David Brand in the Lotus spun in the right-hander going onto the no-name straight.....next through were a few Miatas that were nose to tail, the first went left and the second had no place to go - BAM - head on into the Lotus! The SM Miata of Ken Payson got catapulted into the air and did a complete flip coming to rest on its wheels. Richard Cullen said he had a front row seat when the car went airbourne. I came though a few seconds later and it was like a war zone...yellow flags waving, corner workers frantically running and waving their arms....then the red flag quickly displayed.
They called the race with 6 laps left on the board in lieu of the accident. Both drivers were transported to medical and believe were taken to the local medical facility in Sharon, CT. Upon leaving the track we were told that the Lotus Driver David Brand was released with no major injuries (except to his wallet). As far as Ken Payson, I am not sure if he was released but indications are that he had suffered a broken neck or back (not a 100% confirmed report). Our prayers are with both drivers for a speed recovery.
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Originally Posted by geerookie
It appears that Ken is doing well. My prayers are with both of them (and family) for a complete recovery and back at the track soon.
Here's a link to some video of the incident.
I know things happen fast out there but it sure didn't look like the Lotus was trying to get out of the way. I don't know the proper course of action there though...should he have remained where he was (he looked to be off-line) or should he have scrambled for the grass?
Also, if the Miata guy saw the yellow but made the move anyway that would seem to be a problem. Again, things happen fast and there's a good chance that he didn't see the yellow.
Is there a set speed under yellow, or other rules? Looks like this accident was caused by a combination of tunnel vision and fast driving/passing under yellow.
These tracks should probably invest in some sort of semi-portable clip-in device that could flash green/yellow/red in the car; maybe a radio with all drivers. Flagmen work fine for pro-series racing when you have spotters to tell you over the radio what is happening and where.
Looks like this accident was caused by a combination of tunnel vision and fast driving/passing under yellow.
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That's what it appears to be. There is no passing under a waving yellow. The Miata was fixated on the car in front of him and then set up for the pass and went off line. If he was looking ahead, he would have seen the Lotus stopped but in that section of the track, "no name straight", you don't expect a stopped car so he set up with the other car in his blind spot. When he rolled out to pass, ther was the Lotus..
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I looked like the Miata in front of the one that hit the Lotus had time to bail at the last second when he saw the Lotus but the poor guy behind him didn't see it until it was too late.
Hopefully going over the Lotus saved both of their lives.
I know things happen fast out there but it sure didn't look like the Lotus was trying to get out of the way. I don't know the proper course of action there though...should he have remained where he was (he looked to be off-line) or should he have scrambled for the grass?
The proper procedure is put both feet in and don't move until it is safe to move (based on what you see or the corner workers waving you on).
I've spun out of the lead of an 8 car pack at about 100mph, it was exciting as the cars split me on either side.
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Originally Posted by OutKlast
Is there a set speed under yellow, or other rules? Looks like this accident was caused by a combination of tunnel vision and fast driving/passing under yellow.
Under a yellow, the only rule is don't pass. The standard at a national is drive fast and don't spin. Racing to the yellow is standard.
Quote:
These tracks should probably invest in some sort of semi-portable clip-in device that could flash green/yellow/red in the car; maybe a radio with all drivers. Flagmen work fine for pro-series racing when you have spotters to tell you over the radio what is happening and where.
No way the SCCA has money to pay for that, and getting a functioning radio system with coverage everywhere is extremely difficult. I've been on the wall for pro racing and it requires at least two crew members with radios. One to be on with the driver and one on with race control. That would easily be $2k/entrant, not really realistic and a lot of guys are running cars by themselves or only with a spouse for a helper.
There is some risk in racing and we won't take it out no matter what we do.
I've seen the red flag come out a few times and it always makes me sick and is usually followed by a life flight helicopter.
No way the SCCA has money to pay for that, and getting a functioning radio system with coverage everywhere is extremely difficult. I've been on the wall for pro racing and it requires at least two crew members with radios. One to be on with the driver and one on with race control. That would easily be $2k/entrant, not really realistic and a lot of guys are running cars by themselves or only with a spouse for a helper.
There is some risk in racing and we won't take it out no matter what we do.
I've seen the red flag come out a few times and it always makes me sick and is usually followed by a life flight helicopter.
Seems like you could get some kind of modified cell phone type device. And just a "global" channel that race control puts out. Something to the effect of "yellow flag @ turn 1".
Seems like you could get some kind of modified cell phone type device. And just a "global" channel that race control puts out. Something to the effect of "yellow flag @ turn 1".
There are always yellow flags out at different places, sometimes if a car is off in an ok position, they will just cover it with a standing yellow for the rest of a race. So giving that information out may not always be useful.
If you want to add something to every car, now you have to have earphones for every car (over $100/driver and very fragile) and the radio/cell phone thingy that may interfere with the driver. I've been to several tracks without cell reception at all. Some cars are so loud that the drivers might never hear it anyways. Just a decent 2 radio setup can run over $1500.
There's really no excuse for missing flags. Ever. But, things like this are just going to happen.
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Lime Rock SCCA National - Terrible accident, our prayers for the drivers
