[Fot] Sad news from Road America

[BillDentin at aol.com]

Bill...
 
You're absolutely right about tow points.  It is difficult with some  cars, 
like our Thunder Bolt and Talisman with their tilting bonnets.  The  Talisman 
has other issues in the rear that complicate things.  We carry a  loose strap 
with the T-Bolt, and have built a convoluting contraption for towing  the 
Talisman.  It works, but takes time to hook up.
 
The Mini involved in the Eastlake incident at ROAD AMERICA last Friday had  
four tow hookup points.  Two in the front and two in the rear.  
 
Bill Dentinger
 
 
 
In a message dated 9/22/2008 9:11:01 P.M. Central Daylight Time,  
william.tobin3 at verizon.net writes:


 

Hi all, a couple things come to mind  here.
First, most vintage groups require towing  eyes on the cars, front and rear. 
They should be clearly visible and  marked; Pegasus and others sell "Tow" 
decals. Paint the tow eyes a  contrasting color for easy ID. Make the holes  2" in 
diameter for  easy hookup. Put two front and two rear and use them for tie  
downs. Jack Woehrle of SVRA put out a couple of rants, justifiably  so, a 
couple years ago on their web site about tow eyes.
Make it quicker and easier for the safety  crews to hook up and go; may save 
another incident like this  one.
Nextly, as far as I know, nobody has gone  from vintage to F1. Are we getting 
too serioius about winning? Just a  thought. Vintage is supposed to be about 
having fun; losing our fellow  drivers doesn't fit that description. Drive 
your cars hard  but remember that those other guys are probably your friends.
And the HANS is a great investment.
Hope I didn't offend anyone; not the  point.
Take care, Bill   -----  Original Message ----- 
From:  _BillDentin at aol.com_ (mailto:BillDentin at aol.com)  
To: _susank at 141.com_ (mailto:susank at 141.com)  ; _fot at autox.team.net_ 
(mailto:fot at autox.team.net)  
Sent: Monday, September 22, 2008 9:06  PM
Subject: Re: [Fot] Sad news from Road  America


Jim Austhof's is sure getting a Baptism of Fire.  His  description, of 
course, is accurate, as is his counsel concerning the  Hans devise.  Not sure it 
would have been quite as effective in this  case because of the 'side impact', 
but there certainly would have been  increased stability.  Vintage racing is not 
a high speed  parade.  Its risks are serious.  The biggest thing I was  
reminded of is the fact that when we race we make a lot of split second  decisions. 
 And we don't get to do them over.  Serious  stuff!
 
I had raced many laps with Dr. Surjit Hermon.  In my opinion, he  was very 
conservative, raced at 8/10ths, and was particularly  courteous to other racers. 
 I was in that Friday practice session as  well, and have to assume he may 
have missed a waving yellow and standing  white at the Thunder Valley worker 
station.  You can't see the apex  to 13 coming up that hill, and I suspect he was 
surprised by the commotion  and lost control of his car.  So sad these things 
should  happen.
 
As such, we choose not to do the 'missing man' pace lap in honor of  Jack 
Drews on Sunday morning.
 
Bill Dentinger
 
 
 
In a message dated 9/22/2008 7:44:57 P.M. Central Daylight Time,  
susank at 141.com writes:

This was on the MGVR Yahoo  list:

*****************************

I have sad news to  report from the Vintage Fall Festival at Road America 
this past  weekend. We have had another fatality in the vintage racing  
community. We lost driver Surjit Hermon on Friday afternoon in an  
incident near turn 12 (under the now non existent Billy Mitchell  
bridge). Surjit lost control of his Eastlake 11, skidded right-left-  
right and impacted a Mini Cooper which was well off course and in  the 
process of being hooked up for a flat tow. The safety workers  had to run 
for their lives when they looked up from trying to find a  attachment 
point for the flat tow and saw a skidding car coming at  them.

My second weekend as a Driver Committee Chairman - second  fatality!

Watch your flags, remember the 80% rule, and if you  were contemplating a 
Hans device let this be a warning.

Jim  Austhof
Red #1  MGB

*****************************

Susan

-- 
**  Oh, I would just KILL for a Nobel Peace Prize!  **

_______________________________________________
http://www.team.net/donate.html

Fot  mailing  list
Fot at autox.team.net
http://autox.team.net/mailman/listinfo/fot






 
____________________________________
 Looking for simple solutions to your real-life financial challenges? _Check 
out WalletPop for the latest news and information,  tips and calculators_ 
(http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1209382257x1200540686/aol?redir=http://www
.walletpop.com/?NCID=emlcntuswall00000001) .
 
____________________________________
_______________________________________________
http://www.team.net/donate.html

Fot  mailing  list
Fot at autox.team.net
http://autox.team.net/mailman/listinfo/fot








**************Looking for simple solutions to your real-life financial 
challenges?  Check out WalletPop for the latest news and information, tips and 
calculators.      (http://www.walletpop.com/?NCID=emlcntuswall00000001)
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://autox.team.net/pipermail/fot/attachments/20080923/cbaac3af/attachment-0003.htm>