What Was The Biggest Mistake in Racing History?

What was the biggest mistake ever made in racing? Quite a question, with a large number of answers.

The US open-wheel split comes to mind almost immediately. But no, it's not the split. Ultimately, the split showed us there was a market for oval racing that we had to makes sure we don't forget.

So, perhaps it was the length of the open-wheel war that was the mistake? Again, no. Because while the oval audience was made obvious by the split, too many people, even now, think the road course audience does not exist.

Ending the war before both sides had a reasonable shot at what they needed was foolish. Note that the war ended not long after Tony George began acknowledging the road course audience.

Now, I know what you're thinking, "You're really stretching things, D-Boy." And I am, but that's the thing—even if it's a stretch, it's a reasonable justification for both the split, and how long the war went on. Despite the damage it did, it isnot damage that cannot be recovered from, especially with NASCAR's popularity beginning to decrease.

Perhaps the biggest mistake is a car. NASCAR's CoT? Once again, no. Because for all its problems as it began, look at it now. Teams have worked it out and the racing is no longer being harmed by its presence. Some would say it has made things better now that the teams are working out the kinks.

How about the Mercedes-Benz CLR? Oh, I heard you all flinch at THAT memory. A flaw in its aerodynamics resulted in not one, but two spectacular backflips at Le Mans—the second and more spectacular of which was caught on camera.

As bad as it was, it was very much luck that the drivers survived. But yet again, no. Racecars can never have the perfect aerodynamic profile, no matter how hard they try. Errors will always occur, and this time it was just bigger than they usually end up being. What's more, Mercedes wisely withdrew the car from all competition after the incidents, so they clearly weren't blind to the dangers.

The biggest mistake in racing history is one that can have absolutely no justification, no redeeming factor, and most importantly, not even look on the surface like an intelligent decision.

And there is only one moment in racing that fits the profile. A decision that indirectly led to the fall of not one, buttwo forms of racing.

The 3.5-liter Group C formula.

Group C and its American derivative, IMSA GTP, was one of the greatest forms of racing ever devised. The action was good, the cars were (usually) beautiful, and there was obvious relevancy in the series. Focusing on endurance rather than outright speed allowed greater understanding of how to build reliable roadcar engines, traction control was experimented with, and as with all form of racing, crash safety understanding was advanced by it.

But in 1991, the FIA decided the Group C's rising popularity amongst fans and manufacturers was harming Formula One. Instead of doing the wise thing and letting things be, they decided to make it so Group C was become a "two-seater Grand Prix" series. Putting F1-derived engines in the back of the cars, costs skyrocketed and by 1993, Group C was dead.

There was no benefit from the change whatsoever. F1's popularity never declined despite Group C's rise, so there was no need for any changes to begin with. F1 had always revolved around privateers with minimal manufacturer involvement, so there was no need to increase such involvement in F1.

The decision also contributed to the demise of IMSA's GTP cars, as sourcing new GTP chassis became painfully expensive. When added to the issue of IMSA allowing the Toyota and Nissan teams to dominate the privateers, it sealed the demise of the GTP class.

Although the subsequent WSC/LMP classes have provided good racing, with recent seasons on par with the old days in terms of racing quality, one can only imagine how much better things would be had this mistake not been made.

If you want to put things into perspective, think about this: The Allard J2X-C was the last dedicated Group C chassis ever built. It produced the same amount of downforce as the current LMP1s, and under the old formula it would have been easy to source an engine powerful enough to overcome the drag and potentially become successful enough to force everyone to rethink their designs.

Instead, the expense of the 3.5-liter F1derived engines forced them to run an underpowered Cosworth engine, and the car never got a chance to have an impact. In 1993, it ran its only race at Laguna Seca. Imagine if Group C has continued as normal, and this car had been able to make a proper impression. Imagine how crazy awesome today's sports prototypes would be.