Huge 180mph crash for Katherine
Discussion
Can't believe that, there's an eight minute piece of footage here:
http://forumula1.co.uk/viewtopic.php?
How she got out is beyond me.
http://forumula1.co.uk/viewtopic.php?
How she got out is beyond me.
When the angle of impact is shallow, such as on a high speed kink, the car will strike a glancing blow, and in theory skid along the wall while coming slowly to a rest. Had there been a tyre wall, the remainder of the crash is a lot more difficult to predict depending on the exact point of the tyre wall, but due to the elastic properties of the tyre wall, the car would be bounced back probably onto the circuit, possibly into the air, and probably causing a far bigger accident for the other competitors as well. This is why you don't get tyre walls on the ovals.
The only improvement I can think of would be to have tarmac running all the way to the wall, or at least something flat, as the car was at some point launched.
Apparently most people are saying that it was better going into the concrete as it absorbed more of the energy of the impact.
The only improvement I can think of would be to have tarmac running all the way to the wall, or at least something flat, as the car was at some point launched.
racylady said:
team underdog said:
Bloody hell that was a big one. Tyre barrier wouldn't have gone amiss there. Amazing that she was ok.
Apparently most people are saying that it was better going into the concrete as it absorbed more of the energy of the impact.
Don't you just hate it when that happens...? 
Try looking on http://tbk.fameflame.dk for other links.
Try looking on http://tbk.fameflame.dk for other links.
Chocmonster said:
Don't you just hate it when that happens...?
Try looking on http://tbk.fameflame.dk for other links.
Try looking on http://tbk.fameflame.dk for other links.
Already a new link to the Speed TV coverage via youtube earlier
sa_20v said:
Can't believe that, there's an eight minute piece of footage here:
http://forumula1.co.uk/viewtopic.php?
How she got out is beyond me.
http://forumula1.co.uk/viewtopic.php?
How she got out is beyond me.
racylady said:
team underdog said:
Bloody hell that was a big one. Tyre barrier wouldn't have gone amiss there. Amazing that she was ok.
Apparently most people are saying that it was better going into the concrete as it absorbed more of the energy of the impact.
In this case it did yeah, but if she had done a full 360 and gone in front first it would have been a different story. Was watching some onboard laps from previous years - Elkhart is an impressive track. I reckon it could do with the new SAFER barriers used on ovals but then I don't want to risk sounding too much like Max Mosely!
They could use the AMA Superbike circuit layout at that section, they miss out the flat out kink where Katherine crashed (little run off there for a bike) and have a chicane just before it, exiting back onto the Cart track where the boom camera was placed and where the saftey teams truck pulled out from. Everything else around the track is the same layout.
Clicky here for layouts, 10b is the extra bit - www.etracksonline.co.uk/NAmerica/USA/WI/roadamerica.html
Clicky here for layouts, 10b is the extra bit - www.etracksonline.co.uk/NAmerica/USA/WI/roadamerica.html
team underdog said:
racylady said:
team underdog said:
Bloody hell that was a big one. Tyre barrier wouldn't have gone amiss there. Amazing that she was ok.
Apparently most people are saying that it was better going into the concrete as it absorbed more of the energy of the impact.
In this case it did yeah, but if she had done a full 360 and gone in front first it would have been a different story. Was watching some onboard laps from previous years - Elkhart is an impressive track. I reckon it could do with the new SAFER barriers used on ovals but then I don't want to risk sounding too much like Max Mosely!
I just watched the 8 minute footage and there is a high camera angle from the rear that makes the corner look one heck of a lot more than a kink. I dread to think what would have happened if, as the commentator first thought, it was a front wing failure. The angle and speed that they appear to approach the wall looks dangerous and there only appears to be one row of tyre if someone goes straight on. F1 cars wouldn't be allowed to race round there these days - good thing or bad thing? I'm not sure.
Edited by Mr_Thyroid on Tuesday 26th September 20:38
team underdog said:
racylady said:
team underdog said:
Bloody hell that was a big one. Tyre barrier wouldn't have gone amiss there. Amazing that she was ok.
Apparently most people are saying that it was better going into the concrete as it absorbed more of the energy of the impact.
In this case it did yeah, but if she had done a full 360 and gone in front first it would have been a different story. Was watching some onboard laps from previous years - Elkhart is an impressive track. I reckon it could do with the new SAFER barriers used on ovals but then I don't want to risk sounding too much like Max Mosely!
Even if the car did spun such that the nose of the car was facing the barrier, the direction of travel of the car would still be the same i.e. mostly in the direction of the track / barrier, and very little perpendicular to the barrier.
The only benefit of going into a wall / tyre wall backwards is there is more space between the driver and the point of impact with which to absorb the force of the impact.
Whilst I'd hate to see such a marvellous track hacked about with in the manner of some F1 circuits, that crash does raise some questions. A tyre barrier would probably have made things worse, as it would have either flung the car back out onto the track or sucked the car in, similar to the Panis crash at Montreal, but maybe a SAFER barrier type setup could be used? Do seem to be a few tracks in the States that have some genuinely dangerous bits (Corkscrew at Laguna for example) that, despite significant accidents including fatalities, still remain largely unchanged in terms of safety. Whilst part of me almost admires that attitude, especially in relation to the hatchet job F1 has made of so many circuits now, another part of me doesn't want to see lots of dead racing drivers. Tricky.
That girl has redefined the word lucky. 
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