Premier Motorsp

Here is a nine minute video of the first sprint race at the Daytona this year.

I have an incident at the end that I would like to hear your opinions about.

I think watching the video provides good context for the incident.

I ask that those of you who know the 13/13 outcome of this incident keep it to yourselves until later.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN0IJ_otR6w

Thanks,

986

Looks like the car in front checked up or missed a shift?

I hope you weren't the one penalized...

Mark in Baltimore

It looks like he missed a shift. You and he were nowhere near the braking zone. I'll bet you got nicked with the 13, though.

fstockcarrera

The driver of the 996 cup obviously is not as experienced or talented. If he admitted to a missed shift or some other error, I would hope he would get the 13. But, knowing PCA that still may not happen. Nice drive. Thanks
Bob

analogmike

Thanks for posting. I agree with the above, he came towards you fast just before impact. You could not have been accelerating into him, as his car accellerates more than yours. He must have missed a shift. I'll leave it to the stewards as who is to blame in that case.

A few other questions - I thought a 993 RSR should be as fast or faster than a GT3 cup, was yours down on power or not a real 993 RSR engine?

You don't seem to downshift while braking, do you drive like that in the GT3 cups too? You KILLED those guys under braking, even when you missed the 4-5 shift on the last lap and they got far ahead, you made it all back up under braking and carrying speed into the infield. Very nice driving.

Premier Motorsp

Mike,

I do downshift the normal way when braking. Maybe it does not show up on the video?

993 RSR came with about 350 hp stock. Mine probably has 375hp or so. I can hang in the low gears where the lower weight counts, but at high speed the Cups have a big advantage.

BluemaxxRacing

Chris - what a great video and needless to say, you are super easy to watch. As for the "bump", he definitely mis-shifted. If you look at the speed that the 996 Cup Cars had on you, it is appearant that they have all your HP and some more. IMHO, what kept you with them was your fantastic driving ability. Coming out of the 2nd horseshoe, we are all on the gas hard and that 996 CC just fell off acceleration-wise. Definitely a mis-shift and although you probably got a 13 on this, I feel that you should in no way get penalized for that bump. No even superman could have reacted fast enough to avoid that.

Anyways, GREAT driving!!

Bull

Shouldn't be any penalty in that racing situation.....but then it is PCA, so someone must pay.

Very nice driving, as usual!

38D

DISCLAIMER -- I AM NOT A STEWARD, SO MY VIEW REALLY COUNTS FOR NOTHING

I personally thinks it depends on how much damage the other car sustained. I suspect it was pretty messed up given the angle it left the track. But if it was really minor, I would not have given any 13s. If it was seriously hurt, I would have given you a 13 for not missing him. I suspect had you locked 'em up when you first saw the mistake, you could have missed him. His getting/not getting a 13 would have depended on his story.

Btw, it is really easy to play monday morning QB on these things...it never looks as fast as it feels, and deciding what to do in the comfort of a couch is just not the same as the split second, one shot choice you had to make. Truthfully, I'm not sure I would have done any different as it looked like he made a mistake, so naturally you attempted to go inside....by the time you realized the closing speed, it was too late.

Premier Motorsp

The other car was pretty badly damaged, because it hit the guardrail after leaving the track.

My car was pretty badly damaged as well.

I didn't see a cue that would have led me to believe the other car was having a problem.

This is exactly what I am looking for. Did you see something that would give given me time to react had I seen it?

SundayDriver

First I thought your lines in the opening laps were great. You held speed and kept the door closed - well done.

As for the incident, with the caveat that I do not have any real experience with 13/13 racing, I think the fault was between 99 and 100% the car in front of you. He slowed - either brake check, missed a shift or lifted. You have no opportunity to brake or take evasive actions due to the proximity of the cars. In a DE you should have given room for his mistakes but this is supposed to be racing, not DE. I can pretty much guarantee that in SCCA, that is a classic racing incident. **** happens.

I would be very disappointed (but not surprised from what I have read and heard) if you got a 13 out of that deal.

analogmike

I would have done the same thing you did, there was BARELY time to lift and no time to brake.

Coming off the long straights, it seemed you were braking from high speed to low speed then putting it down 2 or 3 gears (skipping gears) when already slowed. I usually start to downshift as soon as I am on the brakes and go through all the gears (no option now!).

38D

There does appear to be split second where he begins his shift, and may have been able to do something. You probably would have still tapped him, but it might have been a softer hit. Once he was checking up hard, I don't think there is anything you could have done. The only cue you had was his initial slow, which lasted a tenth or 2 at most. You can see (and hear) that you never lifted. Had you started to lift/move to the brake, I would have said you did everything possible.

I'm honestly not sure what I would do. The counter argument is going to be to follow less closely, but that as you know is easier to say than to do!

This is tough one...it's not an easy call at all. Glad i"m not a steward!

A.Wayne

Error on the driver in front , racing incident , no penalties for both parties ....

84-944

The white car missed a shift or lost power and the rest is history. A situation similar to this was addressed in The Club Racing News this past year stating that if a car in front misses a shift or loses power causing an incident behind them, they would be at fault regardless as to the fact they were not in contact with another vehicle!

Copied from Club Racing News on the PCA website:

"The other car is a white 911 two
cars in front of the car you hit. The Steward then shows
you on your video where the white 911’s rear wheels emit
a puff of smoke and the car slows radically. The guy
behind him slams on the brakes avoiding contact. The
guy behind the racer hard in the brakes is too close and
jumps left into your path.
This situation started when the white 911 shifted
from 3rd to 2nd rather than 3rd to 4th. This missed shift was
a driver error. He did not zing the motor and quickly
recovered. His missed shift however started a chain
reaction that created an unavoidable situation a few cars
back. If the Steward determined that the car you hit was
most likely going to hit the car in front of him even with
max braking and his swerve was to avoid imminent
contact and the Steward determined you could not avoid
contact he/she would likely find the white 911 at fault in a
13-13 incident.
This situation is somewhat like a car spinning and
having cars hit each other trying to avoid the spinning car.
The spinning car would likely be found at fault even
though he may have not hit anything. The driver who
makes an error that creates an unavoidable incident
behind him is usually at fault."

Obviously they hit you with the 13 or we wouldn't be talking about this, sorry. PCA is fickle when these situations arise. Consistency would be nice though.