Deaths bring home reality of a dangerous sport The deaths of Allan Simonsen in last weekend's 24 Hours of Le Mans and Jason Leffler in a sprint car wreck in New Jersey mid-June again shows that motor racing, as safe as the fraternity can make it, is never entirely risk-free. Simonsen always impressed as a driver highly unlikely to injure himself in a racing car. He was very fast in anything he drove but a hardened pro. Then on lap four at Le Mans we were reminded that even small mistakes can result in awful consequences. Now motor sports people are mourning the loss of Simonsen, who was a regular in Australian sports car and V8 supercar races. Simonsen was 34 and leaves behind a partner and baby daughter. Brad Jones Racing is dealing with a second tragedy in as many years, losing Simonsen from its endurance racing roster so soon after the death of team regular Jason Richards in 2011. Simonsen, who was due to join Wilson Security Racing's David Wall in the enduros later this year, joined the close-knit team as Jason Bargwanna's co-driver in the 2011 Gold Coast championship event. Former NASCAR regular and four-times USAC champ Leffler's fatal crash was the result of a mechanical failure and not driver error. Leffler, 37, died at the high-banked Bridgeport Speedway when the front suspension failed on his sprint car. It flipped wildly and slammed into a wall. Rallying to touring call Since exiting full-time rallying at the end of last year, nine-times world champion Sebastien Loeb has been searching for a form of competition to hold his interest. On Sunday, Loeb will be doing his thing high in the sky at the annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, where he is a favourite to win. But this is just a weekend of fun. Next year Loeb and Citroen are together chasing the World Touring Car Championship, a fresh and serious challenge for both. It's the first participation in a world circuit racing championship for Citroen, although Loeb has done - and done well - at GT sports car racing. Slap on the wrist Reigning world champion team Red Bull Racing was not impressed with the soft penalty dished out to Mercedes for its role in illegally testing Pirelli tyres using a current car after the Spanish Grand Prix. RBR team principal Christian Horner thought the punishment didn't fit the crime. Horner expected a heavier penalty for Mercedes than a reprimand and a ban from an upcoming young drivers' test, suggesting it is no deterrent at all. Now Horner has called for F1's governing body to spell out the laws on testing. "I think we need further clarity from the FIA to clear up what is and isn't permitted," he said. Jaguar decides to pass Though the V8 Supercar race series has successfully lured Nissan and, AMG and now Volvo to the grid, don't count on Jaguar (the winner of the inaugural Australian touring car championship in 1960) joining any time soon. There was nothing ambiguous about Jaguar Asia-Pacific boss David Blackhall's attitude to the idea of his luxury brand entering V8 racing. Talking to Fairfax's Drive, the regional chief said the business case for prestige importers such as Jaguar entering the V8 Supercars Championship was "insane."