2015 VLN Race #1 Tragedy

[XHawkeye]

Madre mía...

Was speaking to @WolfgangReip only yesterday about the GTR nose lifting scarily high at Flugplatz, today it flipped and tragedy struck

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/118267

Shades of LeMans '99

[Blerpa]

https://youtu.be/GXHUxCmdkYY?list=FL...5SkWqSJMpGlmyQ

[The359]

It was Jann Mardenborough in the car apparently. I hope this doesn't shake him up, he's very young to have something like this happen.

[Freude am Fahren]

Scary whenever a blow-over happens. I think Jann may have just pulled around that 911 (there's a video of him coming out of hocheichen behind said 911), which is usually, in addition to the topography, the cause of these accidents. Bad luck in this case, unlike Le Mans, Road Atlanta, etc, this one was pointed directly towards a nearby viewing area.

Also, I wonder if the spectator(s) killed/injured were where they shouldn't have been, or if they weren't simply spectators. As with most race tracks there are two fences. A catch fence, a small space where normally only photogs/marshals/team personnel should be, and then a smaller fence that denotes where spectators are allowed. There are chairs on the inside of the short fence, up against the catch fence. I don't think the car got past the gap, but maybe. Of course flying debris could also be the cause (and certainly may have injured some).

I do hope there aren't a lot of overreactions to this, other than policing/bolstering spectator areas if the above is the case, as we all know the 'Ring is already is a pretty bad place. I suppose flattening out Flugplatz would be sad, but not the worst thing in the world, if it keep fast cars racing there.

[samoht]

Terrible thing to happen, hope Jann is ok mentally and physically, I can't see that he could have done anything to stop it but it must feel awful.


I'm sure I've heard of the GTRs getting a bit nose-light at Flugplatz in the past, guess it just went a bit further this time

[Blerpa]

Rule #1: always stay on the inside of fast turns. Although nothing will ever be 100% safe at a racetrack.

[FaultyMario]

So sad.

[LHutton]

So what happened? Got caught in a wake, lost downforce?

[The359]

"Vehicles of categories SP7, SP8, SP9, SP10, SP-X and SP-Pro are now not eligible for DMSB approved events on the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring until further notice."

This bans Porsche Cup, FIA GT3, FIA GT4, and other GT ars such as the Lexus LFA and Glickenhaus SCG 003. The Nurburgring 24 is in six weeks, we'll see whether or not they find a solution between now and then.

[Phil_SS]

An easy technical solution would be to have them remove the flat bottoms. Not saying it would be easy in practice.