I did see John's car afterward, though not the incident, and it is
impressive how the suspension, in the process of being torn off the car,
absorbs energy and preserves the driver. Ouch - big winter project ahead.
Over at the Jefferson circuit, the Pennsylvania Hillclimb Association ran
Solo timed runs - had fun with my GT6 once the track dried out Saturday
afternoon, and on Sunday. Dave Miller was there with his red E/P TR4 on
Saturday morning in the rain, ran the practice for the SCCA regional on the
main track that day as well in the rain, and raced the regional Sunday
morning. He was driving well in a crowded and diverse field, but on lap 13
or thereabouts something let go (con rod?) and the engine got ventilated on
both sides, one fist on the right and a two fist hole on the left.
I did not see any other Triumph representation at the regional, and at the
Solo, I think Rich Rock with his TVR came closest, with a TR6 rear
suspension and some front uprights, but Ford Cortina power.
Dave Yeager was also there running the regional in his VW Rabbit, but I
bailed on Sunday before his race, so I can't report on how he did. A good
time was had by all, in spite of the rain starting off the weekend.
----- Original Message -----
From: "R. John Lye" <rjl@gt-classics.com>
To: "'FOT'" <fot@autox.team.net>
Sent: Monday, September 04, 2006 9:56 AM
Subject: RE: [FOT] A soggy Limerock Vintage Race day
> Well, not Lime Rock, but Summit Point. I had a very soggy
> start to the weekend. The practice day on Friday was so
> wet that I didn't even bother to go out. Both qualifying sessions
> on Saturday were wet as well, and I was pretty much a moving
> chicane in both sessions. The car just had no stick at all.
> It dried up Saturday afternoon, though, so the Sunday race
> was dry. Unfortunately, my race ended at turn one of the
> second lap, when my left front tire contacted the right rear
> tire of another car and launched me into the air. The corner
> workers told me that I performed three rolls in the air before
> coming back down right side up - no marks on the roll bar
> at all. They added that if I had been able to stick the landing
> a bit better, they would have awarded me a perfect "5", but
> could only give me a "4.8" as it was. Lots of fiberglass
> damage, and the suspension on the left side is all gone, but
> most of the expensive stuff looks OK. I'm fine, all the safety
> gear did its job. I'm not even sore this morning. I definitely
> believe in the HANS device now, though. I'd hoped to never
> have to test it, but I'm sure glad that I had it on now.
>
> Stay safe,
>
> R. John Lye
>
> rjl6n@cstone.net
>
>
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