that the drivers of such cars require more cosseting than they did in a less safety-conscious, more risk-accepting, age? – W.B.