GraemeH
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Statistically speaking, we should not be running cars on road courses either, because those are technically and statistically more dangerous. See: Senna. Also, see the Ring itself, where more people die in six months than have died in in CART/IndyCars since 1982. Additional point: The largest and deadliest race crashes in history? Top 5 have been on road courses, mostly in Europe - topped by LeMans 1955, a road course, where 84 people were killed.
The wall is the wall, whether it's at the top of the banking of an oval or at the end of a turn on a road course doesn't really matter much if you go straight into it cockpit first at over 180mph.
It's kind of a skewed comparison; you can't really change the track at an oval to add run-off or move back walls or barriers if you spot a potential accident spot. On a road course, you can move the walls and barriers back as far as you have the land and planning permission to. It's just that that didn't start happening until the last 10 years there.
For that reason, ovals haven't really changed in decades, whereas road courses have come a long long way in terms of safety. You can't just mention Senna and a LeMans race from half a century ago, the "road courses" are now an order of magnitude safer than they were even from Senna's time, whereas the ovals can surely only make marginal improvements (materials and construction of catch fences being discussed here).
It's not important what was safer 50 years ago, or even 20. It's important how safe they can be made now. How much safer can an oval be made? As safe as new "road courses", where they can try to have six acres of run off before the nearest barriers, because the layouts allow that?
I should say for the record, I'm not for neutering oval racing or discouraging it. I'm saying modern "road course" safety is leaps and bounds beyond what you're quoting.
There's a full thread on the canopy discussion somewhere (in the F1 forum) for those interested.
Jody Scheckter makes some points I wouldn't have thought of in this article regarding the set-ups bringing the more experienced/talented and less experienced/talented drivers closer;
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/15336902.stm
And Franchitti alludes to poor driving practises ("people were starting to do crazy stuff").
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/15335428.stm
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