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A while ago, a wise fellow told me, “Just because you can afford to drive a certain car on the street, it doesn’t mean you can afford to race that same kind of car. And just because you can afford to race a certain car, it doesn’t mean you can afford to crash it.” It’s also true that the problem with racing against wealthy men is simple: they can afford to wreck the car and you can’t.
The Lamborghinis you’re seeing bounce around cost $385K plus prep and spares. The Porsches are a little cheaper, but not that much. No driver was injured in this GT3 Series race, which is typically populated by “gentleman drivers”, but a few of them are going to be liquidating some investments come Monday morning.
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How good are “gentlemen racers” on average? Or it makes no sense due to the spread?
Just like anything else; some are better than others. At first blush these guys appear to be too far over on the money side of the money/talent equation, but as others have mentioned in this thread there might have been something on the track that contributed to the carnage.
Gentlemen Drivers or not, as most of those cars are already oversteering like crazy before they get to the corner I would strongly suggest that someone had dropped some oil before the bend. In which case, some of the blame should be shared around the marshalling which is well known to be fairly lax at that meeting.
Agree, something is making all of those cars slide.
In the second angle, you can see the double-yellow out for the whole thing.
From the second angle, the flag goes out right when that Ford GT spun out, but that Porsche was clearly in trouble well before that turn. Hood up and barreling at the wall.
Agreed. After the flags are out, whats the excuse for spinning out?
I don’t know the rules. but if it was my track, and drivers ignored flags, I’d just ban them.
In the second angle, you can see the Audi appears to be dumping a lot of fluid on the track. Who knows how long he’d been dropping oil. Might explain why the first Porsche was in such a bad way before that turn.
Long ago, I raced in the SCCA’s Showroom Stock C class. I drove my race car on the street every day and we slept in a tent at the track. Total expenditure for nine races (entry fees, tires and brakes, travel and living expenses) was $2,000. At the same time, there was a guy in Showroom Stock A who finished the season on his third 944, having totaled two others.
There were a couple of drivers who heeded the frantically waving yellow flags. My guess is those are the pros.
The Wallet Racers? They’re the ones who wrecked after the flags were waived, as they passed the pros who were slowing down.
Kendall: Sorry about that; that’s what ruined showroom stock.
How about the spotters? Ive seen guys wives with radio headsets and binoculars scouting the course at NASA TT events. These (former?) millionaires can’t get a couple hangers on to relay this kind of information to them? Plus multiple camera angles suggests the teams might have a live feed somewhere. If thats the case, no excuses.
Oil/fluid on the track. Too fast in a double yellow. Also the red f430 overtook hte yellow one in the yellow zone. Bad all around.
I think it should be noted that value of the cars that wrecked likely total the GDP of Somalia…wealthy or not, OUCH!
This is what auto insurance is for.
In the US, it doesn’t cover competitive racing events. I think the SCCA was trying to work with the insurers to create an affordable insurance product or rider for policies which would cover racing, but I haven’t heard of any progress being made on that front.
I say, WTF is wrong with my POS ESP?
Not a dam thing if you’re talking about the ’84 Ford EXP Turbo with the turbocharged 1.6 L CVH engine. Oh, and you changed out that Escort GT suspension for some real struts and put four-wheel discs on.
There’s something going on just before the turn. If you look at 0:36 and freeze it, you can see that the Porsche already has been in a collision. The hood is up against the windshield and the car is already shedding debris. There’s probably another wrecked car just before the corner.
Was that Macau? Fairly dangerous track. Lots of shunts and offs yesterday… and the WTCC races were marred by a lot of yellows.
It’s a tricky track with fast straights, tight corners, no run-off and poor track access. When one of the motorbike competitors ended up pinned under his motorbike, I watched for two or three agonizing minutes while he lay there thrashing feebly… then laying still… before track marshalls finally got to him. Thankfully, he either passed out or simply stopped moving due to the pain instead of dying from asphyxiation. They managed to get him up a half-minute after they pulled the bike away.
……..looks like some great big-bucks amateur racing to me……goodluck to them, they can afford it, wish I was there…….even at that somewhat contrived level, racing is still a bloodsport………..by the way, who won?
I like everything about this video…..
Those kind of crashes don’t make me wince. The cars are all replaceable, and I’m pretty sure the ‘gentlemen’ who paid for them to be built can pay for new ones.
What really makes me wince is historic car racing crashes. Much like Jack’s rant about munchkin-mechanics modifying/butchering the last good 911’s, watching a 1950’s or 1960’s rally car roll down a hillside is equally as gut wrenching. They probably cost far less than these cars, but they are far harder to replace.
Rich guys race Porsches. SMART rich guys race Miatas.
^ +1.
And the young-at-heart race slot cars.
If the corporate overlords will pop for space in Cobo’s concourse for a TTAC booth, I’ll set up my 4 lane 1/32 scale set for the autojournos to play on.
Regarding the price of the ticket: for the average cat, racing only makes sense if you can do your own work, have a garage, and have a source of steady income or inherited wealth you can draw upon. In any case, your race car should fit a budget that always includes repairs, and the cost of replacement.
I’m reminded of the guy here who had a used Porsche, took it to the track on the hottest day of the year, and after some high speed laps blew the engine. Then he was either angry or surprised that an out of warranty engine replacement would set him back 60 large. His idea: it’s a Porsche so it must be a race car, and somehow capable of this sort of thing..
60 large? What was it made of? Virginity?
Maybe it was 40. But whatever it was, it was a lot. The point is, racing is expensive even if everything goes well. And casual “wanna-be” racers are asking for big trouble in the pants unless they have pretty deep pockets. Even a trip to the track can be an expensive proposition.
Just before I started, another guy in the local SCCA chapter bought a Showroom C car and rolled it in a ball during his first driver’s school. The really bad part was he still owed money on the car. That convinced me that my car would not see the track until it was completely paid off. At worst, I would have to exclaim, “Aw, sh!t!” and beg a ride home.
While I was racing, another competitor told me he used to race a production (i.e. modified) car but had to stop after he spent his savings and maxed out his credit cards. He came back to racing after digging himself out of debt and raced Showroom C because that was what he could afford. Hard lesson, but he at least learned.
Come on. They are Chinese. This is normal driving in China.
At least this video proving the point doesn’t horrify me for days afterwards, like some others have.
I had forgotten that Portugal had handed Macau back over to China, thanks for the reminder Bertel.
This looks like every session of Forza I’ve ever played.
Hahaha, yes, it must be turn 1!
These are exactly the kinds of cars that rich ex-pat kids drive around in Vancouver. Makes me shudder at the carnage that they can/have caused.
http://www.endurance-info.com/version2/news-focus-8831.html
“The whole crash had been set off by Akihiro Tsuzuki’s Audi [R8], which had dumped oil on the track …”
Must be a slow news day. Otherwise we’d be hearing about “my VW diesel Rabbit from the 70s with the same problem…”
Found a video showing the initial crash.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=clFaa0WLIEs
Braked too much?