Mikelly

Did anybody get in car footage of the accident? I was involved in on lap five at turn nine during the second practice on Friday?

unfortunately, my tablet tablet died on impact and I was only able to get what is linked below.


https://youtu.be/ThVwHvnBO7Y

will968

Sorry to see your car stuffed against the fence like that Mike. Didn't save anything from Friday. I was behind your new buddy when he hit the boot wall at the exit of 7 during qualifying and almost collected two of us.

por944s2

Video from your meeting with the Blue Bushes.

It starts @ 55 sec

IMHO, you opted to swerve right, when a lift would have done the trick.

Hope you get it back together quickly. I left early, BC my new engine, needed more attention and was running very poorly, so no reason to tempt fate. time in the oven to be done.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/k6qvKr6L5xrpF4qr5

LuigiVampa

Practice is where you figure out who you might trust in a corner versus no trust. Until you have a comfort level with each driver in the group it just isn't worth it to go door to door with them.

Sorry this happened to you. The offending driver getting a penalty is never compensation for the driver who was wronged.

Gary R.

Yes, while it would have been nice if the SPB was able to hold a car width for you it sure looks like he was clearly in front and you needed to come off the throttle a touch and tuck in tight behind him. He was past you, no contact (that I saw) was made. I do not believe he should get a 13 for that..

Jas0nn

Agreed - especially when its a practice session and you're a faster car 2 corners away from an easy passing zone ...

will968

It's a Boxster S - F class car.

Mikelly

Stewards interviewed both drivers, reviewed the footage and spoke with the corner worker. I was not found at fault due to the "Room to race" rule. I will say these two things... I believe Michael thought he had cleared me. And yes, I could have backed out. I trusted he'd give me racing room as I'd given him. I put myself out there due to my losing track of how far out I was while trying to give him room. Won't happen again. This was my first sprint race weekend ever on Watkins Glen and only my 4th weekend driving the course ever (outside of sim). I hit the little strip of dirt between the pavement and the safer barrier and the car pushed to the right even more and it was all over but the banging against the wall. I can't undo it now, and I'm focused on the two things I have control over; Learning my mistakes in allowing myself to be there to run out of room and fixing the car.

Thanks Rob for sharing your video.

Mike Kelly

Gary R.

We used to have a saying back when Stock D was well populated.. "No one can block better than an F Stock Boxster!"

esscape26

Sorry this happened Mike. You showed some really sharp driving in the video, so also look at all the overwhelming things that you did well.

I wasn't out there until the enduro but I asked a few drivers, harkening back to my reporter days, this, "Considering that a slight misjudgment at WG could put your fellow competitor in the wall, do you err on the safe side?" It's an interesting question to ask, which is enough, so I am not going to spill the answers.

Veloce Raptor

Mike, I am sorry to hear this happened!

Mikelly

Appreciate the comments. The biggest thing for me is now I know if I go back to the Glen that I'll be competitive. I know there was more time to be found cleaning up a few lines and making a few gear change/choices would net the 2:10s that I think the car and I are capable of there. The grip on that track is awesome.

Onward. She'll be back together and ready for Summit Point.

esscape26

When I have been in the tower hearing rulings, conversing with racers, or from my own experience, just being ahead is not enough with the racing room rule; although what racing room and "ahead" mean is another story. When in doubt, I go back to practice meaning that everyone should give more room to allow racers to get to the actual races.

Zhao

You clearly have some talent if that is your first race there. My personal opinion is everyone is at fault in an accident as it takes 2 people to hit and there is always something that could be done by someone to avoid the other. He didn't give you racing room he should have anticipated you needed, but he was also in your blindspot so you should have anticipated.

Someone said you gotta feel people out too in practice. I agree. I also personally think passing has a lot to do with the person's mentality you're racing against. You get a spectrum of people from the overly timid guys that will give you 90% of the track to the guy who has never passed a car in his life without trading paint. Figuring out who is who is pretty important.

ProCoach

Bingo. Practice and qualifying is your, as a driver, opportunity to gather valuable intelligence. If you've been doing it awhile, you should be building a file on everyone you're racing with. Racing numbers, colors and classes of the cars, and how they drive.

Can they be trusted? Can you see them moving their head around in the car and their eyes in the rear view mirror? Does their car placement change a lot as you get close to them from the rear? All kinds of important information to know.