And yet another reason to wear an enlcosed helmet when tracking

[TrackAire]

I did a track day a week ago Monday at Sonoma Raceway. Although not my run group, we had a BMW get on its lid. First video is from behind the car, second video is the BMW's in car camera. This is also a good time to look at your other safety gear such as gloves, long sleeve shirts, etc. Obviously, a fire suit would be best. The potential for flying glass and debris is high.....his windshield was pretty flat to the A pillar. From what I heard, the BMW driver was ok.

It appears the driver tried to shift from 3rd to 4th and hit 2nd by mistake.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouiISr8VXdE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GHUs1joWS8&feature=player_detailpage#t=392

[AZTVR]

I did a track day a week ago Monday at Sonoma Raceway. Although not my run group, we had a BMW get on its lid. First video is from behind the car, second video is the BMW's in car camera. This is also a good time to look at your other safety gear such as gloves, long sleeve shirts, etc. Obviously, a fire suit would be best. The potential for flying glass and debris is high.....his windshield was pretty flat to the A pillar. From what I heard, the BMW driver was ok.

It appears the driver tried to shift from 3rd to 4th and hit 2nd by mistake.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouiISr8VXdE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GHUs1joWS8&feature=player_detailpage#t=392

Scary !!! I watched a bit of his in car footage. For the two previous shifts from 3rd to 4th, he turned his hand over, thumb down, to grab the shift knob from the left side which is an excellent technique which I forget to do. For the missed shift, he had his hand thumb up, grasping from the right side when he shifted out of 3rd. oops.

[Jay Lopez]

I am a big believer in safety equipment. I was in this 911 GT3 with a student when we wrecked end over end and on fire. Get as much safety equipment as you can. It saved us. Only thing we lacked was head and neck restraint. I won't get into a car now on the track without racing underwear, gloves, boots, suit, full face helmet and head/neck restraint. If the car doesn't have harnesses you can get a Simpson head/neck restraint made for 3 point belts.

Watch the wreck from another car on the track. Look out the left side of the windshield.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aToLBN3BrBo

[schulmann]

I think the first thing that people must decide before they go to a race track is what type driver they want to be: Racers or social track drivers.

If you want to be a racer get the right car for you with the right safety equipment. ACR-X is one of the best race cars one can buy.
Amazing handling and state of are safety equipment. Nothing to add.

Then you have the guys who start to modify their street car : Race tires + 6pnt harness + a half race seat (no lateral head support) and they think they are safe.


- Race tires : After 10 years of track activity, we note that 95% of ALL incidents happen on race tires. This is a stunning number but it is a fact.
Race tires have a narrow working temperature range. No race tires in our beginner and intermediate groups. In our club safety starts on the right tire !
Michelin PS2 is the king of all tires: wide operating temperature and resist abuse.

- "Look like" racing seats: a side impact without the proper lateral head support is lethal. No 1 cause of injury. Head support and air bug provide a very good front impact protection. Right now our No 1 concern is head protection against side impacts.
We strongly suggest our participants on racing tires to get the right seat for their cars.

- Aging drivers: As we age we earn more money to pay nice cars but unfortunately our body loses its "flexibility". The only solution against aging is to take less risk.
We have some 70 years old drivers who are perfectly safe and drive the right pace in our advanced group.

- Fire: That something we never saw. However a 1 pound fire extinguisher will not protect you. It is better to invest into a good fire resisting racing suite.

- ESP deactivation: I still don't get this. Why people deactivate their stability system?

The first thing participants must decide how much risk they are wanted to take on a race track.
It is as easy to have fun during a driving school day as to fall into the high risk of want to be racer category.


One thing that we can't fight is the increasing power and speed of cars. This is a major concern for the sport car community and race tracks.

[TrackAire]

schulmann,

Very good points. One of the dangers I see is people strapped in tight with a 6 point harness but no neck protection (HANS device). I started using a HANS device last year after installing a roll bar and harnesses in one of my track cars. One of the side benefits I hadn't considered was the lateral support they give. I had gone into this thinking how to protect myself from negative G's but lateral G's are just as dangerous. I agree a correct race seat is important, but when using a harness a HANS device is mandatory in my eyes. What's your view of a HANS device if you are strapped in?

R-compound rubber is probably the number one reason for brake failure, overheated engines/trans, over heated power steering, over stressing suspensions and even causing the ESC to act funny under certain conditions. The sticky tires just let the car be so much faster than what it might have been designed for. I just did a track event this last Sunday and the amount of drivers that aren't even close to the racing line is shocking. All the added performance (faster cars and modifications, r-compounds, brake upgrades) only seem to make the issue worse.

Any time you get on the track, I see it as a 100% high risk situation regardless of your driving skills or intentions. Even if you are a "casual" driver and out for some easy laps, you never know if somebody else might screw up and take you out, you might hit fluids on the track or you may end up with a brain fart and just screw up, even if you aren't going ten tenths. For that reason, always wear the correct belts, helmet, neck protection, safety gear, etc. Always expect and prepare for the worse since you are rarely on the track alone.

[Rapidrezults]

These videos are great reminders for safety. I now run a 6 pt harness and Hans and will definitely flip my visor down the next time I run.

Schulmann and TrackAire both make excellent points. You guys just convinced me out of running R7's on my TA....Lol. I'm having plenty of fun on the Corsas, and until I can get anywhere near a 1.33 at Laguna on the Corsas, I'm not living up to the cars potential as proven by RP.

[TrackAire]

These videos are great reminders for safety. I now run a 6 pt harness and Hans and will definitely flip my visor down the next time I run.

Schulmann and TrackAire both make excellent points. You guys just convinced me out of running R7's on my TA....Lol. I'm having plenty of fun on the Corsas, and until I can get anywhere near a 1.33 at Laguna on the Corsas, I'm not living up to the cars potential as proven by RP.

Good to meet you at the track on Monday. I really think a good set up would be an extra set of wheels with shaved Corsas on them. They may actually last longer than full tread Corsas for track duty and be even more predictable.

Cheers,
George