ACR-X crash @ Sebing (vid)

[MTGTS]

First off, driver was ok and did walk away from the crash which as a pretty big hit. (broke 3 concrete barriers) It had rained about 45 min. before the start of the race which is what this vid is. Track still had some puddles on it and this is what happened. Hopefully the race tommorrow has much better results.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWJ3kzEPa38

 

[redtanrt10]

Hard to figure out what happened? Seemed to slide into the wall early in the video.

Here's a note from NARRA on the race.

"AJ Morgan wins Saturday's Dodge Viper Cup, from Ben Keating and Billy Gropp. Only 1 flying lap in the race after Fiorelli crashed in Turn 1."

 

[VIPER GTSR 91]

Thanks for posting. NO safer barrier here. $$$$$ Please post the results from Sundays race if you can.

 

[MTGTS]

If you watch early in the vid he's on up against the wall on the outside. All of that was standing water. He got loose going through the big one puddle and saved it. Then hit another and I think was going into the outside wall (wall nearest me). Overcorrected from that puddle and went across the track.

 

[MTGTS]

Thanks for posting. NO safer barrier here. $$$$$ Please post the results from Sundays race if you can.

No, def. not. Was a HARD hit. Glad the driver was ok.

 

[Zentenk]

Yes, looks like he was next to that last white car, when it gets closer to the camera he is much further behind so he was probably trying to correct a few times then lost it.

Glad he is alright!

 

[Bill Pemberton Woodhouse]

I know Ted Hughes ended up in 5th on Saturday as he chose to stay on wets and then the track pretty much dried up. As noted , sure would be great to know how they ended up on Sunday? Heard more rain, so just wondering the results and tough hit for Fiorelli -- good to hear he is okay!!!

 

[JonB]

The race was planned for the usual standing start, but standing water forced a rolling start.

I was alongside the wall in the Pace Car..... Fiorelli's -X was 4-wide, and buffeting / hydroplaning due to standing water along the right side tires. I swore that he touched the right wall, and the in-car video made it look that way as well.......but he DID NOT touch the wall! The tires and quarter were un-marred. Dave swore he was 'steady throttle' across the painted start-line as advised. He added power, and then hydroplaned right-side tires several times bobbing-jerking left-right-left-right ....but as you see in the vid he LIFTED(slowed.) That brings the weight forward, and I believe that caused the drier LF tire to bite, and spin the car leftwards around the wet less-grippy tires. My theory anyway.

Anecdote # 1..........it was his BIRTHDAY..... his present was that he was unscathed, and used a Viper Exchange car for Sunday....where the unofficial result have him on the podium in 3rd!

The wall he hit and moved was re-rod reinforced, poured concrete....not some hiway jersey-barrier. [Driver must pay for track damage time and materials.]

Anecdote # 2........... his shaved head was badly cut earlier in the morning as he miscalculated his tall-man ingress and cut his scalp on the window net anchor. (been there, with hair, OUCH!) He had a large knee-sized elastic bandage on his scalp, and he had bled onto his drivers suit. When medical reached him, and quizzed the usual: You OK? Name? Where are you? What day is this?..... they asked him where he was bleeding from due to the blood on his shoulder. He said "Im Ok, that was another time" ....Medical insisted he take off his helmet to inspect the bloody-injury they still believed was NEW. He pointed to his Band-Aid and said "Yeah, I bandaged myself up while I waited for your ambulance and put my helmet back on....... IM ALLRIGHT! So they then knew he was OK!. Able to drive next dayand podium! .... LOVE THE PADDED HARNESSES !!!


ANECDOTE # 3.............. A Comp Coupe earlier in the hot day exploded a LR tire on that same straight, and the steel braided bead was thrashing at 120+mph like a whip. It shredded the quarter panel, and the door shell, and freakishly also the DRIVERS LEFT SLEEVE! It cut and abraded his arm, and he was worse injured than Fiorelli in the huge hit. Amazing sight as that VCC disintegrated....

 

[MTGTS]

I know Ted Hughes ended up in 5th on Saturday as he chose to stay on wets and then the track pretty much dried up. As noted , sure would be great to know how they ended up on Sunday? Heard more rain, so just wondering the results and tough hit for Fiorelli -- good to hear he is okay!!!

It rained early in the AM on Sun. I was in the first group out and it was a little scary. No rain the rest of the day and it was def. not a factor in the Sun. race. There was another lap one incident on Sun. Ben got hit by someone in Turn 2. He did continue the race though after coming into the pits and having the car looked over. He did make the restart and move up quite a bit. I was in the next group on the track after the race so I didn't see the finish. It was much better than Sat. race except for the restart after the lap 1 incident. There was easily 10 car lengths between 1&2 and the rest of the field. I could not beileve the green flag was given.

