blubarisax Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 the tire wall is your friend... http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac336/blubarisax/IMG-20120407.jpg So, on the last session of the day with my confidence way up from previous runs, I went off into the tire wall at Lime Rock. First, I'm just fine, not a scratch. Well belted in and wearing neck restraints (Hybrid Pro). I came up over the crest of the hill at turn five and was on the power a bit too much. Cresting a hill + plus power = wheel spin. I thought I had my wheels straight, but they could have been slightly off, hard to say for sure. Here is a video clip. The speed is from GPS which must not be all that accurate while you are skidding (at least I hope so) The good news is the chassis and drivetrain look OK, AAA covered the towing and my wife is being supportive. I'll need to replace: the upper and lower A arms, steering rack, shocks (Nitron), nosecone, bonnet, two front wings, radiator, oil lines, one headlamp, one rear wing (I wanted carbon fiber anyway), one coil, perhaps a left side skin and a bit of paint. I'm sure there will be more to uncover down the road. Yes, I've had better days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCh Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Karl, gutted to hear about the car, but glad to know you made it through unscathed. -John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackal Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 I am very happy to hear the only thing injured was your ego. It sounds like the car is rebuildable, and it would seem you have a good attitude about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Glad to hear you are not injured. I cringed as you hit the tire wall. Tire walls are good to hit compared to the Armco. An expensive lesson but it could have been far worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxologist Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Tough to hear about, worse to see, and horrible to be in. Glad you made it out OK and had the HnR on. and uhhhh, could I borrow the wheels/tyres and aeroscreen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 (edited) Oh shit Karl! My stomach just dropped through the floor seeing that picture of your car. The good thing is that tires are softer than jersey barriers or armco or even earth embankments. I suspect you will be a little sore today. While Lime Rock is a lovely circuit it does have a lot less run off if you have a problem. If it is any consolation, even the best drivers have a set back with an accident now and then. I certainly "redecorated" my cars when I was in my teens/20s and still racing. The best thing is the chassis seems undamaged - a good strip down hopefully confirms that. She can be rebuilt better than new (Bionic Seven?). Edited April 8, 2012 by Croc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Terry Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 (edited) Sorry to hear about your off, glad to hear that you are OK. Did it bend the frame? What head lamp brackets are you using on you car? Edited April 8, 2012 by Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S1Steve Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Now that my shock and heart rate has come down... Thank God that you didn't get hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blubarisax Posted April 8, 2012 Author Share Posted April 8, 2012 (edited) Sorry to hear about your off, glad to hear that you are OK. Did it bend the frame? What head lamp brackets are you using on you car? The frame looks OK from what we can see. I've got my fingers crossed that the mounting point for the left front control arm is not bent, it seems to have hit the hardest. The headlight bracket is from Mog-Racing -- Lightweight Headlight Bracket Mike, I'm not to stiff this morning, thankfully. I'm watching the video and trying to figure out what went wrong. I think I spun the wheels (watch the RPM jump up) as I crested the hill and that broke the car loose, no time to catch it at speed. I felt just a little better seeing skid marks right where I went, guess I am not the only bonehead... Edited April 8, 2012 by blubarisax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Oh I would not worry about being a bonehead - I am just thankful that my crashes were done in an era when there was no go pro to memorialize the many cock-ups I displayed in a vehicle. Lots of good drivers have gone before you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slngsht Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 oh man, glad you're ok. could've been a lot worse. about the car - man, i know how it feels when you're looking at it in a heap after the fact . Take a straight edge to the top and bottom frame members for an initial inspection. That looks like a pretty hard hit on the front left. In my case the frame was slightly deformed... like less than 1" deflection between the dash bulkhead and front of the engine. First event of the season - man... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pi7ot Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Oh No, One of my dream Cats. Thank goodness you're ok. Looks like Cold tyres and the peak torque of the engine hitting at the moment the rise took the vertical load off the rear axle. The resulting flare broke the rears loose. Probably nothing you could do with the steering as there was no grip in any of the tyres. If there had been any heat in the tyres, I think you would simply have spun if the rears had happened to break loose. Bummer. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! Man, I am so sorry. This is the ugly side of doing track days. Esp on the older tracks where the walls lurk, and there is so little margin of error. As you crested the hill you seem to have gotten light, and the rear wheels broke loose, and when you landed, probably just slightly off kilter, you spun. You can hear the rev's jump up and see it on your in-car tach. Mike M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancylad Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Cars can be fixed.. Just glad that you are okay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WestTexasS2K Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Oooch that hurts such a nice car. Glad your ok to rebuild it good as new. If you track enough its bound to happen at least once. Its a good thing the frame is still ok. Repair shouldnt be to bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Glad you are ok. Cars can be fixed. I wish you luck in the rebuilding phase. Thank god for a supporting wife. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowss7 Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Karl, I'm glad you are ok, but I feel nauseous. When I saw that picture it tore me up. My wife heard me say "OH NO!" and came running and unfortunately, I was too slow and she saw the Picture. Now I'm getting all kinds of heat that the trackday stuff is too dangerous.:toetap05: Oh Well. Again, glad you are ok, now get it fixed!!!!:flag: Maybe the easter bunny will make a late stop and bring you more Carbon to take the sting away. :jester: Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blubarisax Posted April 8, 2012 Author Share Posted April 8, 2012 (edited) I hope to be back on the track for the June Se7ens event at NJMP. I think I'll make it as long as the chassis is not bent. This was actually my third event of the year and I was feeling quite confident about my driving. Last session of the day, cold tires and trying to keep up with the crowd... a bad mix. Just glad I had not put the new CF nosecone on yet. I had it painted and all ready to go... Edited April 8, 2012 by blubarisax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blubarisax Posted April 8, 2012 Author Share Posted April 8, 2012 Karl, I'm glad you are ok, but I feel nauseous. When I saw that picture it tore me up. My wife heard me say "OH NO!" and came running and unfortunately, I was too slow and she saw the Picture. Now I'm getting all kinds of heat that the trackday stuff is too dangerous.:toetap05: Oh Well. Again, glad you are ok, now get it fixed!!!!:flag: Maybe the easter bunny will make a late stop and bring you more Carbon to take the sting away. :jester: Tom Just tell your wife that it is the Lime Rock track that is the problem, not track days. That's what I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowss7 Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 After seeing the video, I guess I will invest in a HANs type device afterall. That was a pretty hard hit no matter what the speedo showed. Cold tires will bite you every time. Yesterday at NJMP, when Croc went out for the first session it was 38 degrees. Just have to take it easy, it's like a preseason game. The end score doesn't matter, just don't get hurt. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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