jamie645

Does anyone know the details of the silver 996 incident on Thursday at Limerock?
Like where on the track it happened and what went wrong?

997gt3north

- white run group

- i was 5 cars behind

- 1st hot lap

- lead car gave point bye just after the beginning of the back straight - he stayed left
passing car overtakes about 1/3 way down straight

- some pipe or something was turned on earlier in the day that caused a growing pool of standing water to creep on the track from the right side just after the rumble strips on the right

- driver taking pass felt that the vehicle giving pass didn't stay "full" left (if you remember it is not exactly a straight back there so maybe he did maybe he didn't - who knows? - I spoke with both guys and neither was blaming the other guy)

- passing driver now realizes that his front right tire is going to have to go through the water - he said he metally said to himself don't lift and go straight through ( maybe he slightly lifted, maybe he gave it more throttle, maybe he did exactly what he said and kept a constant throttle)

- the second he hit the water he said the car just came around

- he said he realized there was no way he could save it so he put two feet in

- car first goes right and then back left across the track (dirt and car parts everywhere)

- driver getting passed has the car do at least two full rotations infront / besides him and is extremely lucky not to have been totalled as well (I spoke to both guys, both said the cars were within 1 inch two different times on different rotations)

- guy who wrecked his car was upset obviously, felt in hindsight he shouldn't have taken the pass, earlier in the day this never would have happened as water wasn't there, he also knew that the accident could have resulted in a huge mess and was glad that he didn't wreck everyone else

- I came in late and saw most of the end of the spinning, dirt flying, trailling 3 cars in front of me hitting the brakes, we all got through, cars in front got dirt on them, we headed back to the pits on the first hot lap on our second session and didn't get back on the track for another 3hours (this pissed me off a little as I felt that before sending the green / yellow group out for their 4th session, we should have gotten our second run? - at 3pm we were given a 40minute session as makeup)

How could have this been prevented
1) takes two to tango so they both should have worked better to get the pass done safely
2) i think they could have put a pilon on the track showing where the water extended to (I overhear radio talk a session before this when the green group was on the track that maybe something should have been done - obvious it is everyones responsibility to on warmup laps to see the condition of the track and note if anything has changed and then take appropriate action - especially given it is early in the season and everyone is rusty - so??
3) they could have said no passing on this straight (I think this was not necessary as I took and gave numerous passes in this location) - that said, the point where the water jutted out was about exactly where the pass seemed to occur and I was very concious of it especially when taking the pass as it was very narrow - still they could have said no passing and no accident would have occurred but in my opinion they made the correct decision not to

Alan G.

Disclaimer: This is what I observed and heard, and does not represent an official report for HVR PCA, PCA, or Lime Rock Park. It was a very unfortunate example of what can and does happen on the track, and bad things can happen to good people.

There was a mudslide at the right kink coming into "Noname" (back straight). The cause said to be a broken water pipe. The mud flow reach the turtles and the water extended a couple of feet onto the pavement. There was no puddling of water on the driving surface (but it was wet). The condition was visible and avoldable, but required a modification from a normal driving line passing onto "Noname".



It appears the driver hit the water and spun inside into the hill, and back,. nose first into the guardrail. A hard hit, with front and rear damage.

Veloce Raptor

Oh, geez. Glad no one was hurt.

Alan G.

I agree with him (FOR ONCE)

Veloce Raptor

I didn't realize we disagreed much!

Alan G.

anti hijack PM sent.

chrisp

track should pay

jamie645

I was running in the black group Thursday and there were many times when I got a point by in that spot but didn't take it because the car didn't move over to the left far enough for me to get by without my right tires hitting an uknown depth of water. This was not a race and certainly not worth it to me to get get by with that type of risk.
Everyone took it a bit easier through the esses due to the lake on the right and enough mud on the left to insure a good chance of a flip. The water on no name seemed as obvious to me.
I am very glad that no one was hurt but I disagree that the "track should pay"

chrisp

it sounded like from the description that the hazard appeared mid-day due to an fault of the track.

morefun

The puddle grew later in the day as LRP guys attempted to fix the pipe. Personally I think there should have been more discussion (cautionary) about passing there. I found a big disparity in the speeds of the cars in the overcrowded white run group, hence lots of passing. Yesterday, Friday, the pipe was fixed and the puddle was gone. A 996 (in white again) missed the apex at West Bend and tracked out into the barrier and spun down the hill under the bridge, facing traffic just below the line of sight on approach. Must of been tense for the driver sitting there. The flag station had every thing hung out! Damage was not as bad as the silver 996.........

Jewels

As a Track Chair I would have liked to have been informed as to the condition worsening as the day went on. As a renter of a track it is also a condition that LRP should have made there there customer aware of.

mhm993

Here's what I think:

When I gave passes in no-name, I signaled super early, purposefully stayed left and was careful about speed to allow the car passing me to have options. In Black, I don't recall any obviously bad judgment at the mud puddle that encroached the track.

I only saw the flagger at turn 3 intermittently, but he sometimes had the debris flag out, and sometimes not. I think they should have hung the yellow and red flag for the day, as a reminder of using good judgment, and probably put a couple cones up too. Of course, someone would have booted the cones into traffic, but that's a different issue.

Still, we're big boys and girls driving solo at the first event on a green track on a cold day, and we have a responsibility to use best judgment. (Should the driver make an insurance claim, it will be interesting)

(I wasn't in that white run group, and I'm not a lawyer......but the wife was and she is.....never mind)

Also, I think it's awfully bad judgment to post photos of someone else's car wreck online. Just my opinion.

jamie645

"Also, I think it's awfully bad judgment to post photos of someone else's car wreck online. Just my opinion."
I would agree with you if the license plate was viewable, but it is not.

mhm993

Jamie
I think we owe fellow enthusiasts the right to avoid posting unpleasant photos online, even with the plates obscured. Once posted, they're free game for everyone to find forever and I think it's unfair to post photos unless permission was granted by the car owner. You never know what lawyer, insurer, ex-spouse or future employer might be searching.

Just my opinion.

BTW, you have a great looking car--great color.