JoeDubya

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=BB-KBaevPqM

The driver loses it and hits a curb before the car can stop.
Main issue (IMHO): No course should run that close to hard stuff.

lemans

Ouch!!

longdaddy

it is not normally expected that straight sections have runoff on both sides.

he came out of the last turn with unloaded suspension, rolled forward a bit, nailed the throttle, started sliding, put half-hearted correction in and froze up. what could possibly go wrong?

"main issue" has nothing to do with the course setup.

steponc

What happened to the "nanny" control?

sgsvette

BrianCunningham

No reason that should have happened

Solofast

At a Pro Solo at an airport a long time ago I was walking the course with the guy who designed it and we were walking along a row of hangars with a nice "open" (50 mph+) slalom and I commented that I thought we were a bit close to the hangars, probably 50 ft from the cone centerline. The course designer (a very experience guy and a member of the SEB) said " they aren't going that way, there's not any mometum in that direction".....

Well, a very competent driver got his CRX up on two wheels and when it came down it hooked and shot off at an angle...

You knew this was coming....

and hit one of the hangars at about a 45 degree angle. the car went halfway thru the wall of the steel building. He went in at a soft spot, had he hit the structure where the door was mounted he would have been killed. Needless to say the car was totaled the driver was OK but it pretty much shot the use of that site.

Cars at speed can (and if they can somebody WILL) do a tank slapper and leave the course in ways that are totally unexpected. Just because the normal momentum of a car under control isn't in the direction of the curbs, doesn't mean a car can't get out of shape and go that way. Part of the problem is that in an autocross the speeds are low so it allows drivers (particularly inexperienced ones as this driver was) to be more aggressive and when that is in the mix crazy things can happen. In this case you had curbs too close to the course. The proof of that is exactly what happened.

It's also the reason you never turn your back on a car when you are working the course. Just because the normal momentum won't take a car in your direction doesn't mean somebody won't lose it and end up in your lap.

Gray Ghost GS

Cold tires + Cold track + Cold brain = Unexpected Results.... auto-x or road course.

RaleighSS

course workers seemed concerned about his condition. Hope he was ok most likely just rang his bell a bit or pulled some things that have not been pulled before. That side impact can do more to your body as the stock belts and safety built into the car are more geared towards a frontal impact.

diddiyo

i still don't get WHY he spun out... too much throttle?! his wheels were straight.

longdaddy

watch weight transfer when he hits the gas - way too abrupt for a low gear, it only takes a small difference in traction between left/right side to start you sideways . maybe paint lines on the pavement, oil that someone dripped down 2 years ago, crack in the surface, etc.

fatbillybob

That looks like the speedventures course at autoclub speedway parking lot. Perhaps from the 19th weekend?

CP Thunder

both feet not in? wheels were still spinning during the spin and slide all the way to the curb.

doveboat

Yes Carl, was 11/19 @ ACS

Ed

naschmitz

+1

My reaction exactly -- he never gets on the brakes. Ever.

Aardwolf

Noticed that too. Doubt he would have hit the curb if the brakes were on.

Timz06

Oops, that looked like a pretty hard hit, I'll bet that was expensive!

93Rubie

I lost it on a corner this fall at a auto-x. I'm really inexperienced as far auto-x goes but instinctively I got brakes on hard and clutch in. Saved it some, only hit a few cones (killed them, totally) and continued on.

I watched this a few times, I do not understand what happened. Straight and then around? Did something break, the wheels where never turned.

I think having less HP is a good thing sometimes, especially in low speed situations like auto-x. I know 300HP is plenty to get into trouble with.

JETninja

Wow, here in SoCal I have an expectation of having nothing close when I Auto-X. We use Stadium and Race Track Parking lots (Qualcom, California Speedway, etc) with plenty of runoff room with no worries of hitting anything.

Road Course is something else, you know there are thing to hit there if you go off....

KBoltz

Did you guys read any of the comments? Especially the one that said Driving skills inversely related to your wealth. What an a$$hole.