While I am on a roll (oops, bad unintended pun in this context)...
Last weekend the outfield of the track was soggy from a few days rain
and I witnessed the most spectacular incident I have ever seen at our
track. A mini left the track at almost the exact point where I had my
big spin the previous event at the fastest point of this track - doing
probably 100-1100mph. However, instead of spinning and sliding a long
way like I did, this mini dug into the soft ground and flipped
end-over-end (the second flip totally airborn) multiple times off the
end of the track.
The driver walked away from the incident with a sore neck and a sore
shoulder - the car was a total (and I mean TOTAL) write-off (sorry
Rocky). At this sprint event roll cages are not mandatory for cars with
roofs... I think this crash reinforced the need to sometimes go beyond
the REQUIRED MINIMUM. The drivers compartment was essentially intact
(space-wise) inside the roll cage with the driver's seat just slightly
raised at one corner because the whole body/floor had twisted. The
rear-end was torn out and the front was flattened.
He said his brakes grabbed awkwardly and threw him to the left and off
the track.
Makes you think how lucky you are - I am not sure the 'B could go
end-over-end like the mini but it still could have dug in if the ground
was soggy and it would have been an ugly barrel-roll!
I guess the 'B is just more inherently "stable" than the mini, eh?
:-)
--
Eric
'68MGB MkII
Adelaide, South Australia
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