Crazy track session
03-13-2017, 02:41 PM
#1
Race Car
Thread Starter
Crazy track session
I went to the local track Saturday - gotta get out there before it gets too hot! I typically drive in the advanced group, but a friend of mine was in the intermediate group, so I decided to drive in that group.
Big mistake! On the very first out lap, just past the blend line a car spins right in front of me. Race car on slicks - you would think they would know better, right?
A couple laps later, I look around the next corner and see another car sideways in the middle of the track. Thank goodness for awareness! Later that same lap yet another car spins right in front of me. It was in a location where I was sure he would snap back right into my path. I slowed and he fortunately did not re-enter the track surface.
Then the pièce de résistance - two (yes, two!) McLaren 675 LT's crash into each other right in front of me! No injuries, but extensive carbon fiber carnage. Both cars were taken away on flatbeds. It was ugly. Really bad day for someone! (same guy owned both cars)
First thing I did after I parked was get a wristband for the advanced group. The rest of the day was uneventful. Except for the typical Corvette with no rear view mirror of course.
The take home points:
- stay alert out there, you never know when or where something will happen
- if you see a white Cayman R behind you, let it pass - bad things happen in front of that car!
Big mistake! On the very first out lap, just past the blend line a car spins right in front of me. Race car on slicks - you would think they would know better, right?
A couple laps later, I look around the next corner and see another car sideways in the middle of the track. Thank goodness for awareness! Later that same lap yet another car spins right in front of me. It was in a location where I was sure he would snap back right into my path. I slowed and he fortunately did not re-enter the track surface.
Then the pièce de résistance - two (yes, two!) McLaren 675 LT's crash into each other right in front of me! No injuries, but extensive carbon fiber carnage. Both cars were taken away on flatbeds. It was ugly. Really bad day for someone! (same guy owned both cars)
First thing I did after I parked was get a wristband for the advanced group. The rest of the day was uneventful. Except for the typical Corvette with no rear view mirror of course.
The take home points:
- stay alert out there, you never know when or where something will happen
- if you see a white Cayman R behind you, let it pass - bad things happen in front of that car!
03-13-2017, 04:58 PM
#4
6th Gear
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LOL. In one org I run with, red drivers can run in the yellow group if there is room.
I decided to get some extra track time. A yellow driver in front of me brakes to setup for a turn that I take flat. Scared the crap out of me.
I decided to get some extra track time. A yellow driver in front of me brakes to setup for a turn that I take flat. Scared the crap out of me.
03-13-2017, 05:13 PM
#5
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Inde?
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03-13-2017, 06:17 PM
#6
Race Car
Thread Starter
Not a PCA event, not an open track day.
Another well-known group with run sessions for street cars, race cars, etc.
Arizona Motorsports Park, not INDE.
Very atypical for sure!
Another well-known group with run sessions for street cars, race cars, etc.
Arizona Motorsports Park, not INDE.
Very atypical for sure!
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03-13-2017, 07:26 PM
#8
Registered User
We were doing lead/follow behind the instructor in a vette. The guy was slowly getting us to some pretty good speeds....
Next round, new instructor. Much older... Front line speeds exactly the same. We get to the first corner and he slows down dramatically. I slammed on my brakes and thankfully no contact, but scared the hell out of me. I was not expecting such a drop in speed... It felt like a near complete stop...
Educational...
03-14-2017, 10:43 AM
#9
Rennlist Member
03-14-2017, 02:42 PM
#10
Rennlist Member
Just got a regular promotional email from Hooked on Driving national with the following opening paragraph and thought of your witnessed 675-on-675 carnage:
"We’ve just chalked up another MILLION MILES ON TRACK with NO car-to-car contacts. If you have driven with us in the last year, you get all the credit!! We work hard to drive fast, smart, and in a cooperative manner on track. Thanks to you, the drivers, the HOD Coaches, Leaders, and Safety Staffs who have created and continue to maintain this enviable record. We also are humble and know that someday an unlucky incident will happen...but we remain convinced that safety is NOT an accident!"
"We’ve just chalked up another MILLION MILES ON TRACK with NO car-to-car contacts. If you have driven with us in the last year, you get all the credit!! We work hard to drive fast, smart, and in a cooperative manner on track. Thanks to you, the drivers, the HOD Coaches, Leaders, and Safety Staffs who have created and continue to maintain this enviable record. We also are humble and know that someday an unlucky incident will happen...but we remain convinced that safety is NOT an accident!"
03-14-2017, 03:25 PM
#11
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That's a pretty strong statement of the effectiveness of their culture. Or, they're incredibly lucky...
03-14-2017, 03:34 PM
#12
Three Wheelin'
This is a real problem for when I drive my Lotus. I am not particularly fast in it and therefore run intermediate groups just so that I am not a moving chicane. But with more modern cars being so fast, any monkey in a fast car can turn the same or better lap times.
But then as you not, sometimes these intermediate group drivers don't have good spatial awareness or restraint, and you end up with these problems.
Paradocs,
Good to know about HOD, I was considering them, but didn't know whether to risk my Porsche. They sound pretty good based on other RL threads.
But then as you not, sometimes these intermediate group drivers don't have good spatial awareness or restraint, and you end up with these problems.
Paradocs,
Good to know about HOD, I was considering them, but didn't know whether to risk my Porsche. They sound pretty good based on other RL threads.
03-14-2017, 03:48 PM
#13
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IMO, groupings and vetting those wanting to be in certain groups, both up and down, is CRITICAL to establishing balance within the group.
It used to be that there was an unending cycle of folks who were wanting to be promoted or assigned to a "higher experience or car/driver potential" group than their experience/capability warranted.
Now, I have seen folks in BIG performance potential cars intentionally "underrate" their abilities or experience so that they get placed in a "lesser experience or car/driver potential" group where their speed (and often skill, going the other way) is often far out of the median of the rest of the group. This so they can "pass everything in the group" and avoid being overrun in the more advanced group.
It's always tough to get the balance right, but it can be done. And NEEDS to be done, for safety, IMO.
It used to be that there was an unending cycle of folks who were wanting to be promoted or assigned to a "higher experience or car/driver potential" group than their experience/capability warranted.
Now, I have seen folks in BIG performance potential cars intentionally "underrate" their abilities or experience so that they get placed in a "lesser experience or car/driver potential" group where their speed (and often skill, going the other way) is often far out of the median of the rest of the group. This so they can "pass everything in the group" and avoid being overrun in the more advanced group.
It's always tough to get the balance right, but it can be done. And NEEDS to be done, for safety, IMO.
03-15-2017, 05:01 PM
#15
One thing I've noticed - it seems like the intermediate groups are always the sketchiest.
Novice group - most of those guys know they're novice. Maybe a handful that don't belong (either too aggressive, or so slow they really don't belong on a track). Fast/advanced/black group - same. Most guys know they belong there, only a handful don't.
Intermediate seems to be the blend of the worst lol. Novices who JUST got "moved up" and thus have a big head. Drivers who really SHOULD be in advanced but stay down a level either out of fear, or out of enjoying being the "big fish in a small pond". Then the poor few saps stuck in the middle just trying to avoid being taken out by the latter two....
Novice group - most of those guys know they're novice. Maybe a handful that don't belong (either too aggressive, or so slow they really don't belong on a track). Fast/advanced/black group - same. Most guys know they belong there, only a handful don't.
Intermediate seems to be the blend of the worst lol. Novices who JUST got "moved up" and thus have a big head. Drivers who really SHOULD be in advanced but stay down a level either out of fear, or out of enjoying being the "big fish in a small pond". Then the poor few saps stuck in the middle just trying to avoid being taken out by the latter two....