BAD, BAD wreck at Porsche Club event yesterday - MSR-C

Like others I hate reading about the incident and hope the best for a good recovery.

At what point I actually race I hope there will be a safety broadcast. I would be a big supporter of this.

I am heading to cresson right now and will ask AJ about the car to see if he has looked at it.
Everyone is correct that incidents should always be looked at to see if something can be learned to help the next one.

Mixon I don't remember you telling the guy in the GT40 to ride it out when he spun????? To quote "I have 750 horsepower so its going to get away from me" I think eveyone in the room made a mental note of the guy and the car to stay as far away from him as possible.

Bry, as you may recall he was conducting the class. 8)

Ford GT guy was mindbogglingly clueless and obnoxious. Sorry you had to deal with him, K, and I'm glad you survived it, Bryan.

In brighter news... Bob took a turn for the better yesterday. The bleeding in his brain stopped and the clot caused by it has reduced in size. The doctors felt confident enough in his condition that they scheduled him for surgery on his hip. I haven't heard anything today, but surgery was this morning and yesterday they were predicting 7 - 10 days more in the hospital and, if all goes well, he gets to go home.

Thanks for the update and that sounds like good news.

I talked to AJ about the wreck and how the cage looked. He said he may post up to give some more feedback. But what he said was everything did move. Though the cage did its job. It had door bars but not nascar door bars. Since it was a lightweight car the cage thickness wasn't as heavy as our cars. He thought that if the impact was a few feet different there probably would have been a fatality.

Bryan

I think that it is great that the safety discussion has been started again.

The safety broadcast is a great idea. It is really a must have for those of you without spotters. In my Trans-AM Series days we were required to have a dedicated crew member listening to the official SCCA broadcast. The teams then selected the information that was relayed to the driver. The broadcast will also help the officials to officiate during the event when black flags may be ignored. My suggestion is for competitors to at least pick up a $100 scanner and program in the race control frequency. It should be easy to do.

My safety rant-
Plan for the worst...
I know that most of you do but there is still work that can be done. I was shown a lot of crash videos at my HANS training from the test sled and the interior of a car. You will be surprised in how many things do move and how far. Keep things low and bolted to solid places in the car. The sheet metal in a unibody is going to fold up. Also remove the items that you do not need in the race car. I have seen some cars with non essential factory installed interior items left in the car. You cannot plan for Indy 500 rescue response time. It does not happen anywhere but Indy. So prepare your car for the worst case in your car prep.

I have sold HANS devices to many of you. Some of you have said that you don't even wear them because they are not required. Some of you have said that it will break your routine. Some of you have said that it is uncomfortable. Do I need to name names? Please get in touch with me if you have a problem with comfort or driving with your HANS device. This device has been developed for the last 25 years it is about as fool proof as head and neck restraint devices come. I can help with getting you comfortable with the device. I have many customers that I have helped that now do not realize they are wearing the device when racing.

It's good to hear that the driver is in better shape. We'll keep him in our prayers.


Regarding the HANS, I purchased a HANS from AJ at the end of the 2005 season and wore it through all of 2006 and the two events I've attended in '07. I saw no comfort loss and can't tell I'm wearing it except for a slightly reduced head rotation angle.

After hitting the tires (twice) at MSR-H in Febuary, I'm very glad that I was wearing the HANS.

The first impact was head on, square with the front of the car at approx 25mph. Hood cracked pretty good and my aluminum bumper cracked and moved back about an inch. I'm sure my neck would have been sore, or worse without the HANS.
http://www.mustangmods.com/ims/u/1280/8530/141366.jpg

The second impact was a tank slapper from quarter panel into driver's door. Pushed the rocker sill in 2" and caved the door 8" into the "X" brace. The impact highlighted the passenger side net I installed between the '06 and '07 season. I'm glad that was there too.
http://www.mustangmods.com/ims/u/1280/8530/141362.jpg
http://www.mustangmods.com/ims/u/1280/8530/141364.jpg

Bob's surgery went well. The hospital is keeping him to give him time to heal adequately before sending him home, but they feel that he is doing well. He'll probably be released late this week or early next. According to Valkyrie, he doesn't plan to race again.

Scott at Valkyrie answered questions about the cage condition. The frame of the car buckled and tore in places, but, apparently, the cage did not collapse. The driver's side frame was significantly pushed in and the passenger side was pushed out a corresponding amount. He said everything was shifted over 8 inches or so. Scott says the car is now shaped like a (. I was kinda surprised that the cage held 'cuz it was a bolt-in. Valkyrie did say that it may have been much worse if the driver of the other vehicle hadn't been hard on the brakes at the time of the hit. That by dropping the nose significantly, he hit frame and moved everything, not to mention slowing the car and reducing force of impact to about 85 mph. Hitting higher on the door and around 95-100 mph very possibly would have crushed Bob, not to mention what might have happened to the driver of the other car, who had left his HANS in his trailer. Listen to AJ guys! If you got it, wear it.

AJ... I am going to try and make the TDE event in July... I have the strongest cage in the NASATX region including 3 bar nascar bars on BOTH sides, petty bar and the seat is mounted to the cage (not the floor pan) but I don't have hans... PM me and lets arrange fitting for new helmet and HANS.... LOOK OUT GUYS AND GALS... with my backup '85 car for body parts its gonna be bumper car city in '08... just kiddin'...

Misty-
Good to hear that the drivers will be OK.

Marshall and others who own HANS devices-
A good tip is to measure and record the tether lengths on the device and record it. Then after an impact of any real magnitude re-measure the tethers and check for stretch. If the tethers have been stretched they should be replaced just the same as harness belts need to be. I have an example in my showroom of a device that has seen some action and the tethers stretched 1/4"-3/8".

I will have right side window nets available soon. They are awaiting SFI testing.

Quote:

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measure and record the tether lengths on the device and record it.

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That is really cool advice that I'd never heard before. Thanks!