mrc24x

Here are some pics of the sadly departed #777 PTA C4 racecar. (posted at the request of the owner/driver)

**BTW Greg, I'm not sure how far along you are with the new build but there's another C4 relisted on Ebay for ~10K. It might be worth checking out.

sperkins

Hope he's ok.

Kubs

WOW!! I hope hes ok too! Is this the car the brakes went out on?

L98Terror

I didn't need to see that again, glad Greg is OK. I wouldn't have guessed after looking at the car

corvette-pilot

Ouch!

Charley Hoyt

Wow I hope the driver is not hurt. What were the details of the crash? How fast was he going? I know this was wheel to wheel racing...but, it makes me think twice about doing HPDEs without a full roll cage.

mrc24x

I can tell you what little I know. The driver is OK. He said he lost his vision for 10 minutes or so but was ok after some tests at the hospital. He lost his brakes at the end of the back straight during comp. school. 120-130ish mph, rolled 5-6 times and ended up in the fence. (I'm guessing that he will post soon w/ more details)

ScaryFast

According to Greg it was a master cylinder failure.

Sidney004

Glad he is OK, if he could relate what brake setup he was using, what component failed and if he knows why it failed it might be a benefit to others on this forum; nasty, get back out there soon Greg.

Sidney004

Thanks, what do you inspect to prevent this? How does it fail? a catastrophic hydraulic leak? Aftermarket component?

ghoffman

fatbillybob

Nice cage. That part of the car looks to have held up well. His head was probably a ping pong ball inside there however.

jan800vette

Matt's comments are pretty accurate. I was hitting around 140 on the back straight before turn #7. I was in the 6th lap running alone but doing quick lap times. I could see the group out ahead and was looking forward to lapping the field. I went for the brakes comfortably before the 4 cone braking point and pedal went soft, all the way to the floor. I pumped the brakes hard 3 times, got very little pressure and tried to do a 5th to 3rd down shift at the same time. I scrubbed off a little speed but not much. I heard horror stories of going off the end straight and flipping end over end into the trees. So I opted for going into the beach party sideways. Comments on the best choice would be appreciated. I will share Randy"s (DRM) thoughts on how it might have been prevented. The black residue in the bottom of the brake fluid reservoir is seal material from wear. Mine (stock master set up) had about the same look as a 50,000 mi car. Worn or old seals can lead to failure without warning. I had the Grand National 6 piston set up (with insulated cup pistons) installed with Castrol SRF fluid. All new stuff. New lines. ect. ect. I didn't rebuild the stock master cyl. I rationalized it was okay because, pressure felt good, pumped up good, bleeding went fine. No issues during 2 prior track days with break in laps ect. Randy doesn't think it could have been heat soak with that set up and dual 3" hoses cooling each rotor. Any body boiled SRF? How does it act when you cross over the boiling point? Regardless, my next car will have dual remotes. If your going to run a single master, take the time to replace the seals annually.
As far as walking away from that one with only a couple of bruises. I have to thank my Lord & Savior Jesus Christ for assigning a couple of very fast angles to keep my butt out of trouble. I can't imagine racing without his protection. I broke the helmet on the cage, and I almost went into that session without my Hybred Pro Hans type device. Something told me to go ahead and put it on even though it wasn't required for that session. Some day I'm going to personally shake their hands and thank my guardian angels.
Jesus loves everyone! Those that love him back are forgiven and gifted eternal life, plus many blessings while still on earth! Boy do I feel blessed after that experience. I wasn't quite ready to land in Heaven yet. There is racing to be done!! #777 Greg J.

xr4racer1

Greg, Glad you are OK, I am the guy that lef the Mustang wheels etc. in your trailer Thursday night. We came by to get them on Friday and of course you were not around, did not think much of it. Later on that night at the Mexican restaurant I asked Jim Bishop how you were doing in the licensing and he proceeds to tell me about the wreck the hospital etc. I was shocked. I had noticed you were not on track but I figured you broke the Vette and rented a TSX.

Matt Miller

Racer-38

Ding, ding, ding>>>>>give that man a prize!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Guys in HPDE's are going almost as fast as the race cars, and in some cases faster. Yet because its not "racing" they have minimal safety equipment....and feel safe.
Its not a question of "IF" you'll have an accident, its just a question of "WHEN".
I think you're crazy doing HPDE's w/out a cage and a HANS. But hey..that's just my $.02.

Greg J.>>>>glad you are OK. that is one scary *** wreck!!!

Falcon

Greg, glad you're okay!

BrianCunningham

Sad to see

be sure to post in the C4 section

C66 Racing

The same thought process is what eventually drove me to put a full cage in mine and go racing.

Greg,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Not that I am an expert on this, but think I would have chosen to go straight off. Seem to remember seeing video of an ALMS Jag going straight off there and keeping it in the sand... also seem to remember seeing video of a BMW rolling through the sand and over the fence. I'd guess you can probably get over that fence either end to end or by rolling over it. They really need to get rid of the drop off before the sand... need more runoff, bigger fence, etc. I guess my thoughts would run along the lines that I'd rather have more stuff in front of me (engine, frame) if I was going to hit something than a side impact which scares me (not much between head and whatever you are hitting), particularly if I had my HANs on (which I always do). The side impact concern has lead me to seriously consider upgrading to a seat with side head impact protection like the Cobra Sebring. I'm currently using the Cobra Suzuka which provide fairly good side impact protection to my hips and legs, but none for my head.

xr4racer1

As Bob said the safety equipment (cage, HANS, harness, racing seat) is needed. There is zero difference in this case between wheel to wheel and HPDE. Greg was by himself, no other cars involved, the same as HPDE. The exact same thing could have happened Thursday night whenb he was on of the 3 cars on the track testing.

matt

longdaddy

thanking lord and savior is fine but the real credit goes to whoever built your cage

if you do DEs with factory seat and 3pt seatbelt, you need to stare at these pictures until you realize what the deal is.