Circuit Racing: Are race car drivers allowed to make mistakes?

Who do you regard as the best race-car driver of all time? You have the liberty of choosing the discipline – F1, Rallysport, Circuit Racing, etc. I am going to choose 2 disciplines – F1 and Rallysport and identify 2 candidates worthy of the title (1 in each discipline). My F1 candidate is 7-times World Champion, Michael Schumacher. My Rallysport candidate is Colin McRae.

If you know anything about motorsports, you should be familiar with the 2 names identified just now. Michael Schumacher is without question, one of the best to have ever sat behind a F1 steering wheel. His achievements are innumerable and he is a legend in the eyes of his fans.

Colin McRae, for many individuals, stirs up mixed emotions. We will forget for the time being that he has moved on to more important stages in the sky and possibly has the Creator as his able navigator. Colin McRae in attack mode was a sight for sore eyes. His aggressive, but calculated approach, would see whatever he was driving, being man-handled like a salmon in the jaws of a famished, impatient black bear. His style left you in awe and wondering how the hell he did that!

The 2 drivers named above have resumes with victories generously disbursed and they drove like demons on mission. There skill- sets differed, but only based on the nature of the beasts they were battling. Their goal was the same each time they took a seat and drove to the start-line.

If your memory is accurate, even just a bit, you will also recall that in their constant quest for P1, treachery at times was only a corner away and sometimes, despite their dominant lead they were able to produce some catastrophic, dramatic encounters with the surroundings – the type that would render both machine and driver, bent, at the metal and ego level.

Are race-car drivers allowed to make mistakes? Of course they are! Their human-provided imperfections will remain intact until they are replaced by machines or computers! At that time (when machines are driving), any miscalculated move, resulting in the coming together of 2 or more race-cars will be deemed unacceptable!

Until then, I seek comfort in the fact that – even the best made mistakes behind the wheel. Errors of judgement, which in some instances, meant the end of the championship chase (especially Colin McRae) and these were all taken in stride, despite the inherent disappointment.

So, why are we judging our own local heroes – in this case, Doug ‘Hollywood’ Gore by a higher, unreasonable, unrealistic, unfair and callous standard?

Cecil Munroe Gleaner On-Line Writer