It’s the event many look forward to annually. An afternoon’s worth of fun, not only for car enthusiasts, but also for those who just go to see what the show has to offer; with the best part of it all being that it is for a good cause. However, this 10th edition turned sour pretty fast.
As every car enthusiast that takes his or her car to the show, the morning started off quite simple: getting my beloved VW Beetle ready for the show, getting to the show reminiscing on last year’s awesome show, which made me look forward to this edition even more.
The show kicked off with a bang. Everyone was enjoying himself, seeing all the different kinds of cars, getting to ride in the drifting cars and seeing what this edition has to offer. I was proudly displaying my Beetle to some people who were eyeing it when we heard a bang, saw a plastic barrier fly and heard agonising screams.
Everyone was in shock and trying to see what happened. Many, including myself, couldn’t believe our eyes. Closer to the scene, one could clearly tell the scale of the incident – people lying on the floor with blood surrounding them. The ambulance, paramedics and first aiders worked professionally and promptly to help all affected. On the ride back home many questions arose…
Being a car and motorsport enthusiast, it is not the first time I attended all kinds of car events. There were a few things which were not taken into consideration before the event. Firstly and most obviously were the barriers. How can plastic and metal barriers, which even a child could lift up, be enough to stop a car going at such high velocity from crashing onto the people if such unfortunate events arise? For example, in the Hal Far raceway, where other car events take place regularly, there are solid concrete walls one person high separating the people from the track. During events, the authorities do not even start the race if a person is sitting on the wall. Secondly, the people in the car at the moment of the crash were not in the appropriate attire. The videos of the camera in the car proves that neither the driver, nor the passenger were wearing the helmets or the suit.
Being such an enthusiast, it greatly saddens me that these events happen. Going on the news forums, reading about the event on news websites, I saw some comments that I felt needed a means of justifying. Motorsport IS a dangerous sport. Hence, the purpose of the sign “enter at your own risk” on most of the events places.
However, saying that it should be banned is taking it a bit over the limit. Apart from being the passion of many, they know what they are going in for and they know what the consequences are. This is the reason why in many tracks, precaution is taken to ensure the safety of everybody. Recently, there have been talks of building a racetrack and some argue that it is a dangerous thing to have. Racetracks are built solely for racing, for cars going at high speeds. They are built with everything taken into consideration. The Lufthansa Hanger is large and one could race a supercar in it, however, its purpose is to hold planes ready for take-off.
I do wish all the people hurt a speedy recovery, both mentally and physically. Such an event might not only leave physical scars but also emotional ones. I do wish the situation is deeply investigated – a hyper-supercar does not simply just malfunction like that.
Apart from the well being of those hurt, one other question simmers in everyone’s mind; will this be the end of ‘Paqpaqli Ghall-Istrina’?
