This past weekend at VIR there was a NASTY wreck in the enduro involving a Spec Racer Ford and an ITB Celica. I only saw the aftermath, but witnesses said the SRF was sitting on the track and the B car T-Boned it.

The drivers were not seriously injured (last I heard), but the SRF driver was apparently taken to the hospital. The SRF itself was a mangled shadow of its former self.

Now, some IT people complain about sharing the track with these cars because they are so fast. That doesn't really bother me all that much, but I've been concerned with how hard they can be to see because they are so low. Often, if there is a car behind you, and an SRF behind it, you have no idea the SRF is there. It just suddenly "appears" next to you in the braking zone, which isn't a good thing.

Now I have a second safety concern to add. After seeing the damage an ITB car did to an SRF, I began thinking about the exact same incident but with an ITS BMW or Mercedes substituted for the 25 year old ITB Toyota. Wow, that would not be pretty at all, and I could easily see it ending in a fatality.

I won't pretend to be an expert on SRFs, but it seems to me that this car was designed to run with other 1500lb (or less) cars with fiberglass skins and no bumpers. I doubt it was designed to run with production cars that are approaching 3000lbs and have crash tested steel bumpers bolted to the front of them.

Just some thoughts. I know several regions don't allow SRFs in enduros, and maybe its time for all regions to consider not doing it. I know it will cost some $$$ in entry fees, but... Well. I won't say it.

What are your thoughts?

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#22 ITC Honda Civic
3rd Place 2004 ARRC
1st Place 2004 ARRC Enduro
www.motorpride.com/Catch22