Saw a Mini Cooper S roll at a local. It was kind of a perfect storm deal: Hoosiers, stock sway bars, and the driver got sideways on a portion of the course where there was a drain, so there was an off-camber bit. He tried to correct, but when it found grip he couldn't turn the wheel fast enough, and it whipped the other way on him and went over.
Will wrote: Saw a Mini Cooper S roll at a local. It was kind of a perfect storm deal: Hoosiers, stock sway bars, and the driver got sideways on a portion of the course where there was a drain, so there was an off-camber bit. He tried to correct, but when it found grip he couldn't turn the wheel fast enough, and it whipped the other way on him and went over.
I think this the the most common "oh E36 M3" moment we see at AX. It's not the first slide, but the buildup of energy and the snap back that does it. You almost always walk away from it, but learning that it's coming is a really useful skill. By the time you need to catch the car your run is usually shot anyway and it's often safer to ride it around than try an catch it.
I saw a new 944 flip in the late 80s. Got sideways thru a slalom and hit the infield of a taxiway. Popped windows, it was my first exposure to ax. Saw a 2014 GT mustang tear up the drivers side and pop an air bag last week when he got into a ditch. Saw an EVO get totaled into a phone pole. A few other also
I've seen plenty of accidents at the local events. Most memorable was a fully prepped WRX hitting a concrete barrier hard enough to move it a good 3-4 feet.
Never seen a flip in person, but they have happen in the past. Always a stock class FWD car running some slicks. Like a late 90's Suzuki Swift that flipped so hard, the sides didn't even touch the pavement. It went straight to the roof. Wasn't there, but a buddy sent me pictures. I'll try to dig them up.
Or the first-gen Civic of our old club president that got flipped on the side three times.
I think it's the sudden weight transfer that makes autocross a fertile place for flipped cars.
Autocross, never. At the track? Tens, more maybe. 16+ years and 1000 days of exposure yields a lot of them. Still, not one of those was a serious injury (well, ok, really serious). I have several close friends who have been cut out hanging from the the straps. Two of them at Lime Rock, cresting the hill with steering input back when they were noobs... another a seasoned vet and teammate in the BMW endurance series, in the car I just got out of three laps before. He lost brakes going into one at NJMP and hit the tire wall at a buck ten or so and chucked it up in the air, landed and went over onto the drivers side.
Good times.
I've seen a Subaru WRX flip over at an autocross held by Equipe Rapide in Hialeah.
VERY fast car, grippy tires and not the best location.
This was back in 2004 or 2005.
Saw a few close ones but only one rollover. All where off course diversions onto grass and slid into a drainage ditch off to the side. The one complete rollover was a vintage Sprite racecar slid partially into the ditch and caught a rock and went over. Roll bar prevented the driver from getting hurt. Saw the bottom of a new Mustang that the over zealous first timer driver that owned the car 6-days got sideways and backwards into a ditch off course, hit the bottom of the ditch and started to roll over but the other side stopped it.
Let me look for that image set of the Saturn getting very high up on two wheels.
I think GIS is broken.
Friggin' Ohio people...
EvanB wrote: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5u9Tv9ugGY
Still vividly remember that. From my perspective on the other side of it, it looked like is was going over FAR more.
I think my radio call was "Someone tell Orion that his oil pan looks like it's leaking a bit"
My dad saw someone flip a Fiat 850 spider many years ago, sticky tires and a swing axle rear with no camber compensator and not enough negative camber was likely to blame for that.
Two. Both stock class VW Jettas on slicks.
Locally we had an '80s era Fiesta running Hoosiers flip onto it's roof. No injuries and he cut the roof off and caged the car for the rest of the season. It was faster after that. But it was a very narrow, fairly tall car with too much grip. I can't see getting a Celica on 185's to roll without significant help.
Didn't Alan McCrispin get something up on 2 wheels at the Challenge a few years ago?
rcutclif wrote: really high center of gravity + really soft suspension + slight move to one side then SLAM to the other (a la scandinavian flick) will usually get a car on its side.
Fiat sedan. Right onto the roof. About 1968. Gas dribbling down the fender and the driver yelling to the oncoming rescuers: "No smoking, dammit."
Knurled wrote:
This would be even better if an upright cone was under the car.
Dusterbd13 wrote: That gif has to be fake. Has to.
Its real, I was riding shotgun in the red car right behind pole. Of course I also drove for the Dukes of Hazard, and my uncle knew a guy with a real one.;) That has to be one of the best gif I've ever seen.
Just gotta have skills like this guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTRGPaiHM18
If you can't drag your mirrors in an SUV, you ain't got skills.
In reply to rcutclif:
3 near disasters in about 3 seconds.
jstein77 wrote:Dusterbd13 wrote: That gif has to be fake. Has to.It may be fake, but its not too far removed from the real thing. https://youtu.be/GyqrwY6k-bw
Where was Ralph Nader when they built that car?
10 years of autocross, never seen anyone roll a car. Accidents yes, rolling no.
Friend rolled his stock class with race tires Mk2 Scirocco 16v at Nationals. Said he'd never run another stock class car with race tires again.
It was an extremely clean, well cared for car too...
Saw a Focus roll onto its roof at an autocross. Well-worn stock car. R compounds up front, crap tires out back, stock, blown struts/shocks. It flipped at the end of a slalom. The sticky tires and the oscillation momentum of the slalom did it in.
Only ever seen one. SAAB 96 with first time driver. Went into a corner too hot and tried to force it rather than backing off and hitting the cone. Ended up on the roof after doing a funny diagonal roll, right front went down and left rear came up.
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