bags142

I was thinking about spins/slides/mishaps/whatever...

And I was curious do you try and save/recover it until you know you can't or you know you are going to impact something?

This video below made me ask the question... cause he never stops and his hands are FAST... and he saves it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jSYi...embedded#at=28

davidfarmer

I NEVER stop driving.....but the important decision is whether to drive back on track, or drive somewhere safe and realistic.

You see BAD crashes where drivers try and recover to the track instead of maintaining control and re-entering once they have full control.

OH3Z

AWD in that Subi also probably didn't hurt...

Sidney004

The fact that he is a three time British Rally Champion didn't hurt either...

Greywolfe

Its not like he really had a choice but to try and save it as there was no runoff areas in this case only trees and houses. It was try to save it or hit something hard.

I would say that if you had a big run off area it would be better to drive it straight off slow down to a safe speed and then come back on slow and under control.

Thats a code brown moment if there ever was one, lol.

By the way those guys are nuts.

John Shiels

Keep trying but before impact let go of the wheel or you can break you thumbs or arms. Really not supposed to drive with your thumbs inside the wheel.

RaleighSS

There is a difference in "driving off" and "sliding off" I have driven off 2X at vir spun off once. As David said never stop driving ... keep eyes where you want the car to go and drive it there do not look at the wall .... Used to race 4 wheelers and learned hard way not to look at the trees ... ya look at them you will hit them ... but back to cars keep driving car looking where you want to go until impact is eminent at that moment in my car with belts and seats I would take hands off wheel and let the safety equip do their job... If sliding off go 2 feet in all the way till ya think you can regain control which may be at the point the car has 100% stopped.

ZoomFreakinZoom

Never stop driving like the car like previously stated, you should only stop and go both feet in/brace for impact when it is 100% clear that you are going to hit something. NEVER try to drive the car back onto the track until you feel that you have control of the situation. It's always hard to say when you should just "give up" and go both feet in.

hellrazr

Forgot who said it, and don't remember the exact quote, but it has been said that "as long as the car is still moving, there is hope".

SIK02SS

You will know 100% when you cannot recover. Until that point: try try try and keep trying. When you are 100% going into a wall, let go of the wheel or you can possibly pay the price in broken bones.

sperkins

Flashbacks of T3 at VIR last year.

Skip to 57sec mark for the highlights.

rfn026

A whole lot of people crash into the inner wall at Sebring Turn 16. That's just silly. There is a huge field to the outside of that turn. Use it if need be.

People think they can stay on track and the spin takes them into the inside wall. If they had simply driven into the field everything would have been just fine.

I have a lot of experience in that field. I always drive into it. I make a decision that the driving into the field is better than a possible spin into the wall.

So. Never stop driving. Make good decisions about where you're driving.

Richard Newton
Newton's Law

Jason

Randy Pobst said it best, "Never stop driving."

JR Hildebrand proved it, with 2 wheels left on the car, he kept his foot in it and crossed the finish line in 2nd.

SouthernSon

When things really get out of hand, the vehicle momentum is a step ahead of you. You must anticipate with the countersteering and corrections faster than normal inputs. And as said, focus on where you need to be, not where you are headed. You will more than likely be in very unfamiliar territory. The slip angle of the tires, adhesion, vectors; everything is past the edge. Focus and work the steering wheel like a Gerbel in a cage.

JVetthead

This is when you know your A6s are done...
mostly lower speeds but a higher speed pucker @ 2:30
this is also why I preach to my students NO SHUFFLE STEERING

http://vimeo.com/21100401

JVetthead

Also, if you start to slide and lift ALL the way of the gas your chances of spinning are pretty much near 100%.
Driving on old tires will teach you to drive thru the slide while just feathering the gas and not lifting till its lost.
Of course if its on entry you are allready off the gas.

redtopz

Had a similar experience a month ago in a T1 race when my A6's gave up halfway through the race. Watch at 18:20.

http://vimeo.com/24145709

I knew I was going off, but I tried to keep the car pointing toward the track so I could get back on track quickly and safely.

Oh, you might want to stop the vid before 18:55 if there are young children present...

waddisme

At VIR, I have been off track about 10 times. Plenty of runoff space most everywhere, so why fight it. I have spun there once in T4, but damn, it whipped around so fast, there was no way.

Fortunate lesson here about lifting over the "Yump". Didn't fight it like the R8, just drove straight off, reinstalled my air dams when I got home, and now I stay in the throttle ALWAYS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSUzhPXKYTk

the blur

I story I always tell..
I was running hot into a turn, and the rear started coming around, it was at the point I was about to 'both feet in'. and was praying no one was right behind me.

The instructor, starts SCREAMING.
GAS GAS GAS GAS.

So I did, and the rear caught immedately, and I simply drove out of the turn, like it never happened.

I was amazed at the power of weight transfer, the instructor was clapping his hands... and was probably happy he didn't get T-boned, cause it would have been on his side.

great learing experience.

torque*is*cheap

I'm all for a quick countersteer correction, but if you're putting a couple of wheels off in a high-speed corner, it's far preferable to drive off gently into the dirt with no correction, then ease the car back onto the track.

Out West, two turns come to mind:

Sunset at Buttonwillow...many drivers who didn't observe this rule have hook-spun their cars into the pitwall. Splotches of paint/rubber attest to the impacts

Turn 9 at Willow...a few fatalities over the years for doing the wrong thing here, most recently a guy in a Mini (at a NASA HPDE, IIRC) who spun across into the infield, hooked a rut and rolled multiple times

Be careful out there!