Postby ggonsalves » May 19th, 2008, 12:58 pm
Hi Folks,
Gary Huggins is one of the best drivers I have ever known (in fact, Gary was responsible for getting me interested in car racing back before we were even teenagers) and now lives in the Cayman Islands. Gary still competes in solodex-type events and will probably still jump into a racing car at the drop of a hat and give people a hard time on a circuit.
We've recently been corresponding and I showed him this forum and topic. He replied to me with the following which he has given me permission to publish here. Its another driver's perspective and he raises a number of good points which I believe are still very relevant.
Gordon
[i] Hi Gordon,
I was reading your article in TriniTuner, and a few thoughts came to me.
The films we used to show at Club meetings were borrowed from the British High Commission. They were very strict as to who could borrow them, and were even stricter as to when they had to be returned. I developed a good relationship with them, and, as a result, we were allowed to borrow great films, such as The Flying Finns, Nine days in Summer, From Harrigate it Started, to name a few. All these films are now Motor Sport classics. As you pointed out, this was sometimes the highlight of the meetings; as well as the camaraderie and friendship shared by most of the Club members.
Â
The only way that Motor Sport can regain some of its glory anywhere, is to have a dedicated board of passionate people who are willing to work together for the common good of the sport. They must also not be afraid to stand up to people who are willing to cheat, threaten, and undermine the sport just so they could look good. This is what killed motor racing at Wallerfield. There was a person who threatened some Board members by taking business away from them if they took a stand against them.
Â
Cheating, or bending the rules, has always been a part of racing. But if the rules are not enforced and obeyed, then everything will come apart as we saw in the past. Do you know when I stopped racing, 22 other drivers did the same? The sad part was that all we were asking for was to penalize the culprits and make it public and enforce the rules, but everyone was afraid to do it. Any sport has to have someone willing to enforce the rules but they have to be backed up by the other members. Also, any driver who starts Motor Racing and thinks they will win all the time, better get out of it immediately.
In the words of the great Phil Hill: “To be a great Champion, you first have to be a great loser, because you will do a lot more losing, than winning.â€