automobile racing

Automobile Racing

21. Use of flags
In many types of auto races, particularly those held on closed courses, flags are displayed to indicate the general status of the track and to communicate instructions to competitors. While individual series have different rules, and the flags have changed from the first years (e.g., red used to start a race), these are generally accepted.
22. Accidents in car racing
Due to the inherently dangerous nature of auto racing, many individuals, including drivers, crew members, officials and spectators, have been killed in crashes related to the sport, in races, in qualifying, in practice or in private testing sessions. Deaths among racers and spectators were numerous in the early years of racing. However advances in safety technology, and specifications designed by sanctioning bodies to limit speeds, have reduced deaths in recent years. Spectacular accidents have often spurred increased safety measures and even rules changes. The worst motorsports accident was Pierre Levegh s 1955 crash at Le Mansthat killed him and around 80 spectators with over 100 being injured.
23. Racing car setup
In auto racing, the racing setup or car setup is the set of adjustments made to the vehicle to optimize its behaviour (performance, handling, reliability, etc.). Adjustments can occur in suspensions, brakes, transmissions, engines, tires, and many others.
24. Racing driver
Racing drivers at the highest levels are usually paid by the team, or by sponsors, and can command very substantial salaries.
Contrary to what may be popularly assumed, racing drivers as a group do not have unusually good reflexes. During countless physiological evaluations of professional racing drivers, the two characteristics that stand out are racers near obsessive need to control their surroundings, and an unusual ability to process fast moving information (physiological). In this, researchers have noted a strong correlation between racers psychological profiles and those of fighter pilots. In tests comparing racers to members of the general public, the greater the complexity of the information processing matrix, the greater the speed gap between racers and the public. Due partly to the performance capabilities of modern racing cars, racing drivers require a high level of fitness, focus and the ability to concentrate at high levels for long periods in an inherently difficult environment.