Athlete dies after being forced to compete

[Alloutwar]

LOL - I figured I am somewhere out in left field with my anti-pollution stance, that's cool.

Oh man, dogs too - where have we gone with dog breeding. There are dogs now that are seriously like a beagle/horse mix. My girlfriend owns one. Gross. Poor thing has a huuuge ribcage...looks totally unnatural, like a zombie dog from Resident Evil or something.

[SirKodiak]

• A new breed of high performance electric car - has a carbon fibre body shell and a race-approved roll cage structure which make it a very safe, capable and environmentally responsible vehicle. With a 9" electric motor driving each rear wheel and over 1,000 ft-lb of combined torque at low rpms, the Tango can accelerate from zero to 150 mph in one gear. It accelerates from zero to 60 mph in four seconds, which makes it faster than most exotica you can buy off the showroom floor such as the Dodge Viper, Porsche Carrera GT or Ferrari F50 and twice as quick over a short distance as most road inhabitants. It will also stop the clocks at 12 seconds dead for a quarter mile
• The Lightning Electric Car: sleek design meets high performance - 700+bhp, The Lightning uses a sophisticated regenerative energy system that captures excess friction from the braking process and converts it to charge the car's batteries. This technology is also set to become part of Formula One from 2008 when KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems) become mandatory and will enable the Lightning’s range to be extended to over 250 miles/400km.
• Tesla - 0 to 60 in under 4 seconds, Top Speed 125 mph, 248hp, 2690 pounds

Imagine these in the hands of racing teams

[Alloutwar]

Wow, nice set of cars, SirK! Can't wait to own one myself...

That's what I'm wondering - why has no racing team gone with a hybrid, just for the extra mileage - one less stop in the pit for gas a race could help, couldn't it? Or just go all out electric...maybe there are rules that all cars have to be combustion engines? Maybe they need the cars to be loud and consume gas, who knows...

[SirKodiak]

http://www.roadtripamerica.com/wheels/flc.htm
http://www.nedra.com/
Porsche Carrera GT Vs. Electric Car Wrightspeed X1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXqYbNEiW0Y
340 Hp 4wd PROEV Lithium Polymer Electric car racing SCCA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXJWNzFR_QQ
the youtube clips have links to other electric car racing too

[SirKodiak]

Electric Car Wrightspeed X1 prototype - http://wrightspeed.com/x1.html

[SirKodiak]

Alt Car Expo 2007: Electric car racing with Michael Kadie and 2.S.S.I.C. (VIDEO)
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/11...l-kadie-and-2/

[SirKodiak]

Here is what I want - http://www.phoenixmotorcars.com/vehi...hoenix-sut.php

[jcbarr]

Wow, nice set of cars, SirK! Can't wait to own one myself...

That's what I'm wondering - why has no racing team gone with a hybrid, just for the extra mileage - one less stop in the pit for gas a race could help, couldn't it? Or just go all out electric...maybe there are rules that all cars have to be combustion engines? Maybe they need the cars to be loud and consume gas, who knows...

Because it is against the rules. If one team went that way the entire league would have to go that way. The actual variance that can exist between motors in NASCAR is miniscule.

[SirKodiak]

Electric cars will be in F1 well before nascar. Nascar is going around an oval making a left hand turn. F1 involves chicanes, sharp turns, hairpin corners, s curves, breaking, accelerating; you know, driving.

[kevarms]

He brings up the point that european horse racing is much more balanced, and demands some actual brain use and strategy, rather than just getting the most speed all the time.

What's the difference between European and American horse racing?

[Kotoll]

What's the difference between European and American horse racing?

American horses have a better dental plan.

[kevarms]

And are also much fatter???

[Alloutwar]

I don't know much about either countries' horse racing specifics - here's what he said:

But our mania for speed has made these great, delicate beasts all the more brittle. All 20 horses in the Derby were descended from one great sire — Native Dancer, magnificent gray who lived but a half-century ago. Add to this inbreeding the fact that today drugs are allowed in the United States that are banned most elsewhere, so horses that have no business racing do, and then go to stud and pass on their weaknesses.

Speed, speed. European horses run more tactical races. We just go flat out.

Sterling Moss, an old star of another type of racing, Formula One, once explained it this way: "You see, we have an entirely different concept of speed in Europe. It's relative. You arrive at a 60-miles-per-hour corner, for example, and try going around it at 61. Then you'll know what speed is."

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...oryId=90231429

[kevarms]

Interesting. We do have lot of racing that is 2 or more miles over jumps, but I figured anything less than a couple of miles on the flat is a sprint for horses.

All 20 horses in the Derby were descended from one great sire — Native Dancer, magnificent gray who lived but a half-century ago.

That is even more in-bred than our Royal Family!!!

[free2131]

There's no intent to injure horses who are entered in a race. Injuries do happen of course, just as they happen in sporting events that human being take part in. There's reasonable effort made to reduce or even eliminate injuries in horse racing, just as there is reasonable effort to reduce injuries in, say, football. Honestly, I don't get it.

The difference is humans have the choice to play football (or any sport), knowing all the consequences that could happen. Animals don't.

As I said before, I don't care how well cared for they are, they are forced to compete and entertain. I just don't find that to be a valid reason.

Because his arguments have been shot down every which way to Sunday and now, refusing to admit they were baseless, he's trying to cling onto anything.

How have they been shot down? Because you and others claim that they are well taken care of and that should make it ok? I don't agree with that. Also, why are they baseless? It's my own opinion that a certain way we treat animals is wrong. My opinion is no more wrong than some one else who thinks PEDs should be allowed in sports. That person may be in the minority, but it doesn't make his points and opinions baseless.

By the way some people are responding, I'm just assuming that they haven't read anything I've posted.