PAGE 22 AUTOWEEK

The Pure Hunt

By James Hunt
Season's Disqualifications
Bad For A Driver's Nerves
I am writing this on my way to England for the
Texaco Tour of Britain, having just played in a pro-
am tennis tournament in Gstaad, Switzerland. Quite a
few the top players were there including Panatta,
RamIrez, Pasarell and Emerson (Roy, not Fittipaldi!)
and I had a most enjoyable two days. My tennis wasn't
quite up to the standard of some of the people there,
but perhaps they can't drive quite as fast as I can.
By the time you read this I will have finished the
Tour and be preparing for the British Grand Prix. I
hope I will have had more luck on the Tour than I did
last time I entered, because I know how much
publicity all my sponsors, Radio 1, Reveille, John Day
Models and Texaco have been giving me. It certainly
looks as if the weather is going to make it an
enjoyable weekend.
We have now reached the halfway stage in the
Grand Prix season-and the events of the last few days
have enormously boosted my own and the team's
morale. When I wrote this column after the Swedish
Grand Prix I finished by saying that I hoped that my
next column would record a win in the French Grand
Prix and a successful appeal. Although I was
confident that we would have a good race at Ricard I
was not at all sure that we would win our appeal and I
was absolutely delighted when we were awarded the
race. I personally hope that John Watson and the
Penske team are reinstated to third place at Ricard
and we have no more disputed or "pending" results
this year. Last year the fashion was rain-affected
races, this year it's disqualifications. Not very good
for the nerves!
I am now second equal with Patrick Depailler in the
Championship and although we are 26 points behind
Niki I know I haven't lost hope for the title andI doubt
if Patrick has either. I believe that the performance of
the six-wheelers in Sweden and Ricard and my two
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WHERE GREAT IDEAS TAKE SHAPE
41 1 Cordi CFete EI Segundo CA 90245 Dept AW
JULY 31, 1976
victories may put enough pressure on the Ferrari
team to make them weaken a little. Their performance
and reliability so far this year has been unbelievable
and it looked at one stage as if nobody else would win a
single race. I am sure that this is due to a great extent
to Niki's professionalism and calm attitude; he has
become very relaxed since his world championship,
and his marriage aIld is apparently totally unflap-
pable. If he does win the championship again it will be
thoroughly deserved and perhaps it will persuade
him to retire and give someone else a chance!
At the beginning of the season it appeared that
McLarens would be the only challengers to the
Ferraris and even we weren't able to make any
impression apart from the old pole position. The
incredible performances, particularly the reliability,
of the six-wheeler Tyrells have given everyone
something to think about and its going to be a big
battle between us to win the "Formula Ford" Champi-
onship. A lot of people have been very surprised that
the Tyrells have worked so well so quickly but it's a
fairly safe bet in motor racing that Ken Tyrell will not
commit himself to something unsuccessful. Jody and
Patrick have both been driving well in the last few
races and they will go from strength to strength in the
second half of the season.
It was good to see John Watson up in the frame last
weekend (unfortunately only temporarily) and I hope
that this is a good omen for the new Penske. I would
very much like to see them as one of the really
competitive teams for the rest ofthe year. Tom Pryce
is going through a fairly lean spell with Shadow but I
am sure that if they were able to get sponsorship and
get their new car on the road Tom would be right there
again.
Readers Speak Out
Radical New Design
Recently a friend of mine told me he was "nearing
completion of anew Formula Vee design. He claimed
superior braking and cornering through use of the
latest technology in formula racing cars. I was able to
gain access to his ga.rage when he wasn't there and
peeled off some of the covers and snapped this photo. I
don't know where he got this crazy idea. Feel free to
use the picture.
Unsigned
Seatbelts Have It
I was very much interested in an article in
Autoweek concerning the airbag nonsense.
I have been using seatbelts, and recently shoulder
as well since 1959. Only once have they
come 10 handy; however, in this one instance I was
extremely glad that we were using the belts.
As far as I am concerned I do not intend to ever use
airbags. In my opinion they are a ridiculous invention
and I intend to continue with the seatbeltl shoulder
harness set-up.
Anything that you can do to convince the idiots in
seatbelts are a much better set-up
than aIrbags WIll be appreciated.
E.S. Dusenbury
Carmel, Calif.
