WTCC Safety car crash

[Furyous]

Watching the street circuit WTCC this afternoon, figured it would be a entertaining, to say the least.

First lap carnage everywhere, then this.......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBmv4ioyukY


What the hell was the safety car driver doing over there ?

Why didnt he follow the white line out of the pits as the cars have to ?

Very lucky to escape I think.

[900T-R]

About as useful as 'safety cameras' then.

[Nicholas Blair]

Missed that bit, wondered why there was a delay.

Who drives the safety car ? He purposely moves out to block them by the looks of it.

[Scuffers]

to be fair to the SC driver, he was late out of the pitlane, which usually is down to the radio message from race control...

Also, the BMW (and following car) was still at race speed, so you have to ask if there were SC boards out?

[DSM2]

Scuffers said:

to be fair to the SC driver, he was late out of the pitlane, which usually is down to the radio message from race control...

Also, the BMW (and following car) was still at race speed, so you have to ask if there were SC boards out?

It was fking reckless whichever way you look at it. What a pillock. If that were a team and driver, they'd be quite rightly crucified. So should he and his controllers be.

[Furyous]

But as the SC pulls out of the pits, he goes stright across the circuit.

Surely, you would want to gain some speed and check your mirrors before pulling across like that ?

Why didnt he follow the white lines ?

[llewop]

Scuffers said:

to be fair to the SC driver, he was late out of the pitlane, which usually is down to the radio message from race control...

Also, the BMW (and following car) was still at race speed, so you have to ask if there were SC boards out?

read on either Autosport or the WTCC site that it was that the SC boards were not out

didn't watch it but from what I heard - was a manic first lap so maybe race control got a bit caught out?

[Deva Link]

Furyous said:

But as the SC pulls out of the pits, he goes stright across the circuit.

Surely, you would want to gain some speed and check your mirrors before pulling across like that ?

Why didnt he follow the white lines ?

He looked like he tried to pull across so that the approaching cars would gain early sight of the SC, without realising they were that close.

[Furyous]

Full first lap here...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wGG4R5zjjg

[Piglet]

Oh dear!!

Two thoughts really, from the second clip it is clear that the safety car message was on the timing screens ahead of the leader crossing the line, WTCC have pit to car radios so the leader should have been aware that the safety car was being deployed and he would (or should!) have known where the SC was being deployed from (pit exit in this case) so he should have been slowing.

Having said that the SC looked to me to be getting into position to sit and wait for the pack so he was clearly unaware that the pack were as close to him. That sounds like a communication error plus an awareness issue on behalf of the SC driver and/or observer.

[John D.]

Deva Link said:

Furyous said:

But as the SC pulls out of the pits, he goes stright across the circuit.

Surely, you would want to gain some speed and check your mirrors before pulling across like that ?

Why didnt he follow the white lines ?

He looked like he tried to pull across so that the approaching cars would gain early sight of the SC, without realising they were that close.

Thats what I think too.

Exciting stuff! Thanks for sharing

[RobM77]

The safety car driver was very stupid, but don't forget that waved yellow flags are a message to the competitors to "slow down and be prepared to stop".... What if there had been an accident round that corner with marshalls on the track?

[Joe911]

RobM77 said:

The safety car driver was very stupid, but don't forget that waved yellow flags are a message to the competitors to "slow down and be prepared to stop".... What if there had been an accident round that corner with marshalls on the track?

From the footage I couldn't see waved yellows - entry onto the start/finish is blind. The SC driver was in the wrong, clearly. At that circuit the SC should wait at the end of the straight, not the start.

[Teppic]

Joe911 said:

RobM77 said:

The safety car driver was very stupid, but don't forget that waved yellow flags are a message to the competitors to "slow down and be prepared to stop".... What if there had been an accident round that corner with marshalls on the track?

From the footage I couldn't see waved yellows - entry onto the start/finish is blind. The SC driver was in the wrong, clearly. At that circuit the SC should wait at the end of the straight, not the start.

In the top left hand corner right at the start of the footage there is a waved yellow.

[Piglet]

In the second link there is clearly a yellow flag and SC board at the startline. The commentator says the Safety Car is out and that must mean that it was on the timing screens.

It shouldn't have been a surprise to the drivers to find the safety car there.

[John D.]

Joe911 said:

RobM77 said:

The safety car driver was very stupid, but don't forget that waved yellow flags are a message to the competitors to "slow down and be prepared to stop".... What if there had been an accident round that corner with marshalls on the track?

From the footage I couldn't see waved yellows - entry onto the start/finish is blind. The SC driver was in the wrong, clearly. At that circuit the SC should wait at the end of the straight, not the start.

I think you're being a bit unfair on the SC driver. He gets sent out there by race control rather than making the call himself. He would have expected the track to be clear or at least not have cars at race speed bearing down.

[CatherineJ]

Is the safety car a new Insignia?

The antiburst door locks don't appear to have worked do they.

[Joe911]

Piglet said:

In the second link there is clearly a yellow flag and SC board at the startline. The commentator says the Safety Car is out and that must mean that it was on the timing screens.

It shouldn't have been a surprise to the drivers to find the safety car there.

There was a yellow waving - though it's not clear that the drivers would have seen that and had time to react appropriately. Effectively parking a safety car on the exit of a blind bend is grossly negligent.

[RobM77]

Prior to a safety car being deployed the track would go to a full course yellow. You can see waved yellows in the video. I'd lay blame at both drivers the safety driver for bizarrely swerving out into the middle of a race track on a blind bend, and the drivers in the race for continuing at high speed under full waved yellow conditions - the FIA rules tell drivers to slow down and proceed with caution to pick up the safety car, not just blast round blind bends at near racing speed unable to stop.

[900T-R]

CatherineJ said:

Is the safety car a new Insignia?

The antiburst door locks don't appear to have worked do they.

Nope, it's a Chevy Cruze...