I don’t want to come off sounding alarmist or irrational just to create a story but this is worth noting after last years threat of the Dakar Rally.
Security arrangements at all major sporting events have been cast into doubt after Islamist extremists adopted deadly new terror tactics by attacking international sportsmen.
A dozen gunmen remained at large after opening fire in Lahore on the Sri Lanka cricket team, who were on their way to play Pakistan.
The convoy was attacked with rifles, grenades and rocket launchers yesterday morning as it approached the Gaddafi Stadium for the third day of the second Test.
Seven members of the Sri Lanka squad — six players and a British assistant coach — were injured. Eight Pakistanis were killed, including one of the drivers and six police officers assigned to protect the team.
I am not in the business of fabricating news stories on slow days but I was reading this article and was reminded of Dakar and just how serious this could be in context to F1. F1 is a high profile sport with global appeal, not so much in the States, and would be a natural magnet to terrorists seeking this type of global reach. I am also old enough to remember the 1972 Olympics on TV and seeing the men in masks kill the Israeli athletes. As a young boy i was haunted by those images of that tragic event. I know this is not a new target but it has ceased to be a prime target for some time and seems to be on the docket again.
Perhaps since it was a Times article, Mr. Gorman might send an inquiry to the FIA about what measures they might have in place to reduce the risk of something similar happening. Certainly track owners and the FIA both are concerned about it and should be but what measures are they taking or could they take to prevent a tragedy of epic proportions?
