Every time I read pprune (which is really pretty bad for my health), I pray even harder that "normal" folk never discover its existence, for if they did, they'd probably never fly in a plane again.
j3pipercub, for all the poo-hooing he is copping, does have a valid point of view, despite the bravado and bullsh*t posted by some others so far.
There is a limit, which may of course vary from person to person, as to what level of "risk" is deemed appropriate before people other than the main risk-takers start getting hurt. That's what he is debating. RBAR themselves have imposed additional safety restrictions (much to some competitors' public angst - but hey, you wouldn't be a pilot if you didn't feel it was your god-given right to do whatever the hell you want, would you?) in this year's comp. That's as good a sign as any that race organisers feel safety could be improved, while not detracting from the spectacle.
As for Matt (and speaking as ex-RAAF and having also scared the living daylights out of myself several times), put plain and simple, he screwed up, then made an excellent recovery. However another nanosecond of aileron response and it might have been a different story.