Isn't performance totally overrated?
03/23/2017
A well-known saying by Walter Röhrl goes: "A car is only fast enough when you stand in front of it in the morning and are afraid to unlock it!" This quote may not really apply to Walter Röhrl, because he knows how to handle power and does it damn well. But many people today should tremble with fear when they get into their "normal" everyday cars. Most drivers would simply be overwhelmed by the power and weight of current cars without electronic driving aids.
A hatless go-kart with 100 cc and around 30 hp moves the vehicle, which weighs between 80 and 90 kg (without driver), vehemently forwards. As you sit just above the ground and thanks to the excellent cornering, you immediately have the feeling of being much faster than the measured speeds might suggest.
The VW boxer engine of the Formula V with its 34 hp had to accelerate 380 kg (without driver) in the 1965 Formcar. At that time, a Beetle weighed exactly twice as much, but despite this, or perhaps because of it, a Formula V is incredible fun right from the start. Its simplicity and easily controllable performance quickly get the racing driver's blood pumping. The narrow tires quickly reach their limits and a controllable oversteer sets in. You dream of a man-to-man race and know that any mistake, however small, would cause you to lose place after place in a flash.
In qualifying, you have to choose the narrowest but fastest line. Just like with a go-kart in the hall, every little slip slows you down. You feel the same joy as a child on their bobby car, or later in their first own soapbox.
The best kind of racing is the multi-competition with equivalent equipment, regardless of the available power. In the end, the driver alone is the winner or loser. Just like in the 800 m race, where each runner only has his two legs and running shoes at his disposal. The fastest legs win.
Even in a race with only 34 hp Formula Vee racing cars, the fastest, or rather the most consistent and flawless of the field is at the top of the podium at the end. In short, the best always wins. Much more exciting are the races in which four or five drivers brake together and side by side on a bend, which was not possible in the same minimal way as today thanks to the drum brakes of the early Formula Vee. More primitive technology can also make for better motorsport, as could be seen again last weekend at the 75th Members' Meeting in Goodwood .
Not every driver managed the more powerful categories with flying colors after moving up from Formula Vee. There are indeed always drivers who show great talent in the lower, weaker classes, but are later simply overwhelmed by the gigantic performance.
A 30-strong Formula Vee race with equivalent vehicles would certainly still be great fun for drivers and spectators today.
