944Cup

I know of 2 fatalities at SP from collisions with deer, one the driver was on car go kart, the other a bike.

Well SP could use a few less trees considering the last fatality at one of their tracks happened when a car was driven off track and hit a tree at the B pillar. Really,a track that still have trees close enough to kill drivers.

How is SP suppose to fix the problem, spend some money damn it. I've been racing at this track since the early 1970's and this same crap has been going on til now. Irresponsible. How do other well run tracks keep deer out or at least minimize the frequency of deer crossings.

How about some fencing? Height AND width, is probably the most important factor with deer fences, especially if there is high deer pressure. White-tailed deer can jump almost eight feet high, so effective upright fences against them should be this high. Deer may be able to jump high, but not both high and over a distance. So a fence may not be as high, perhaps six feet, but slanted outward. The deer will try walking under the fence and meet resistance. Such a slanted fence should be at a 45-degree angle, and may consist of fencing with a few strands of additional wire on top for extra height. Adding electricity further deters deer attempting to go over.

But I'm no deer expert, point is there is a way to keep deer out, I dont care how high they can jump, and saying oh well it happens, what can you do, that just isnt enough anymore. Damn, this is just a 2 mile track, not 5,000 miles of highway we need to protect against deer. When you have a track with well defined deer trails that cross the track that justify deer crossing signs, you have a problem!

My personal solution is to stay away from the track.

944hal

I agree. I raced there a couple of years ago and saw deer standing to the right of the front straight about where the collision took place. I've had collisions with deer in a street car and they can cause considerable damage at hwy speed. Imagine hitting one at 140 MPH. I was considering racing there again this fall until I saw the video.

noturavgm

I was at this event with my M3 last weekend.

Maybe 200yrds further up the straight on Saturday I had a mama deer shoot the gap between a Cayman and my car.

Had no one behind me so I got on the brakes hard, thinking, where there's one there's.... sure enough out runs bambi.

Also had a debris flag for a slow moving ground hog in turn 8 one session.

Some serious fauna out there!

Coochas

That could be very bad.

I remember going through the carousel at WGI and there was a gopher (or something) standing up on its hind legs just watching me go by. I laughed for an entire lap.

Nizer

Actually it's 15' but I get your broader point.

http://www.invisible-deer-fence.com/...or-motives.htm

RickBetterley

I saw a tortoise crossing Lime Rock a long time ago. Probably 5 laps before he got across.
At the time, he was the slowest thing on the track besides me.

por944s2

Hit a deer pulling car home after Club Race at Lime Rock this year. Hit a seagull at he top of he esses at WG a while back, that was funny. Almost hit a dear at SP a few years ago after the bridge. Deer are somewhat territorial, they need to install a feeder and shoot as many as they can, in season. That could have a significant impact on the population. Towns in NJ, hire sharp shooters to kill them in neighborhood using suppressors, my god it's WV, kill them.

MikeJim

Debris flag at VIR Turn 3 last year for a mama duck crossing with her eight babies. Twice a day, according to locals. Once each way. I've also seen packs of hunting dogs in the climbing esses.

surlynkid

Turtle tried to cross at NOLA last weekend. He got 2 feet off the curbing and luckily turned around. I watched him for a few laps to make sure he was gone before I tracked out over to him.

RDCR

Laguna's got ground squirrels running all over the place. Turkeys constantly wander into the gun range, live fire or not, which is nearby on track property. I wonder if they ever end up on the track? I've seen a nest in the trees near the corkscrew.

mark kibort

wow! case for keeping your visor down ..... always!

J Berk

Wow! Tremendous amount of damage done.... Thank goodness the drivers were OK.

Can't stand the hoofed rats... They are all over my neighborhood and eat all the flowers.

FrankyV

When I had a pregnant doe come through my windshield between 2 and 3 at SP in 2010 I wrote a letter to management asking that they address the problem. Got a call from Jens Scott and we had a nice talk but it was clear he thought there was no effective way to address the problem so it's unlikely that anything will change there.

mhm993

I have to conclude they don't care. Maybe it's time they close up the tracks and cater exclusively to the LEO guys doing counterterrorism. Big loss to east coast racers, but so are deaths and near catastrophes.

paradocs98

Hilarious. Sad, but hilarious.

We could put the Obama administration on it. They seem to be doing a good job with our Texas and Arizona borders.
Insert "Caddyshack" visual here...
That's great. Recently I heard that there's a mama turtle at Lime Rock who lays her eggs on one side of the track, but hangs out on the other side of the track. So there are frequent crossings...