This video shows is a few reasons to keep your eyes on the car on the course. Plus this doesn't look like a very safe place top hold an AX, light poles and people standing on the course.
http://www.leftinsmoke.com/index.php?param...Corvette-Crash/

CCLINWTF

Horrible!

wow
that is all I can say about that one...

Right.

Bet that course designer didn't read Roger's book.

You always leave at least 75-100 feet between the course and the outside edge of the track. If that outside edge is a curb, other concrete obstruction or whatever (water at Alameda) then you might have to leave more.

What the designer was trying to do was to make the course faster, but it this case it made it unsafe.

Course designing is serious stuff.

It can be pretty scary out there sometimes. Lets face it not everyone at the autox is the brightest bulb in the lot. Throw in an unskilled driver or a poorly designed course and you got a real recepie for disaster.

Twice 2 weeks ago while working the skinny asian kid at the next station got in the drivers way. Wrong driver and he would have been toast.

Speechless



Turboman808 where is the local autox?

Yeah, that's a nasty one. There have been worse...

This particular one happened a number of years ago at an event in the Mid West. Was not an SCCA event though. It wasn't that fast of a course, but having spectators right next to the course is never a safe thing to do...

-Josh2

We had one at the MUSR one year. We had an AX in conjunction with the local PCA event, and a Corvette driver suffered testosterone induced brain fade.

He ended up getting the car airborne, hitting a concrete filled steel pole which ripped the door skin off the right side, and backing into another concrete filled pole, which triggered the airbags.

Luckly no one was hurt.


He was bent way out of shape going through the timing lights, and didn't get his foot off the gas. The dip after the timed section of the course sent him airborne.

That incident prompted a rule change in Maverick Region. All timed sections of the course are done in Orange pylons, and all Non timed sections are done in Green pylons. That way you don't have to watch for timing lights to know where the course ends.

That is really tragic.

An underlying concept of AX is a non-threatening, safe environment.

The 4 people on the course were probably corner workers and other than the starter, were at least standing next to the light poles (although there is no excuse for the guy sitting on his ass). No fire extinghuisers or red flags says it was probably not an SCCA event.

You can have a safe course with light poles, but they are still an issue to be aware of and you need a minimum amount of space for them. Which they didn't have.

It was the close proximity of the spectator to the course itself that was blatantly negligent. Wasn't the driver's fault. Wasn't the spectator's fault.

As it has been said to many corner workers, race cars are speeding bullets. You don't have time to move out of the way, you have to stay out of the way.

But still just real unfortunate.

..

It always seems that it's not the first slide that gets you, but rather the overcorrection and subsequent spin.

Above all, it's a great lesson on course design and the need for designated s
spectator areas.

Hope everyone survived.

The rumor was that the car belonged to his mom

What was interesting about that dip was that it seemed only the 'vettes suspensions were getting "upset" at that dip...all the P-cars just floated right over it with no issues.....

That was a fun trip and I had a blast driving Ed's car.....

That video has been around for a few years. I still get shivers when I see it. Actually, I get shivers when it starts cause I know whats going to happen when it ends...

Zach