Circuit changes - Allan Simonsen
Discussion
Cant find anything on the web about circuit changes after the tragic death of Allan Simonsen last year. Have the ACO actually done anything or have they simply left the barrier nailed to the tree for the next poor b
d to crash into. Does anyone know ? and has the re-gigged Porsche Curve plan gone ahead ?
d to crash into. Does anyone know ? and has the re-gigged Porsche Curve plan gone ahead ?Red Firecracker said:
Thanks for the link. I wonder if anything has happened since that article (December last year) possibly blood on their hands if not.I would think it best to wait and see rather than condemning immediately.
Interestingly, Tom Kristensen has said he is against whole sale changes for the sake of change in a recent interview, his stated belief being that there should be an element of 'risk' involved. It's a brave position to take, certainly, but I do have to agree. Nobody in that race is there against their will, they all know and accept the risks and are able to pull out if they don't wish to accept them. His views are that the changes should retain respect for the circuit;
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/112098
Hopefully sense will be seen and an acceptable compromise will be reached for all. Nobody wants another race like that.
Interestingly, Tom Kristensen has said he is against whole sale changes for the sake of change in a recent interview, his stated belief being that there should be an element of 'risk' involved. It's a brave position to take, certainly, but I do have to agree. Nobody in that race is there against their will, they all know and accept the risks and are able to pull out if they don't wish to accept them. His views are that the changes should retain respect for the circuit;
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/112098
Hopefully sense will be seen and an acceptable compromise will be reached for all. Nobody wants another race like that.
I agree that you can't remove all the risk but you can at least minimise it. And certainly at Le Mans the circuit has so many areas where a freak accident on top of the high speed could result in bad accidents.
Having Armco directly in front of a tree is not good design and the risk can be minimised. It was quite unusual to hit there, but even thick tyre barriers or tec-pro would lower the risk rather than some massive change to the track.
Having Armco directly in front of a tree is not good design and the risk can be minimised. It was quite unusual to hit there, but even thick tyre barriers or tec-pro would lower the risk rather than some massive change to the track.
DS240 said:
Having Armco directly in front of a tree is not good design and the risk can be minimised. It was quite unusual to hit there, but even thick tyre barriers or tec-pro would lower the risk rather than some massive change to the track.
Presumably you could cut the tree(s) down.Chrisgr31 said:
Presumably you could cut the tree(s) down.
You could do, but I think there are better solutions than having to cut the mature trees down, which would be a big shame.Just substantial protection, lifted in place each time the road is closed would be sufficient I would have thought. It would be no different to having the usual concrete walls behind tyre barriers.
Red Firecracker said:
I would think it best to wait and see rather than condemning immediately.
Interestingly, Tom Kristensen has said he is against whole sale changes for the sake of change in a recent interview, his stated belief being that there should be an element of 'risk' involved. It's a brave position to take, certainly, but I do have to agree. Nobody in that race is there against their will, they all know and accept the risks and are able to pull out if they don't wish to accept them.
Hey, I'm not condemning them yet !Interestingly, Tom Kristensen has said he is against whole sale changes for the sake of change in a recent interview, his stated belief being that there should be an element of 'risk' involved. It's a brave position to take, certainly, but I do have to agree. Nobody in that race is there against their will, they all know and accept the risks and are able to pull out if they don't wish to accept them.
It's all well and good Tom Kristensen saying there should be an element of risk and that's the nature of the sport and up to a point I agree, but it's not him who died and left a family. In an area where a driver died because the barrier was not doing its job because it was pressed up against a tree is totally irresponsible on the part of the ACO and it should be addressed. I certainly do not want to witness the death of another driver especially at the same point where poor Simonsen crashed.
Hence the final line of my post, but yes, the first line could have been constructed better.
There is no ideal, there is no one size fits all solution. Personally, I'd hate Sportscars to go the same way as Forumla 1, where a mistake is effectively unpunished by just continuing over a tarmac run off area. That's not to say I want to see death and destruction, far far from it, but there do have to be consequences to pushing the envelope, consequences to make the driver think, which is what I think TK was suggesting. There have thankfully been few issues at Tertre Rouge over the years, but look at Tracey Krohn's impact at the Forrest Esses, that could have been so so much worse.
The absolute crying shame in Allan Simonsen's case is that he was just too bloody good and managed to save the initial spin, which gripped and then flung him off. Just utterly sad.
There is no ideal, there is no one size fits all solution. Personally, I'd hate Sportscars to go the same way as Forumla 1, where a mistake is effectively unpunished by just continuing over a tarmac run off area. That's not to say I want to see death and destruction, far far from it, but there do have to be consequences to pushing the envelope, consequences to make the driver think, which is what I think TK was suggesting. There have thankfully been few issues at Tertre Rouge over the years, but look at Tracey Krohn's impact at the Forrest Esses, that could have been so so much worse.
The absolute crying shame in Allan Simonsen's case is that he was just too bloody good and managed to save the initial spin, which gripped and then flung him off. Just utterly sad.
I'm not sure what cutting the trees down would achieve anyway, since they are on the edge of a steep drop. In answer to the OP nothing has been done and it is most unlikely anything will be done to change the circuit. There were local rumours of a forensic investigation being launched on the Aston Martin cars in view of the way the car snapped back as did the other after the first chicane. The rumour was that the problem lay with the way the LSD was configured. I stress it was and is only a rumour though and nothing has been heard.
Oh, but maybe you ought to know that Porsche are building one of their driving centres (I believe like at Silverstone) by the little Maison Blanche track. That was announced last week. Me, I can't wait to see that little Nissan again!
Oh, but maybe you ought to know that Porsche are building one of their driving centres (I believe like at Silverstone) by the little Maison Blanche track. That was announced last week. Me, I can't wait to see that little Nissan again!
Edited by lowdrag on Monday 17th February 07:58
lowdrag said:
Oh, but maybe you ought to know that Porsche are building one of their driving centres (I believe like at Silverstone) by the little Maison Blanche track. That was announced last week. Me, I can't wait to see that little Nissan again!
Hi Lowdrag..Edited by lowdrag on Monday 17th February 07:58
Heard about the Porsche Centre as well... my friends are in a big group with about 20 plots and they all swear that MB is their place... wonder how much will be left of the camping... will they be ok this year?
Saw this in the paper today and so looked it up:-
http://sportscar365.com/wec/new-safety-car-procedu...
http://sportscar365.com/wec/new-safety-car-procedu...
lowdrag said:
Saw this in the paper today and so looked it up:-
http://sportscar365.com/wec/new-safety-car-procedu...
So the race can carry on except for the affected area where the cars slow down passing the caution. Good idea, that will eliminate the 2 or 3 safety car fiasco.http://sportscar365.com/wec/new-safety-car-procedu...
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