RE: Deltawing sent flying

RE: Deltawing sent flying

Thursday 18th October 2012

Deltawing sent flying

Nissan's radical racer lives up to its name in dramatic testing crash



Now, crash videos aren't something we'd consider a PH staple. But this one we'll share for the sheer drama and visceral ouch factor of seeing what it's like landing on your head in a fast-moving racing car.

Not any old racing car of course. We're talking the Nissan Deltawing here, which got clouted during testing at Road Atlanta and sent flying into a crash that registered a 7G deceleration according to the onboard telemetry. Puts Dan's little shunt in his Caterham race into perspective and goes to show that even top-level racing drivers get it wrong sometimes, driver Gunnar Jeannette's feelings toward the Porsche driver who hit him made very clear indeed in the footage. Jeannette has been declared fit after the accident and Nissan mechanics are busy rebuilding the car for the Petit Le Mans race it was testing for that takes place this weekend.

Watch the vid here and get ready to wince...

 

 

Author
Discussion

scubadude

Original Poster:

2,618 posts

196 months

Thursday 18th October 2012
quotequote all
Awaits barrage of critical trolls trotting out the usual bilge, "It wouldn't have fallen over it it wasn't a tricycle" "Why/Who is it racing" "Whats the point" etc etc :-)

Glad to hear the driver was ok, looks like he got a bump or two on the head.

dirtbiker

1,165 posts

165 months

Thursday 18th October 2012
quotequote all
Ouch! Doesn't look like a nice crash - lots of head movement once the car's on the grass!

Skater12

507 posts

157 months

Thursday 18th October 2012
quotequote all
It strikes me that the positioning of the wheels had something to do with how easily flipped the car was.
The Tripod layout, in the event of a side impact at speed doesn't seem to be as stable as a standard configuration.

Skater12

507 posts

157 months

Thursday 18th October 2012
quotequote all
scubadude said:
Awaits barrage of critical trolls trotting out the usual bilge, "It wouldn't have fallen over it it wasn't a tricycle" "Why/Who is it racing" "Whats the point" etc etc :-)

Glad to hear the driver was ok, looks like he got a bump or two on the head.
I wrote my comment as you wrote yours.
I'm not saying it shouldn't race, I just think that in this particular instance the physics involved with the configuration of the wheels MIGHT have had something to do with why it went over relatively easily.

Salom

230 posts

175 months

Thursday 18th October 2012
quotequote all
That Porsche driver needs a good kicking!

BeirutTaxi

6,627 posts

213 months

Thursday 18th October 2012
quotequote all
Great to see the Delta Wing is still employed in racing. Speaking as an engineer I think it's great to challenge convention.

Pretty much the same accident that put the Delta Wing in the wall at Lemans 2012.



Great track too.

XTR2Turbo

1,533 posts

230 months

Thursday 18th October 2012
quotequote all
Salom said:
That Porsche driver needs a good kicking!
It looks to me as if the Porsche started to drift and he lost control and recovered badly rather than just turning into the Nissan.

Munter

31,319 posts

240 months

Thursday 18th October 2012
quotequote all
Skater12 said:
It strikes me that the positioning of the wheels had something to do with how easily flipped the car was.
The Tripod layout, in the event of a side impact at speed doesn't seem to be as stable as a standard configuration.
I think we have seen plenty of cars flipped by wheel contact which this looks like to me. Leading edge of the deltawings wheel threw the car into the air as it drove "up" the porsche.

I suspect the porsche moved right thinking there was more space than there was because he could see the narrow front of the deltawing, but forgot the rear would be closer.

suffolk009

5,344 posts

164 months

Thursday 18th October 2012
quotequote all
I'm not making excuses for the guy in the porsche, but would that have happened if the car wasn't SO much wider at the rear wheels?

The guy in Posche was moving right giving the car room, and then the back of the Nissan is so much wider it gets clipped.

As for comments about the stability of the design, (can I whisper this bit) didn't Clarkson do a comedy routine along these lines with Reliant Robins?

RenesisEvo

3,602 posts

218 months

Thursday 18th October 2012
quotequote all
Does look nasty. I suspect the low mass of the DeltaWing compared to the GT car (and the other prototypes generally) means that when there is contact, momentum dictates the DeltaWing will come off worse. Glad no-one was hurt in the incident.

SirSamuelBuca

1,353 posts

156 months

Thursday 18th October 2012
quotequote all
was that his helmet scraping on the floor :O

LordFlathead

9,641 posts

257 months

Thursday 18th October 2012
quotequote all
Mirror, indicate, manoeuvre.. mirrors man.. use them! Terrible total lack of awareness as to what's going on around you Mr Porsche driver.

epom

11,400 posts

160 months

Thursday 18th October 2012
quotequote all
Jeez how cloe was the drivers head to the ground there?

Bund

2,623 posts

220 months

Thursday 18th October 2012
quotequote all
The Porsche driver's car kicked out coming of the turn catching the DW, it wasn't sinister. I dont think the standard layout would have flipped. Im not saying it should not race either just that as a driver Id be happier racing a normal layout after watching this video.

covboy

2,573 posts

173 months

Thursday 18th October 2012
quotequote all
The simple answer is the same as when they use Reliant Robins at Banger meetings. The driver carries a broom with him, so that when the car is flipped onto its side they can push themselves back onto its wheels using the broom through the window !! wink

blearyeyedboy

6,252 posts

178 months

Thursday 18th October 2012
quotequote all
Of course the Deltawing should be punting around racetracks. It's brilliant.

That doesn't mean there aren't things to learn from an accident. Without meaning to sound flippant, I'd venture that further protecting the driver's head would be a good start. That said, it's held up better than many conventional cars have in the past.

jackh707

2,126 posts

155 months

Thursday 18th October 2012
quotequote all
Bund said:
The Porsche driver's car kicked out coming of the turn catching the DW, it wasn't sinister.
XTR2Turbo said:
It looks to me as if the Porsche started to drift and he lost control and recovered badly rather than just turning into the Nissan.
Agreed

dukebox9reg

1,570 posts

147 months

Thursday 18th October 2012
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the porsche driver lost control on the kerb, he didnt purposely steer into him

Mr E

21,583 posts

258 months

Thursday 18th October 2012
quotequote all
Ouch.

The deltawing looked impressively rapid before it was clobbered though.

masermartin

1,629 posts

176 months

Thursday 18th October 2012
quotequote all
dukebox9reg said:
the porsche driver lost control on the kerb, he didnt purposely steer into him
I disagree, I think the Porsche was making a move to come into the pits. Just didn't see the DW.

There does seem to be a bit of a problem when it comes to visibility for the DW - not sure there's much that can be done about that though? frown