I don’t think there’s any doubt the move to all electric power is unavoidable but, fast though they may be, these clinically sterile, point and squirt machines are not for me, they’re for the next generation. For me personally, a race meeting is as much about the assault on the senses as much as the spectacle of speed. The ear splitting sound of a well tuned 2 stroke or a race 4 stroke screaming past on the redline. The smell of high octane exhaust or, even better, Castrol R. I even find the sound of big multi cylinder diesels (I’m talking locomotive size here) quite appealing. Do we really have to give up all this to safe guard the planet and our children’s future? If we do then I’m glad I’m nearer 60 than 6.
With you all the way on this one TP. Back in the day (early 70s) we used to go to Mallory Park every weekend to see whatever was going on. Bikes, touring cars, especially the 850 class races, mostly minis and imps...
There was a one-man one-car guy there who’d built a mini with 1/2 a Ford 1.6 V4 BDA engine under the hood. He’d sliced the V4 in half to make an 800 cc twin, bored it out to 860cc, spliced it to the mini gearbox, and won every race he entered.
He’d done all the machining himself in his workshop and the sound of this thing was unique. Imagine all the other 4 cylinder cars going past on the circuit, screaming as they do pulling close-on 12,000 revs on the back straight, then him in the lead in a twin, pulling some 15,000 revs!!
We had to queue in the paddock to get a glimpse of that engine, the twin OH cam head almost filled the engine bay, with this little twin sandwiched between the head and gearbox...
He thrilled some 5000 spectators, some 500 individuals who queued in the paddock, and himself. They were pioneering events which made the sport.
Batteries and motors might be high tech but they will never match the blood and sweat that went into the old school racing, IMO. I’m glad I won’t be around to see the demise of the ICE, even if it’s proved to be essential...