Carrera GT

Sorry to see you were so unlucky with that spin. Just another foot or two and you would have missed the tire barrier (which, fair enough, is there for a reason ...) and then you might have come away perhaps with less costs.

There's some misleading comments in the posts on this thread, so I'd suggest working with people hands-on, not trying to untangle this thread (my post included ... : )

I'd say the video has nowhere near enough information to explain the loss of control. Next time, position the video to capture the steering wheel.

The track surface looks fine to me, but I'd prefer a less compressed video. The sudden loss of traction could be as simple as marbles and gravel from a car having just put a wheel off or driven back onto the line after an off.

Without seeing the wheel or pedals, no way to tell, but the car rotated in a way my car just plain won't let go, so I find it impossible to explain. I'll be curious to read your thoughts once you digest a little.

Given no real "answer" on the cause of the spin, I have a couple of thoughts on safety and what to do after an off:

"Both feet in" -- get on the clutch and the brake and lock 'em up so the car slides in a straight, predictable line to a halt.

"Shut it down" -- turn off the engine asap. If you lost oil or coolant, don't try to find out the hard way. Don't try to fire it up, get in 1st gear. You only have safety and cost to consider (in that order) so be hasty to re-enter the track can cause a bigger problem.

"Stay belted in the car" -- it's safest place to be. Unless you sense fire or receive instructions from a safety worker; stay put. Look out for others crashing into your car (after all, if you hit oil, others are going to hit oil and if you had a poor driver behind you, he's ten times more likely to follow you into the same fate as to find a moment of clarity and steer away from the "negative outcome fixation" that afflicts anyone in sudden trouble.)

Unless you have to get away from fire, wait in the car and stay in the belts in case of another car colliding with yours. Only once you see the traffic responding to the flags, should you consider getting out of the car, especially on a high speed section -- drivers very often neglect to check for flags. I've had people blast by me under full course yellows even after five or six turns.

Well, you're in one piece and the car gets a Euro rear bumper cover ... not a bad deal. And I'd imagine the heat insulation is damaged and the plastic brackets around the mufflers, so expect some additional line items when the repair quote arrives.

If I were you, I'd drive it with that bumper cover until you can get a Euro one ... much nicer ... pity that GT3 wing wasn't ripped off ... an excuse to go to the RS wing ... : )

TD in DC

I'm with you, I don't see how you can tell much of anything of relevance without data, or at least without seeing the hands. OK, sure you can see track position and hear throttle, but that doesn't tell you a whole lot unless you are talking about massive errors. This looks to me like a series of small errors that led to the off, which is how it happens most of the time with more experienced drivers.

TT Surgeon

I think it's just a case of cold track and cold tires.

mitch236

I won't ring in with an opinion but I will say that the TC on these cars is about as unobtrusive as it can be. At the safety pin at Sebring I can break the rear loose at will with the TC on and it allows me full throttle even with the @ss hanging way out! I wonder how much spin has to happen to get it to kick in?

03-turbo911

Glad to see that the damage wasn't that bad. Probably just a bit too aggressive on the throttle is my guess. I did the same mistake on my track day and nearly spun the car around.

Carrera GT

I made the mistake of feeding in a little too much power (3/4 throttle) in 2nd out of a hair-pin. Once I caught the oversteer, the TC cut in and brought the car back to straight with zero risk of a tank-slapper. I have video of that somewhere. It's crappy 320x240, but it's amusing to watch, I'll try to find it.

Phokaioglaukos

I was on the track with Stephan that session. It was cold, but there was good grip for my well-worn RA-1s. From the video it looked like not tracking all the way out of the turn combined with too much throttle. I'd sure like to know what really happened, though. The plume of dust was enormous--I could see it back from the carousel very easily, although the black flags came out slowly.

BobbyC

We've seen a few offs in just the past 2 weeks with the new GT3's and 'am wondering whether it's the cold weather or poor driving or too much confidence or a combo of all things.

Sure would like to know what exactly happened here plus the alignment settings, tire pressures, etc that were in play. I've got my first track event in the RS coming up in a few weeks and this has been an eye-opener for sure!

MetalSolid

Watching the video, the car never looked stable at all...

Carrera GT

Any chance of posting a hi-res of the video for just the last two turns, please?

frayed

Here's feedback from a bmw club racer:

"He pinched a couple turns earlier. He was completely off at two earlier turns.

Turn 8 is slightly off camber at track out. He lost it right after the apex where the car gets light. The car hits the apex hard, slams down against bump stops, then unloads. He was applying gas as car was getting light approaching track out and he was choking off the turn. Bad move.

Driver error!

I hold so many track records on that track I can't count anymore. ;-)"

Carrera GT

That's a pretty funny punch line to that post. But what he says is pretty consistent with what little we can see in the video. Adverse camber and the track falling away from a peaked apex -- winding on a little too much at the same time as sending more horses into battle is certainly a recipe for a lot of power-on oversteer so long as you catch it ...

frayed

Explanation makes a lot of sense to me. I was thinking that usually oversteer on both my 996 GT3 and 997S could be gathered up easily. But, when you throw bumps into the picture and the weight loading then undloading. . . a car can get away from you quick!

iLLM3

I was VERY impressed with the TC on the 997 GT3 as well.. Me and a 6speed member Stuart997GT3 went on a run a few Sunday's ago, we came up to a hairpin uturn up near bear mountain and both of our rear ends were outcoming around with throttle controling it, i asked him wow i didnt expect that, was your TC on? He said nope, i think that is pretty cool, although i would love to know where the threshold of it kicking in is!

iLLM3

Glad you brought this up, i have been extremely nervous with recent track days too in regards to the cold weather and track conditions, i have no TC and my RA1's and BBS's didnt come in yet, i am never scared one bit but still would rather have safe optimal conditions..

Recently there have been tons of new 997 GT3's and even 2 RS's i know of who have been off the track several times

Martin