Re: Race car insurance? & safe tracks...

[trnsfrma@ix.netcom.com (Shawn C. Meze)]

At 09:47 PM 5/8/97 -0400, you wrote:
>I agree with Mannix that rollovers are pretty rare.  However we seem to be
>having a streak of them in Cen-Div. (Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan and
>Wisconsin).  Last year we had a guy flip over his girlfriends stock Honda
>Civic at a Kentucky event last year.  The guy was driving way over his head
>at his first solo event, and just pushed the car way to hard.  To make
>matters worse they later found out that the guy didn't even have a drivers
>license because it had been revoked!  I don't know for sure but I think it
>had street tires on it.


Really, it sounds to me like its simply a case of an unsafe course. I cant 
say first hand whether or not they were (ya, im speculating) but I can say 
that in my 3 years of autox here in SD I have only seen one car get on 2 
wheels (BMW-M3) and it only came off of the ground about an inch for both 
inside wheels for just a split second. (And it was a Nationals event 
nonetheless!) Like you have said, It was a case of very sticky tires getting
 lots of grip while going through a tight "S" section. (Ive got grip envy!)

The local SD SCCA people really check and recheck the safety of each course 
and make many changes on a course to eliminate any possible incident before 
it even gets run on. Our usual track location is the San Diego Staduim's 
West lot which is sorta on a hill. We have lots of off camber turns and also 
a concrete drainage gutter that always gets driven over in a straight, never 
as part of a turn. I fully expected to see a few roll overs at this location 
due to its hillyness but it just hasnt happened. I fully credit that to the 
layout of each track. 

Thats not to say there hasnt been incidents. The only one that I whitnessed 
was of an experienced lady driver in a very fast CRX. I never heard it from 
her as to why it happened but she cot sideways in a turn and instead of 
locking down the brakes she let it slide. Well, once she slowed down enough 
her tires regained grip and shot her foreward, up and over a curb that was 
80FT from the course. A freak accident? Ya, id say so, but it was solely her 
fault. Either she has never experience a sideways slide before (which is 
when you learn exactly WHY you intentionally lock up the brakes and keep 
them there until you stop) or she thought she could save it and continue. 
probably both, dunno. I dont know how much dammage ($$$) she did to her car 
but the whole front end was pretty well busted up. Those curbs are pretty 
high. Shes back with the car now and it looks better than ever. I'll also 
add that from watching her on the course, I do know that she is a very good 
driver. 

Todd, do you have any more info on that incident?? You've also been autoxing 
longer than me and may or may not have seen other incidents? 




Shawn
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