Astroman

paradisenb

I guess they had a novice DE group and you gridded out of turn. Can't be a racer's run group.

Interesting to see Lindsay Lohan at COTA. Must have got outta rehab for this one time event.

John H

I can't believe the first video is real. Was he drunk?

Frank 993 C4S

He was either drunk or taking on his cell phone, or ...... lost?

hf1

It was obvious that the guy in the first video had no idea what he was doing which made him completely unpredictable -- a loose cannon. Even worse, from what I could see on the video, he didn't even have rear-view mirrors, much less checking them -- so chances are he had no idea what was going on behind or next to him. I try to keep a very safe distance from folks like that on the track, and probably wouldn't have tried the pass especially after seeing him dart to the right in front of me like a complete moron only few seconds before in a very similar turn.

The guy should not have been signed off even for Solo (un-instructed) DE. Horrible.

So sorry you had such an awful weekend.

pu911rsr

Really nice track, really lousy driving. Been around a lot of crappy drivers but not in a race situation.
Phil

jrgordonsenior

I assume you meant side-view mirrors and great catch, I hadn't even noticed that. It kind of looks like he had a wide convex rear view mirror but that's no substitute for side view mirrors.

I can't find any rule that addresses mirrors in the Club Racing rulebook. The period for submission of rule suggestions expires June 1st and I'm going to write something up about including mirrors as mandatory for club racing. Does anyone know where to send the suggestion? I can't find that either.....

Vonschmidt

I'm just sorry, I think VR is right just a bunch of people way over their head.

dizzyj

out of curiosity, was tnt race rules, or de point by?

Veloce Raptor

T&T was point by rules.

Agree that 13's in effect should be published. I suspect there might be a lot fewer of them, but who knows?

jakermc

For mirrors, I think the first guy was running those small, internal mirrors that bolt to the roll bar near the A-pillar. So technically in compliance with the rules, just not sure how effective they are as I have never run them.

During the T&T, I actually wasn't trying to pass when I got hit, just trying to stay on the proper line as opposed to following him all over the track. When he went wide after T8, I tried to wait to see what he would do, thinking he had two options: a) slow down, gather the car up, and slide in behind me or b) stay on the inside and drive towards the apex, in which case I would have turned in after him. I did not think option c was on the board: swerve across the track into my door. I never did attempt to turn-in, I just stayed to the far right waiting for him to decide what to do. Still confused as to how he could not see me, I bet he was totally out of control after over correcting. Not sure what else I could have done absent completely parking the car in the corner.

In the laps preceding this one he never gave me a point by despite me hounding his bumper in the corners, he would merely blast down the long straights and we'd repeat the process. I think the attempt at a defensive line going up the front straight gives a good indication of the mind set this guy had. Rude and under skilled is no way to go through life.

jakermc

Here is my big learning from all this: The talent at the front of the grid versus the mid or back is significantly different, far greater than I ever imagined. It's not just a difference in speed, race craft, and car control but also awareness, judgement, track manners, ego, etc. I would have expected to see slower cars but I did not expect to see driving that was erratic, unpredictable, and generally out of control. I mean we all came up through DE and got licensed, I would expect the basics to be mastered even if the speed is not there.

I won't drive this car with PCA again. Because it was built for NASA GTS3 (same hp/wt as an H car) but gets classed in GT4 with PCA I knew ahead of time I would not be competitive but figured I could still have some fun. I expected to be running in the back, an unfamiliar place lately, but I did not expect that this grid position would put me in harm's way. It was an eye opener! I'm sure this track magnified the issue but I won't chance it again.

KaiB

THIS...has bothered me since I watched Rob's videos.

I'd almost feel better if the first fellow stepped forward and apologized - admitting that he had five martinis for breakfast...seriously, at least this would be understandable.

I also am in the camp which would suggest that 13s be made public.

So sorry about your weekend Rob.

arrivederci

...been waiting after watching these videos, hoping that someone could offer a good explanation of what was going on in the first video. I've seen similar before on a T&T day and I chalked it up to the driver's focus being in his/her mirrors, losing awareness of where they are on track, and ultimately being flustered. But keep in mind that these were T&T drivers that I dealt with, not race drivers. There's really no excuse for a race driver to be that out of it with only one car on your tail.

ShakeNBake

I am pretty sure it was the guy's first lap on COTA, and he had no-one to follow. Massive tunnel vision, and had no idea there was someone nearby. There was a lot of pressure on the racers to learn the track quickly in the limited time they had on track.....he was probably super amped and out of his normal mind. You gotta give those guys a wide buffer, or wait until they get a chance to breath and see you in their mirror. You do gotta wonder though that a racer is supposed to have superior awareness compared to your high-end DEer....so, no excuse I guess.

BUT, what I can't understand is that after the session he didn't attempt to make amends - that is the most troubling thing.