SouthernSon

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/12/us/flo...ath/index.html

The cars may be better maintained in these events but the drivers might be a little more suspect. May be safer with a driver in his own vehicle that has come for the whole weekend. In any case, charging instructors for their own track time just plain sux at HPDE's.

rfn026

There are several reasons I won't ride in the passenger seat at track events.

I'm not sure if you could call this event an HPDE. I'm not even sure if this was a part of the Richard Petty program. Reports coming out of Orlando are confuse. Was he a passenger? Or, was he a paid instructor?

Orlando Sentinel

Richard Newton

rocsvette

This isn't an HPDE, this is where a participant pays to drive various exotic cars and an "instructor" rides right seat to tell participant what to do. Unlike an HPDE that most of us are familiar with, it is not the participant's vehicle and THERE IS NO CLASSROOM.

There are some HPDE groups that run a special experience for people who just want a taste of track and have no experience. These can run from a very small group with dedicated classroom and instructors separate from even the basic Beginner group to a "give us $XX and we'll shove an instructor in your car and send you out for some on the job training."

From the picture I just saw the end was a classic you will go where you look with tire marks showing a staraight line into the end of some kind of wall. Trouble with these drive exotics is that most participants have no track experience and the drivers are obviously totally unfamiliar with the vehicle.

If students don't get classroom and beginners need that BEFORE their first session on track then I won't climb into the right seat.

StreetSpeed

I looked at his Linkedin profile - looks like he was the manager of the whole Petty Experience thing in Orlando. I think these types of events would inherently be more dangerous than your typical HPDE where someone shows up in their own car that they've paid for and are there to learn over the course of the day. Showing up to thrash someone else's Lamborghini that you could never afford for 40 minutes seems like a recipe for disaster. RIP.

SouthernSon

Most HPDE's are much more informative and educational. And, every driver at them wants to take his/her car home in one piece! As far as that railing, it was a disaster waiting to happen from what I see of the picture. Maybe that is just not the whole story. Surely they had some kind of buffer before the beginning of the railing. Maybe not......

FAUEE

What a tragedy. Just goes to show you how dangerous our sport can be, and the bravery of instructors who put their lives in the hands of total strangers. These are probably the most dangerous events out there for instructors, as others have pointed out. Not that it helps the pain for the family of the passenger.

Stay safe out there guys.

BrianCunningham

froggy47

Here is a link to the track, 1 mile tri-oval.

http://www.drivepetty.com/race-track...world-speedway

Not clear if the passenger was instructor or someone who bought a ticket. Both are available.

I have had some opportunities to do this kind of "experience" thing in So Cal as a paid instructor but always take a pass.

Not my cup of tea.

Xian

Sucks for whoever was in the right seat as well as the driver. I saw on another forum some references that it's believed they were driving the course in "reverse" configuration which may explain why there was an exposed barrier end for them to hit.

Personally, I won't instruct in anything with more than ~250hp or so and prefer cars with ~120-150hp. Fast cars go fast and that means that when things do go pear shaped it's likely to be worse than in something like a stock Miata or Civic/Integra.

c4cruiser

The accident was not at the Richard Petty Driving Experience program. It was at the Exotic Driving Experience where the driver was using a Lambo, most likely rented from the program.

Both organizations share the Orlando Walt Disney World Speedway, but they have different cars. The Petty program uses NASCAR cars while the Exotic program uses high-end European cars.

AngryJ

This is terrible to hear. I drove a Gallardo with Xtreme Experience at NCM Park a few weeks ago. It was a blast, but is no doubt incredibly risky for the instructor to get in these cars with someone who has no idea how to handle it. For my event, there was 1 hour of instruction prior to driving 3 laps at a significant pace. Any drive time or lap instruction prior to hopping in a 500hp beast was optional.

brkntrxn

BOTH are owned by RPDE

B Stead

The car is on the inside of the track with no mention of hitting on the outside first. So that suggests an over-corrected slide or a lateral-traction-hookup. The passenger side of the car hitting suggests a clockwise course and that's correct:

http://www.exoticdriving.com/race-tr...world-speedway

With a over-corrected slide or with a lateral-traction-hookup, a slide at mid-curve is straightened-up while still in the curve. That's like the rear-end of the car slides clockwise but then snaps counter-clockwise and points the front of the car to the outside. But as rear-end of the car snaps counter-clockwise the path of the car is an arc to the inside before coming back to the outside nose first. Then if the car hits something on the inside it never comes back to the outside
.

raff

Apparently that was the case --
they run the track in a clockwise direction which explains the exposed armco end.

Track map:
http://www.exoticdriving.com/race-tr...orld-speedway/

TorontoC6

They were running in reverse so it exposed the sharp end of the armco. Surprised they did not see the risk.

PaConehead

Bottom line is that a young man trying to earn a living doing what he enjoyed did not go home at the end of day. RIP

Bill Dearborn

Low performance isn't always that safe. The scariest instructor sessions I had at the Glen were with an 81 year old Long Island, NY driver who was driving a Volvo station wagon. A couple of times I felt the urge to shout in the microphone, "HEY!!! ARE YOU AWAKE"

The slowest car by far in the Novice group but his reactions to things were super slow. I tried to keep the anxiety out of my voice but it scared the crap out of me when we entered T11 and he kept driving straight instead of going around the turn. I started yelling when he didn't turn the steering wheel at the correct point. Luckily, the pavement is wide enough and he was going slow enough he was able to negotiate the outside of the turn without running head on into the guard rail. Next scariest thing was when he almost rolled the car in the Bus Stop. We were only doing 60 mph and I felt OK with the line through the turn when he suddenly hit the gas, causing the car to start understeering and took us off the edge of the outer rumble strips with a several inch drop into dirt. I thought sure the car was going to roll. We all tell students they should look far ahead of the car but I wondered whether he could see past the dashboard.

He should have never had a driver's license let alone tried driving on the track. I think about all of the people driving on the Long Island Expressway who have no clue he may be among them.

Bill

SouthernSon

Bill, that is more than not the case with the older folks. However, last year I coached a guy that was 79, looked a little weathered but I got to tell you, he had great car control and balanced the suspension with great inputs. He was FAST, too. I expected he might slow down in the afternoon after lunch but, oh no, he got FASTER! you just never know......

GTB/ZR-1

RIP & condolences to his young family.

Makes me reconsider riding in that right seat, for free track time...

SouthernSon

I guess the more I ride in that right seat the more I keen I get on when to say "Time Out!" Sometimes you have to take full and complete command of the vehicle. Realizing that first and foremost we all need to be safe for ourselves and others, we also need to foster the fun factor. Without the fun factor, no one is going to want to pay good money for a track day. If someone wants to go fast and lap good times, I am all for it if I see good car control and awareness. But, if the driver exceeds their ability and doesn't correct after briefings, I start bringing it down. Don't let these very few instances stop you from considering helping others on the track. However, even with the best of circumstances, these things do happen.