Man, that sucks.

 

I feel bad for the guy. But as mentioned before, on a track those things are bound to happen. Even the best drivers make mistakes. What I like about these threads, is all the input that everyone has about what may have gone wrong. Little lessons.

 

Thank you for this write up on the course I had not heard of this track before this video....198 MPH through that section of track would take some serious *****! After looking at the video a couple of times the thing that is weired is the driver doesn't say one word! I would be pissed that I just totaled my GT3 I know I would be talking to myself!

 

Its important to note that credit has to be given to the way cars are built today. To crash like that and walk away from it says a lot about how safe these cars are built. Like one said. Cars and Ego can be fixed as long as the driver is OK. I spun out on the track when I had my 964 Turbo 3.6 and it was a SCARY situation, and this was only a DE event.

 

[quote=zona]KevinM is correct but lifting of the throttle was only part of the issue.

He actually overshot the apex in Eau Rouge #3, which in put him into Eau Rouge #4 too deep. This point of the corner is slightly off camber and turning to the right. This is very unsettling at speed, so the curbing was his friend (but he did not use it). Her never really recovered from the mistake in #3, so the outcome in #4 was inevitable! In the split second when the car became unsettled he tried to correct with too much sterring and not enough throttle, if he had riden the curbing and not lifted IMO he might of had a different outcome!

He is not the first and he won't be the last to mess up that series of corners. F1 drivers all the way down to your casual drivers have done the same thing!

Glad he's ok, the car and ego can be fixed!

Very good analysis. This corner is the most complex in the world in terms of "getting it right". He's actually pretty careful as he lifts off the throttle at the bottom of the hill, but before going back up Eau Rouge, he is non committal with the throttle going on and off (based on the audio of the videotape). Once going up Eau Rouge it's important to be on the throttle to allow the car to have weight on rear tires. Once he lifted the rear became light and started to rotate on him.

It's a pretty hard impact, but for him to jump out of the car is a testiment to the rigidity of todays Porsches. Thank goodness he is okay and no one else was collected in the accident.

 

YES.....

you all said it.... abd entry into 3, messed up 4... NOT ENOUGH CURB...


Here is my friend Darryl O'Young from last years 24hr...this is how your supposed to do it!!

he is in Supercup this year....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keSFheWfYz0

 

Looks like it's one tricky turn for a lot of the 911 drivers.

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

 

another porsche crash in the same place of the same circuit!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYDEH...related&search=

 

Paris_CarreraS,

This series of corners has eaten many cars, if they all were recorded.......you would be shocked at the numbers!

-z

 

I agree Brandon, this is quoted from the driver " but I was shocked at this moment and I had a total amnesia of the accident and the 3 hours which followed ... ( big head commotion ) but after XRAY, scan, everything is ok ..."

 

Well, he walked away which is the most important things and the wipers still work.

 

Have any of you commenting on what the driver did wrong actually driven the track? Of all the f1 circuits I believe Spa has one of largest elevation changes through that set of turns 3,4, and 5. You cannot even see over the crest out of Eau Rouge when you’re in the bottom of the valley. If you hold too tight at the crest it throws you even more then if you stay out a meter or so from the apex. What really throws most people off is the unweighting of the car and suspension when going over that crest. Turn 5 really throws out the back of the car because right after your roller coaster 0g sensation you have a quick breaker to the left requiring immediate and precise steering input, somewhat similar to flugplatz at the Ring. Totally agree that he didn’t handle the car well after it started to go but knowing the corner better would have probably saved him all the trouble (or instead of trying to save it, just straight it). Anyone know his driving experience? Watch the degrees of lock with unloaded coils boys!

 

No risk no fun. That is a big rule at the track! But it is nice to see that he is ok. I think it was his last track time for the next months. I whish him good luck to fix the car.

 

No havent driven it, but I wish I could in person. I've only driven it on simulator and watched races on TV and read about all the technical side similar to the link posted above. As the article says, most F1 driver's have a hard time going flat out on that section. Even those that do, the onboard audio sounds like they are not. But once the data is reviewed, they are on the throttle 100%. THe compression is so great at the bottom of the hill, that is actually flexes the engine blocks and coupled with the uphill climb and turning at the same time, the revs go down and it sounds like the driver is not flat out when he really is.

Now in a street car, there is no way one can go flat out because of the lack of downforce for such a section of this track. The exit is blind, there is a crest and as you mentioned the car gets light. It's a total rhythm section and if you get it wrong in one area, you get it wrong on the whole section as mentioned by ZONA. The best thing to do is enter carefully as he did, but don't lift the throttle on the uphill section, especially with a rear engined car, keeping the rear planted. It is necessary to use the curbing at Eau Rouge.

 

Just found this video. Another good reason to not just hop out of your car after crashing. This could have been much worse .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQIhXrrk1_E