WHAT DO YOU RECKON?

IN THE AFTERMATH OF A TARGA TASSIE TRAGEDY, GLENN TORRENS DISCUSSES REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS OF DANGER

FACING THE CAMERA in front of a couple of stickered-up race cars, the sombre bloke on the ABC TV’s morning news was a Targa Tasmania competitor, speaking two days after a fellow competitor died.

“It’s certainly not something that any of us ever expect to happen,” he said. Several times during this interview, the bloke talking on the telly reiterated that dying in a car race is not something we expect.

When you pull on a helmet, strap yourself into a car and idle-up to the start line at your local race track, drag strip or hill climb - or an event such as Targa Tasmania or Leyburn Sprints - you should expect danger.

That’s why we wear a helmet. That is why we increase safety with complex protection cages, five-point harnesses, fire extinguishers and fuel pump kill switches in our race cars.

It’s also why we wear seat belts; it’s why over the years padded dashboards, collapsible steering columns, low-profile window winders, side intrusion bars, airbags, ABS brakes and stability control have become safet y features in our road cars.

It’s why our kids wear a helmet when riding their bikes.

I’ve never participated in Targa Tasmania, but I would love to; It’s on my list of things to do. I have, however, participated in as many hill-climbs, airport sprints and street sprint events in NSW, Qld and Vic as I can afford. It’s awesome fun... but you can’t tell me that I don’t expect to crash. I never want to – it costs both morale and money! – but I have crashed, thankfully at relatively low speeds with no injuries and with only minor damage to my ego and my wallet.

Some fellow weekend warriors haven’t been so luck y. Just a few weeks ago, a bloke was badly injured – spilt blood; broken bones, a helicopter ride and plenty of time in hospital – at a country-town hill climb event that I attend. It happens.

It sounds ‘negative’ but I’ve pretty-much been trained/ conditioned to expect to crash. People such as motorsport officials – especially experienced scrutineers – plus some cops and ambos I’ve spoken to (some of whom also compete in motorsport and some I also count as good mates) have enlightened me to always look at what possibly could happen, not what probably won’t. You probably won’t crash… but it’s possible. I encourage you to also have this attitude.

I feel a bit sorr y for the bloke who was being interviewed on TV. It was just two days after the incident and he was obviously doing his best to downplay the tragedy. He was probably quite nervous and doing his best to say the right things. But with respect to the ambos and the Tassie prang-gang cops who attended, a car crashing during a fast motorsport event is not much of a mystery.

So let’s not sugar-coat this. Let’s not tr y to ‘PC’ this tragic Targa situation. Let’s not act surprised and ‘Oh, really? How did that happen? Goodness gracious!’, when a car crashes. Targa Tasmania – like most motorsport events – is about driving fast.

When people drive fast cars fast, sometimes they crash. And when they crash, sometimes they die.

We all know that, and do everything to minimise while at the same time accepting the risk, just like a scuba diver or a horse rider or a dirt biker or an abseiler minimises but accepts a risk.

It’s been that way on race tracks – and in closed-road events such as Australia’s internationally renowned, world-class Targa Tasmania – since the car was invented.

“LET’S NOT SUGAR-COAT THIS. LET’S NOT ACT SURPRISED”