Safe is Fast is a new initiative led by Bobby Rahal and with backing from the FIA. The target audience for this website is not 100% clear to me but if you have an interest in motorsports its well worth a look, especially on their (self-hosted) video section.
They have created S.A.F.E. into an anagram for Skilled, Assured, Fit and Empowered. The overall premise being that to finish first, first need to finish, and safely.
Driving standards always seem to be a hot topic of conversation; most notably by those who feel they find themselves on the wrong end of said driving standards.
This site goes way beyond just that debate however.
The most novel part, I feel, is that you have a opportunity to put questions, “racing driver to racing driver”, each week to some well known names in professional motorsports, notably Jenson Button soon. The Q+A is then published the following week, with an opportunity to win a “3-month” subscription to iRacing.com for the best questions.
Although well intentioned and with some genuinely interesting videos, my favourite being this one on the emerging role of the driver coach, the site does come across as a little patronising at times. I am not sure what genuinely new value someone already on the path to becoming a professional driver will get from this. For an amateur racer again there is stuff there of interest but it will be difficult to understand how to apply some of the advice.
I see this as a good resource for any motorsport enthusiast. However, it is really not clear what they are aiming to achieve with it. Commercially, iRacing should benefit as various drivers endorse the use of the game as a training aid. Furthermore, the website will harvest a good number of contact details from people who register, filtered by there “Level of experience” – the choices are: Karts, Amateur Racing or Pro Racing. It is just unclear what you’re registering for, with no “opt-out” from further promotional material etc.
What is the site aiming to achieve? What does success look like? What value is it delivering and for whom?
- Is it a connect with the drivers fan site?
- Is it an opportunity for the “Pro’s” to talk down to others? – I doubt this but still …
- Is it aimed to be a useful resource on helping people get more tangible value from their racing?
For me it just seems like an opportunity wasted at the moment, the “Focus” video I felt was especially underwhelming.
Perhaps I have missed the point?
I’d welcome any thoughts people have.
Samir
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Pace Insights is a start-up based in Warwick, UK. We are building a next-generation platform for easier high performance data analysis and management, specifically for the motor sports market.
The way I see it, the site is rather aimed at future racing drivers, and to a lesser extent to the general racing enthusiast.
Still, a nice effort.