Turn 4 at Gingerman was always tough after coming in for a few minutes. You enter the track at 2-3, turn four is the first one you hit at speed on cold tires. It always gets me mid race, I remind myself take it easy until turn ten.
Turn 4 at Gingerman was always tough after coming in for a few minutes. You enter the track at 2-3, turn four is the first one you hit at speed on cold tires. It always gets me mid race, I remind myself take it easy until turn ten.
"But I NEED 600 hp!"
And that music sucked so much it pretty much killed my sympathy.
Edit: It's a poorly designed runoff area that caused a Vette to roll at such a low speed. You should be able to slide off track at 60 mph without ending up on your roof.
I would have thought that the massive downforce created by those sill skirts would have saved the day.
Scary, just going straight and the back end coming out like that
This was being discussed in the GRM AC league last night, as soon as I heard it was Willow Springs I figured a wheel caught the sand...
High-powered near-supercar is hard to control, news at 11. I've done the same thing in sims, it doesn't take much to spin up the back end and then it can be very difficult to get it back in line.
KyAllroad said:Edit: It's a poorly designed runoff area that caused a Vette to roll at such a low speed. You should be able to slide off track at 60 mph without ending up on your roof.
The whole track is built on loamy silty soil. There isn't much they could do about the runoffs other than pave them over.
It's also a pretty old track design that hasn't really evolved, has it? Willow Springs is an interesting case.
In reply to CAinCA :
You can't beat geology only work with it. You'd could see the soft embankment as that car went off. That 6" to one foot of elevation was more than enough to catch the wheels and tires. That was a bad spot to get overconfident.
I've always wondered if the 'sudden breakaway on a straight' is more a function of a bad setup or something.
The FSAE car I drove back in the day never did anything even remotely like that (and it was basically supercar performance built by a bunch of teenagers!), and it never happened in my 2006 GTO (400 hp, skinny tires, less than stellar rear suspension linkage).
Maybe they have a bad toe setup or a get a bad toe link. That's why it seems to happen so randomly.
I'm surprised they allowed a passenger to 'hold' a camera.
I've seen a C6 Z06 go ff at an autocross a few years ago. It was not pretty! The driver was okay. The driver was also very experienced.
Glad no one was hurt.
...so, how much for the engine?
trucke said:I'm surprised they allowed a passenger to 'hold' a camera.
And wear a dirt bike helmet on track.
CAinCA said:trucke said:I'm surprised they allowed a passenger to 'hold' a camera.
And wear a dirt bike helmet on track.
There was a cascade of poor decision-making all around here. Driver clearly needed instruction, not passengers, as well.
Really surprised at how easily that roof collapsed.
Rodan said:Unfortunately, Willow Springs is also pretty unforgiving if you go off track.
yeah, that ditch just off course seems like a real bad design.
The reality of the situation is most people don't truly think things will go wrong; the old Nuvolari "most people think they will die in their sleep yet they climb into their beds every night".
The poor guy didn't approach the track with the caution he should have, simple as that.
Javelin said:Really surprised at how easily that roof collapsed.
I just went back and rewatched the video, thinking about this. It looks like it caught quite a bit of air, so had some momentum when it came back down. If you watch the rear facing view you can kind of see it had a decent amount of hang time. None of the outside of the car photos seemed to catch it at its high point.
If I did that I would laugh at myself, so I don't feel too bad about laughing at this guy's misfortune. I wish I could send this video to every track newb who thinks he needs a new Corvette with "mods" to do a track day.
On a similar note... the track entry from the pits at Atlanta Motorsports Park has a very tight turn, and people crash there all the time. I saw a first-timer crash his brand new Cayman into the wall before he ever put a wheel on the actual track. He got his money's worth though... after crashing, he just drove out onto the track like he owned it. And dumped coolant all over the track in the process.
stroker said:I'm assuming his insurance would NOT cover destroying his car on a track day, correct....?
Correct. Standard road going insurance specifically excludes track days and competition events.
There is track day insurance you can buy, which will cover such situations. It's not cheap, but it's a lot cheaper than this days was.
Yikes.
I think if I get to drive a C7 Z06 on track I'll leave traction control on.
I know they have a reputation for being squirrely near the limit, and not in a fun way.
CAinCA said:trucke said:I'm surprised they allowed a passenger to 'hold' a camera.
And wear a dirt bike helmet on track.
I noticed that but wasnt sure.
I was surprised because it looked like, and I hate to be ugly, some cheap helmet thats probably not anything certified.
I do like that SCCA requires SNELL, no matter how you feel about it vs ECE etc, it's another hoop to jump through and it gives me peace of mind.
I dont feel horrible for this guy. I hope im never in this situation, but in the few Ive done Ive always been very cautious on the out lap, knowing my tires were cold. Hell, even on the street Im like that.
hybridmomentspass said:CAinCA said:trucke said:I'm surprised they allowed a passenger to 'hold' a camera.
And wear a dirt bike helmet on track.
I noticed that but wasnt sure.
I was surprised because it looked like, and I hate to be ugly, some cheap helmet thats probably not anything certified.
I do like that SCCA requires SNELL, no matter how you feel about it vs ECE etc, it's another hoop to jump through and it gives me peace of mind.
I dont feel horrible for this guy. I hope im never in this situation, but in the few Ive done Ive always been very cautious on the out lap, knowing my tires were cold. Hell, even on the street Im like that.
Wrong tool for the job here, but Arai helmets are not cheap. Sucks for the owner of the Vette.
GameboyRMH said:This was being discussed in the GRM AC league last night, as soon as I heard it was Willow Springs I figured a wheel caught the sand...
High-powered near-supercar is hard to control, news at 11. I've done the same thing in sims, it doesn't take much to spin up the back end and then it can be very difficult to get it back in line.
Is this the part where I say lower inertia, higher revving engines are much easier to drive because they are a lot easier to pedal back when the tires start spinning? You can hear it happen much more easily if the engine is spinning faster, and the lower inertia helps you recover it more quickly without as much risk of the engine overslowing the now-broken-free tires, at which point you have to be an absolute maestro with the throttle to regain traction.
Not that I'm ragging on the guy... big engine, cold tires, these things happen. Sucks.
golly.
honestly my first reaction was, "Ha! more money than brains" But honestly, I had saved my money (or gotten a windfall of money) and chose to get a near super car and then wrecked it, I would be heart broken.
I guess this is a situation where I can not find joy in another's misery. Even if that was my first reaction.
EricM said:golly.
honestly my first reaction was, "Ha! more money than brains" But honestly, I had saved my money (or gotten a windfall of money) and chose to get a near super car and then wrecked it, I would be heart broken.
I guess this is a situation where I can not find joy in another's misery. Even if that was my first reaction.
Yeah, it's a sucks to be him moment.........and to add insult to injury I'm sure this is not the only forum discussion going on about it right now. That could have been really ugly if he did that in 8 or 9.
Years ago I drove a 427 Vette with 650 HP and from a 20 MPH roll, spun the tires continuously in all 4 gears and when I let off I was at 100MPH. There was 2 solid black streaks in basically a straight line behind me. It takes a very sensitive feel when you are pedaling that much force. Any gross inputs and you wind up like the guy in the video.
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