When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Do not think it's been mentioned here .. (one of my heroes...) .. pics seem pretty scary..... discussed alot on Reddit and FB mostly in the context of lack of safety gear onboard...
"The Gunther Werks 993 test mule was involved in a serious accident at Laguna Seca. The driver (allegedly Patrick Long, a Porsche employee) was not injured ( but sent to hospital). The car had no roll cage so the roof caved in fully.."
Yikes..... hate to see this, but instructional to all of us, hence the post ...... so glad he is OK.
How the hell does anyone not be injured by that type of wreck? My goodness.
Especially with no bar...
__________________ -Peter Krause www.peterkrause.net www.gofasternow.com
"Combining the Art and Science of Driving Fast!"
Specializing in Professional, Private Driver Performance Evaluation and Optimization
Consultation Available Remotely and at VIRginia International Raceway
On a related note, I've seen videos of pro drivers doing hot laps in street cars without a helmet on, and I cringe a little. Naturally their skills are on another level, but stuff happens sometimes. (This is a general comment - I'm not speculating on whether Long was wearing a helmet.)
On a related note, I've seen videos of pro drivers doing hot laps in street cars without a helmet on, and I cringe a little. Naturally their skills are on another level, but stuff happens sometimes. (This is a general comment - I'm not speculating on whether Long was wearing a helmet.)
That highlights a paradox in the performance car world.
The newer cars are soooooo fast. Incredible performance!
And basically useless for the street. Can't even approach the limits there, need to take them to the track for that.
But... they're also really heavy, and other than a stiff structure, 3 points and airbags, have no real safety equipment.
As those pix show, when bad things happen they might be real bad.
"Driver not injured but taken to the hospital...'
Pretty lucky.
While testing, our team put the Turbo Mule through strenuous challenges as part of this program. Fortunately everyone escaped without any injury, the driver received clearance by the trackside safety team, and no other vehicles were involved. The driver was checked by an off-site medical professional and cleared. Despite this being a street car for the limited purpose of development, the driver was wearing full FIA racing gear, including a fire suit, helmet, and a HANS device for the entirety of testing.
In the interest of full transparency, we can confirm that the car experienced a considerable amount of damage. Specifically, the Turbo Mule’s roof was impacted due to a rollover. It is important to note that the development prototype was not yet fitted with Gunther Werks’ carbon fiber roof panel that customer cars receive; nor was it equipped with a roll cage, as we do not fit them to customer commissions, with the emphasis on the cars being road-going and not race cars. A chassis stiffening bar was installed in the rear cabin, in addition to a harness bar with harnesses and an FIA-rated seat used during the test. The car was also fitted with a fire suppression system.
Glad to hear he had gear on. I wonder what style "harness bar" was installed. Sometimes that means a low mounted bar to support harnesses. I've also seen things called harness bars that look more like conventional rollbars but may not have all the cross bracing, or use seatbelt anchors as mounting points - so I assume don't meet the criteria to be sold as a rollbar. I wonder which this car had. Maybe whatever structure it had, kept the roof from fully collapsing. Notably the driver's side luckily wasn't as flattened as the rest of the roof.
Around 2009 a Green driver came with his 997.2/GT3 to a DE at WGI. Stock..... (3 point belts etc)
His brother - a mid-pack IMSA racer came to hang out. (Not mentioning name).
A bunch of guys at this WGI DE had bought CUP cars. The brother took this street car with Continental street sport tires and absolutely spanked all of the cup cars. He was very fast.
Right up until a rear (street) tire shredded half way up the esses at 140+. Ping pong between the guard rails the rest of the way.
They complained to Continental who just said, "these are street tires and not made for this kind of sustained heat and stress. You should know better."
And thats the point.
Originally Posted by Nowanker
That highlights a paradox in the performance car world.
The newer cars are soooooo fast. Incredible performance!
03-28-2024, 08:03 PM
Anyone hear about Pat Long shunt at LS....
