I wouldn't start slamming on the brakes just because he went wide of the apex. However, if I didn't know the driver, I'd back way out of it just in case. You'll only need a couple more scares like this to convince you that if somebody in front of you is doing something strange, prudence is wise.

 

Not disagreeing with you Brian.

Prudence is always wise, but in the spur of the moment I also didn't want to lift in the downhill at LRP.
Long time ago I found that out the hard way .......fortunately it was in a Skippy car....

You will come out with me for a session on 4/24 at LRP......... won't you?

 

I was thinking the same thing. We don't know from the video if anyone was one your tail.

 

I'd be happy to come out with you. You'd probably get better advice from the previous owner of the car, though

 

Paolo, don't forget the other half of "if you spin, both fit in" - it's "when in doubt, leave them out".

In a spin situation, technically you have a chance to save it UNTIL the car is pointed perpendicular to the trajectory (motion of travel). After the perpendicular point of that rotation, saving it is not possible.

What it means: use your skills and common sense. You had a little slippage when you lifted to go around the spinner, but you handled it well. Had you tried to brake hard, you would have induced a spin yourself due to the sudden weight transfer.

Personally, I feel you should always drive, especially at a DE, with the reserve to modify your line a little bit in a corner to avoid an obstacle. Maybe that's 8 or 9 tenths - it depends on the individual. More often than not, that'll bring you home safely!

 

Boston did exactly what was correct for this situation, be it luck or not. It wasn't obvious the SC was going to spin until he was in the depression. If he lifted heavily or braked he would have been toast. He steered wide and no contact. Nice job Paolo.

 

Boston - You did the right thing, evidenced by missing the car. You have to rely on two things in these situations 1) Instinct - That gets better every time you go through one of these whether safely or with a crash and 2) Luck. No matter what you think the other car is supposed to do, sometimes it just won't happen that way.

That is part of the risk of driving on the track. If you are faster, you are forced to be close to another car sometimes. Or it just might be a bit or red mist that keeps you close to them. You pays your money and takes your chances. You did well with this one.

 

This is a little closer....look at 31 seconds into the video:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=c-cgc_TLWZA

 

What was scary was watching the passenger in the TT with just a shoulder strap that almost looks wrapped around his neck.
I would guess they were going 150mph around the banking.

 

That LRP video brings back memories... my first track event 20.5 years ago. Sounds like the driver could see that the car in front was gonna be in trouble... kind of sensed it from having eyes up. Can't tell you how many times I have done the same thing. If you add knowledge about the car, and the driver (experience, skills, attitudes), and how he or she normally behaves and was behaving in that session to the practice of looking ahead, you are heading toward optimal. Of course luck is also a part of the equation, and we all need that at times. In a race a couple years ago, one friend spun and the other used all of his capabilities and judgment... made a decision and unfortunately hit the other car as it was traveling backward. Only the cars were significantly hurt. Happened at Thill, captured on video.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW2laIsSzcc (action happens at the end)

Here's another good one. Not my footage - I was behind the car with the camera. But it shows you have to be ready for anything. We were all battling closely, but, I wasn't that surprised - I was expecting something.

 

I feel that Paolo did a good job in this situation. He kept his head, didn't lift or brake which would have been a huge mistake approaching the apex of the downhill and steered away from the spinning car.
However, normally when cars spin in the downhill, they cross over the track to the outside.

 

Really? The ones I can remember are all to the inside. Maybe it's just selective memory because the ones to the inside tend to be big hits...

 

Brian is right... nearly every car that crashes in the downhill plants itself into the inside wall. The only crash I've ever seen to the outside was at the SCCA regionals when a DSR was lapping a car during qual, clipped it and went straight into the outside wall.

Brian, you should post your WG video of you barely missing the wall in the laces...that is what I call close.

 

Also my experience, having seen many (3 in one event) go hard on the inside. All were due to mistakes late in the corner.

However, the only time I have spun at that turn was due to fresh oil dumped at turn-in for the downhill, which caused me to finish the turn backwards and drive that way to a stop on the outside grass about a foot from the wall directly across from the old pit entrance. Not many noticed because another guy decided to give everyone a look at his car upside down at the entrance to No Name on the same lap. ( I won't mention his name as he changed it anyway and the new name is nothing like the old....more like a bra size actually).