Scary crash at Lime Rock...

[Yosho]

Spec Miata and Lotus Elise go head to head at about 80mph.   

LRP Natl wreck Aug 2009


Very lucky the Miata hit the Lotus and most of the energy was directed upwards... the Miata basically launched off the front of the Lotus and flipped.

 

[Yosho]

Aftermath....

David Brand in the Lotus spun in the right-hander going onto the no-name straight.....next through were a few Miatas that were nose to tail, the first went left and the second had no place to go - BAM - head on into the Lotus! The SM Miata of Ken Payson got catapulted into the air and did a complete flip coming to rest on its wheels. Richard Cullen said he had a front row seat when the car went airbourne. I came though a few seconds later and it was like a war zone...yellow flags waving, corner workers frantically running and waving their arms....then the red flag quickly displayed.

They called the race with 6 laps left on the board in lieu of the accident. Both drivers were transported to medical and believe were taken to the local medical facility in Sharon, CT. Upon leaving the track we were told that the Lotus Driver David Brand was released with no major injuries (except to his wallet). As far as Ken Payson, I am not sure if he was released but indications are that he had suffered a broken neck or back (not a 100% confirmed report). Our prayers are with both drivers for a speed recovery.

[number six]

I always wondered, what happens at these 'amateur' track events when theres a wreck? I'm assuming your normal auto insurance is going to tell you to suck it. What about medical insurance? Is there some opt out policy for car racing?

Is it all just out of pocket sorry about your luck these are the risks type deal?

[micksimmonds]

wtf? why was he going the other day

[funky49]

The Lotus spun out and two Miatas were racing towards him. One went left and got lucky, the other went airborne to flip and land on its wheels.

[The Renegade]

I always wondered, what happens at these 'amateur' track events when theres a wreck? I'm assuming your normal auto insurance is going to tell you to suck it. What about medical insurance? Is there some opt out policy for car racing?

Is it all just out of pocket sorry about your luck these are the risks type deal?

Well this wasn't a track event, it was a race. There is no insurance for racing. For track events there is HPDE (High Performance Driver Education) insurance to cover on-track incidents assuming the club you run with meets the safety requirements of the insurance provider.

Medical goes against your personal medical insurance.

Race cars are disposable. If you can't afford to push it off a cliff, don't race it.

[The Renegade]

wtf? why was he going the other day

As Steve said, the Lotus spun out.

The flag station that threw the yellow flag did too late for the Miata driver to notice it (I've missed them before too in similar conditions, he didn't really do anything wrong). I remember the video making it look like the white SM should have see the flag, and thought the flag was thrown after the wreck, my memory failed on that part, but the video maybe a little decieving because the race car with the in-car camera can clearly see the yellow flag, and the situation develop, the white Spec Miata may not have been in a position to easily see the yellow flag, and since he was following close to setup for the pass, couldn't see the Lotus. It's hard to tell, but it looks like the station threw the flag a little later than it should have, but that may just be a limitation of the video camera/lighting.

Another thing we can't see is the common practice of checking up and giving signal to the driver behind (hand up to the inside of the car, etc).. can't see if the other white miata gave any notice of something developing.. if notice had been given the white SM may never have hit the lotus. Of course, if the Lotus had locked up all 4, he would have been off the track most likely and would have avoided the issue all together... Also odd that the other white Miata didn't go to the far outside of the track (like the car in front of him did/two cars in front of the one that crashed).

I don't think all the blame is on the driver who hit the Lotus, not that it matters. At least no one died. Watching it again I do blame the white miata driver more than I did when I watched it a month or so ago. I didn't remember the flag station throwing the flag as early as they did, but still appears to be a little late.. again could be the camera though.

[funky49]

Is it possible for track safety to have a small powered AM/FM transmitter so cars (with radios!) can tune in and be more quickly informed of conditions?

Ry has his radio scanner but that's only good for him.

[Yosho]

What surprised me more than anything else was how fast the other cars continued to go after they passed the accident... especially the camera car who had to of seen what had happened.

[The Renegade]

Is it possible for track safety to have a small powered AM/FM transmitter so cars (with radios!) can tune in and be more quickly informed of conditions?

Ry has his radio scanner but that's only good for him.

Possible, yes (not AM/FM though, you need audio to run into helmets so you'd have to broadcast over all private channels used by 2-way race comms), but maybe not desirable. The last thing a driver wants is for someone to come in and say "Corner Yellow at Turn 11" when they are in the middle of a pass mid corner.. that distraction can cause more wrecks than it can prevent IMO.

[The Renegade]

What surprised me more than anything else was how fast the other cars continued to go after they passed the accident... especially the camera car who had to of seen what had happened.

I would have floored it too (the gas I mean). The last thing you would want is one of those cars coming in front of you, the quicker you egress the area, the less chance there is of collecting with one of the vehicles involved. You can't pass under yellow, but people don't brake, usually they'll check up, but never brake.. and a lot of times if a car spins in front of you, you cut in and gas it (assuming entering a corner, since the spinning car will drift outwards), spins on straights you just have to pick the best course of action based on condition.

[funky49]

I think the best reaction is to put my hands over my face.

[Yosho]

No, I meant after the cars were already through the accident area... it seemed like they kept up the pace for a good bit after the accident.  I guess there's always the danger of getting rear ended by someone coming up faster than you, but it seemed like they kept racing for a bit.

[The Renegade]

No, I meant after the cars were already through the accident area... it seemed like they kept up the pace for a good bit after the accident.  I guess there's always the danger of getting rear ended by someone coming up faster than you, but it seemed like they kept racing for a bit.

It's still a race, until there's a full course yellow, red or standing black flag thrown. They probably went full course yellow then standing black after a minute or so (if they weren't aware of medical issues, it likely would have went standing (full course) yellow until the wrecks were removed). Once they discover a medical issue (or a fire, but I don't think that happened here) it'll go either red flag (emergency) or standing black to bring people into pit lane in an orderly fashion (less serious medical concerns).