 

[JonB]

..........Please post the results from Sundays race if you can.

This from www.narraonline.com

Jeff Courtney wins an eventful Rd 2 of the Dodge Viper Cup at Sebring. Ben Keating is second and Dave Fiorelli is third (Unofficial). - 15 05 11

 

[JonB]

It rained early in the AM on Sun. I was in the first group out and it was a little scary. No rain the rest of the day and it was def. not a factor in the Sun. race. There was another lap one incident on Sun. Ben got hit by someone in Turn 2. He did continue the race though after coming into the pits and having the car looked over. He did make the restart and move up quite a bit. I was in the next group on the track after the race so I didn't see the finish. It was much better than Sat. race except for the restart after the lap 1 incident. There was easily 10 car lengths between 1&2 and the rest of the field. I could not beileve the green flag was given.

Matt, great to meet you and I really appreciate your participation, video sharing , enthusiasm at the event. (and your business!)

But I do disagree somewhat on the 1-2 vs 3-4 separation at the Single-File Green Restart....the rules are much more lax for that. I had a close-up-view, and I thought the jump was more like 2-3 car lengths when the green first waved,,,,but it certainly became 10 by the end of the pit wall were you were filming. Do you have vid of that start too? As you know, by then everyone was nervous about throttle-on the painted areas. Thanks Again..... I had to bail and drive away to Orlando upon last-lap.. JonB~~~~:<~

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

Hey Matt, that was smack dab in front of us. Sorry I miss you. I hung around your car for a little while but you never showed. Saturday fired me up so I stayed home Sunday and worked on #34.

 

[Boxer12]

Hate to see that. It takes some guts to get back in another car and risk it all to race again the next day!

 

[JonB]

Hey Matt, that was smack dab in front of us. Sorry I miss you. I hung around your car for a little while but you never showed. Saturday fired me up so I stayed home Sunday and worked on #34.

Dang, CHUCK !!! I am very sorry that I missed you.... I described your Viper to Doris and we were both looking.... DANG!

 

[Fatboy 18]

Hate to see that. It takes some guts to get back in another car and risk it all to race again the next day!

Yep, what he said

 

[Mopar Boy]

He pointed to his Band-Aid and said "Yeah, I bandaged myself up while I waited for your ambulance and put my helmet back on....... IM ALLRIGHT! ....

Thats good!

As for the hit, dang. Had to have woken him up. Hard crunch.

 

[MTGTS]

Hey Matt, that was smack dab in front of us. Sorry I miss you. I hung around your car for a little while but you never showed. Saturday fired me up so I stayed home Sunday and worked on #34.

I saw your car behind the pits on Sat. Chuck but I didn't see you either. Glad to hear you are getting some work done to 34, I expect it ready by Daytona.

 

[MTGTS]

Here's te start of the Sun. race. Back to a standing start since it was dry.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEmq2wCCSJY&feature=channel_video_title

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

Dang, CHUCK !!! I am very sorry that I missed you.... I described your Viper to Doris and we were both looking.... DANG!

Maybe next year. I'm hoping to have #34 ready for 2012.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

I saw your car behind the pits on Sat. Chuck but I didn't see you either. Glad to hear you are getting some work done to 34, I expect it ready by Daytona.

Not this year. 2012 though.

 

[DaveGF]

Hey guys. That was my X crash. Jon B has it pretty much right in his description except I don't think the hydroplane was throttle lift induced but more due to hitting a really deep area of standing water which you can see from the big splash in the video. Others who were there said I was on throttle. Whatever, it was my second wreck in many years of Viper racing. The first was on a converted airfield, in the rain and on the first lap. Corpus Christi, TX Naval Air Station in '02 or '03 I think. The only difference was it was not my fault - this one clearly was.

The car is not as bad as you might think. It may be repairable without engine removal according to Roush but that is subject to change. Fender to door gaps were unaltered, front crossmember appeared undamaged. On the negative side, the crank pulley bumped the steering rack (or vice-versa) and a tranny mount broke.

Many thanks to Ben Keating for letting me run his spare car Sunday. I basically took a pass on a qualifying run due to it being semi-wet and not wanting two crashes in two days. I started 10th. The official results correctly reinstated Todd Nelson and I was 4th, not 3rd. A fairly good result given how things started off.

I feel really bad for screwing up the Saturday race for the rest of the field.

We will make New Jersey in two weeks