Personally, I believe that it is the right of the
individual to determine whether or not that person
wants to protect his life. But of the three possibilities,
I'd be in favor of the second alternative; a seatbelt
requirement.
Jerome P. Converse
Witewater, Wisc.
Seatbelts by all means-plus driver training.
I'm 70 years old and was pushing seatbelts for
myself and friends for racing and personal cars since
right after World War II when I could get them in
surplus until the Big Brother discovered them.
Torey Predock
No Address
The Surtees team had a great start at Brands at the
Race of Champions and I hope that their luck changes
during the second part of the season. I have a lot of
respect for Alan Jones and he deserves a few more
points scoring finishes.
The Lotuses showed us what they were capable of in
Sweden and Mario had a quiet but strong race at
Ricard. I think they will be strong contenders in the
next few races.
And so the Brands for my home Grand Prix and the
beginning of the second half. We won at Brands in
March and it is obviously the one Grand Prix I would
like to win more than any other. The Brands crowd is
always very good to me and I feel very much at home
there with a lot of old friends. At this level of racing
my experience there does not really give one a
significant advantage because all the other top
drivers know it very well even this year we will be
partially in the dark because of the revised circuit.
Most of us learnt it at the Race of Champions but
(hopefully) the weather conditions will be very
different and we will have to learn it all over again!
My main opposition at Brands will come from the
Tyrells and Ferraris in, I think, that order. I will be
going for a win, naturally, but if I can't make it I think
Jody will repeat his 1974 victory.
Only time will tell; at any rate, I am looking forward
to the race very much. At least I hope we can provide a
bi t more excitement than the opening ceremony of the
Olympic Games which the BBC is televising. Person-
ally I enjoy watching the events very much but the
sight of the world's top athletes marching out of step
looking like Butlins Redcoats doesn't do an awful lot
for my adrenalin. Each to his own.
In one word-seatbelts-and nothing so costly and
of dubious value in "side-swipe" accidents.
Richard M. Bloomgren
Janesville, Wisc.
2 or 3? Number 4!
Re your article, "DOT Still Interested ... ", #27, I find
the article to contain serious omissions of alternative
proposals to DOT's sophistical analysis.
Specifically, it apparently has not occurred to this
particular civil servant, Secretary Coleman, that
people may not want to be forced in to paying extra for
airbags which cost a small fortune to purchase and
maintain after a release, be it timely or not. As to the
degree to which a party could be held liable, I don't see
how the liability could be established except in
victim-related injuries where a straight percentage
could possibly be deducted for non-use of belts.
I would like for you to relay this proposal to Mr.
Coleman; it could operate with or without the belts or
bags. First, all drivers would be graded every five
years for knowledge and abilities necessary for safe
high-speed driving (such information is available for
use as testing criteria). Secondly, all vehicles could be
tested when new by manufacturers and then once
yearly thereafter for safety and overall reliability
scores.
New Idea
Lee Burns
Newport News, Va.
About the airbag survey: I don't really like any of
the alternatives. Who does?
I always drive with belts, so airbags are of no
benefit to me. I don't need a safety device that might
inadvertently inflate, pop my eardrums and make me
crash, if it's not going to provide better protection
than my harness.
Shared liability seems like the best compromise
between encouraging use of safety devices and
preserving free choice, so put me down for #3. But I
don't. think the DOT will buy it-most people don't
conslder the possibility of a wreck. If they did, they'd
wear belts whether they thought they'd be held
negligent or not.
I had another idea, which I sent to the DOT, but I
don't expect them to pay attention. I'd still like to
know what somebody thinks.
It's this: every car would come with a choice of
airbags or safety harness. To discourage those who'd
take what's cheaper, the overall cost would be the
same. To de-emphasize this fact, the makers would do
what they do with other options now-make it partof
a "package." Those who wear belts and don't want
troublesome airbags would choose the A.J. Foyt
signature model, gauges and flat black trim; tho'se
who WOUldn't bother with belts could pick Brees-o-
matic airbags, clock and woodgrain. A dealer-
installed airbag kit would cover those taking a car off
the Belt users would be finanCially
penalIzed, but I d prefer that to complex airbags or
another oppressive law. How about it?
Seatbelts!
Jim Williams
Omaha, Neb
L. Nelson Spohnheimer
No Address