I'm really sad to hear of your accident, and very happy to hear that you're
alright after such a hard hit.
This is the biggest fear that I've had after moving to a sports racer - I
always run with production based cars that outweigh mine by a factor of two
or more, and I'm pretty uncomfortable about it. I never thought of Watkins
Glen as particularly unsafe before - I'll now be a bit more critical in how
I look at race tracks. Mosport also has highspeed blind entry turns that
have often caused the fear factor to go high on the scale.
I guess that with a fiberglass tub the car is pretty far gone - do you
imagine a rebuild is possible?
Again - I'm really sorry that this happened to you...
Brian
At 11:33 AM 09/14/1999 -0400, you wrote:
>Prolog: I've noticed that we listers usually report on the happy
>associations of our passionate hobby, and not talk about the downside. Thus,
>I thought twice about making this report, but perhaps it may be usefull to
>you listers and may stimulate discussion.
>The weekend of SVRA at Watkins Glen had started well. The engine I had
>painstakingly built was running cool and strong through the first three
>track sessions. My D-sports racer was third on the Group One time sheets,
>(though some fast guys hadn't shown up yet). It was on the second lap of the
>Vintage Enduro, and as I exited turn one and started up the esses I saw the
>yellow track lights come on and the corner worker was waving the yellow
>flag. I assumed a full course yellow with some incident ahead. I backed off
>the throttle and allowed more room between me and the car ahead and thought
>"be watchfull". As I eased right at the top of the hill suddenly the problem
>was all too obvious. Several cars had hit and spun, the track was blocked
>and it was hidden from view until one came over the crest of the hill.
>Because of the tight armco on either side of the track, there was no place
>to go. I locked up the brakes and stopped my car befor the cars blocking the
>track, but my rear engined car spun because of the turn in and I wound up
>next to the armco on the right side, facing back up the track. The engine
>had died and didn't re-start easily. Suddenly I was horrified to see an MGC
>coming at speed. He locked up his brakes crashed into my right front, and
>caromed off me into the other cars. I had felt a terrific blow, but undid my
>belts, climbed out of my car and over the trackside armco. The entire front
>half of my once-pretty racecar was demolished. My roll bar was bent back
>with a crease about six inches from where my head had been. My only injuries
>were a very sore and stiff right hip and knee. My fiberglass monocoque
>chassis had sacrificed itself and absorbed a ton or more of force.
>I had been vintage racing for 13 years, along with my son, Doug, (the fast
>one). I had never had a serious incident and considered myself a cautious
>and occaisionly semi-fast racer. I felt confident that I could stay in
>control of my car and traffic while working up to speed, and that the chance
>of a bad incident was small.
>What conclusions do I learn from this experience?
>1. If you see a waving yellow, assume the worst case, that the track may be
>totally blocked around the next corner, and race control hasn't had time or
>sense enough to throw the red flag. (It was interesting that the rest of the
>weekend, races were stopped immediately for even minor incidents.)
>2. Light Group One cars shouldn't be mixed with big heavy sedans or sports
>cars. Enduros that mix these cars carry inherent risk to the small cars.
>3. The Watkins Glen track has always been a favorite of mine, and one where
>I have sometimes placed well. It has the most beautiful setting of any track
>I have ever seen, in the US or Europe. It's racing history is unmatched in
>the US, and I have personally had the pleasure of seeing Clark, Gurney,
>Hill, Stewart and other greats race there. The Vintage Festival put on by
>the village is truly delightful.
>Despite all of this, in my opinion, the track is the most dangerous I have
>seen or raced on in the US. Many fast corners are blind, and most of the
>track is tightly bordered by armco. If you lose it, or if someone in front
>of you loses it, there is often no place to go.
>Thanks to safety equipment, sound car construction, and luck, I was not
>injured. A unique car I had spent four years restoring is destroyed.
>I felt Death go past my right ear, close enough to smell the bad breath on
>that Old Hag. She wispered as she went by: "Not this time.....but I'll see
>you again some day".
>Carpe Diem, life is sweet.
>Paul Meis, Team Escargot
>
>
Brian Evans
Director, Global Sales
UUNET, An MCI WorldCom Company
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