Was up at Goodwood today where there was a grey RB5 on a T plate (i think) very nice example though. Came out on track to do a sprint so off he went, unfortunateley at the end of the lap at the chicane he lost control and slid in to the tyre wall, head on. A pretty nasty accident to say the least and i hope the driver is ok, anybody else see it or know the guy ?? The thing is, a car had been out a couple of lap's before and had dropped oil on the circuit, the crew cleaned up but i guess there must have been some oil down still which caused a problem. The front end of the car looked pretty bad but im not sure how bad it was, at a guess i'd say he must have hit at about 40mph(ish). Just hope he was ok. I found it a bit of a wake up call myself....

 

are you talking the chicane at the begining of the startf/ finish line??

if so.... Welcome to goodwood!!!!

its a classic area for shunts, offs, and 180/360 antics...

i dont think there ever a sprint event that dosent have an incident there..

i doubt it would be oil, ive seen cars loose it in the dry, and equaly in the damp..

Mart

 

Milkman,

Thanks for the concern. I was with the guy in question today at Goodwood. As you say, it was a VERY nice RB5, circa 330bhp and tons of goodies. It seems that the back end let go coming into the chicane, apparently on the cementdust the clean up crew had scattered about. And sadly it wasn't 40ish he went in, but closer to 70! Anyway, after the precautionary visit to the hospital, where to add insult to injury they cut his race suit off of him, he was released an hour later and returned to the circuit to get the car transported home.
I would like to add that the emergency services at Goodwood were fantastic, and shall be recieving a healthy donation to their charity funds as iseeing them in action really brings it home. What saddened me were the sick f**k's trying to film them cutting him out of the car. That was why the tarpaulin went up.
So, the car it a basket job, but although the shell is toast, it did it's job!!
As they say, Motorsport is Dangerous. You pays your money, you takes your chance.
To the rest of you, be safe, and remember, it's only a car. If you can walk away, result.
Oh, and take it from me, a Hans device ain't just for the F1 boys. You've only got one neck. Look after it.

Steve

 

Good to hear that he's ok. Didn't realise it was such a fast prang, hard to judge the speed from a distance away. Like you say though, testament to the car's ability to protect you in an accident.

p.s: BassGT3 - you have anything to do with the unusually (but nicely) coloured GT3 opposite the RB5 ?? If so, nice car with a nice unusual colour.

 

Yup, that'l be my weapon of choice!! As for the colour, some love it , some hate it, bit like marmite really.
Having seen so many off's at that chicane, it is beyond me why they haven't put a gravel trap in there and moved the bank back a couple of meters. Once you hit that grass, there is only going to be one outcome.

Steve

 

Allways worried me a little that chicane-beats me how the motorbike boys go through at the pace some of them do.
Glad he's come out of it OK.Shame about the car though.

 

Please tell me you don't have a marmite-coloured GT3!

 

Aye, the car's a total loss... the whole passenger side is pushed back, roof creased, and rear quarter bent in from the shunt back. Happily though, the engine/drivetrain is totally untouched, so she may live again in another shell. Either that or we will strip her down and part it out.
Funniest thing though was the police chasing the recovery truck through West Sussex as the TrackStar had activated!! After speaking to the copper, it seems that TrackStar pee's all over the Tracker system. He knew EXACTLY where we were, rather than having to follow a vague direction indicator that they use for tracker.

Steve

 

No, more like Vegemite really!! ( It's actually Zanzibar red, which looks like a burnt orange/baked bean colour. Weird but nice.(I think!!))

Steve

 

At least something to bring a smile to the face then after so much worry

 

Erm. I don't know if the first bit of this is supposed to be tongue in cheek, but as someone who's done track work at Goodwood and is part of the trauma team at St. Richard's, can I just say that cutting clothing off in this instance is just as important as cutting the car to get the driver out?

If the driver's side was mangled but the passenger side was ok, the extraction team wouldn't try to wiggle the driver out of the other door, and neither do you try and get a set of overalls off someone on a spinal board.

Snip, snip...you've only got one spine.

 

Good to hear he's OK though. After the Ferrari at Madgewick, everyone's been a bit edgy about Goodwood offs.

 

Yep, tongue very much in cheek. As i said in my earlier posts, the safety crew were FANTASTIC. No other way to say it. They have my utmost respect and admiration for their professionalism and skill. As you rightly say, you only have one spine.
Regarding the recent spate of serious off's at Goodwood, maybe it's time they looked at reprofiling the perimeter banking and laying some gravel traps. We all know what a fast circuit it is, and cars seem to be getting quicker and quicker exit speeds which allows for massive speeds on the approach to Madgewick. My GT3 is up around the 165 mark and i really wouldn't want to take to the scenery at those sort of speeds.

Steve

 

Hi Milkman,

Thankyou very much for your concern about me, it is appreciated.

Fortunately as reported, I am fine and went for a bicycle ride today to celebrate my goodfortune. I had a six-point harness on and adopted a crash/brace position before impact which did the job. The car is fairly trashed as reported, but I will evaluate further if the engine and gearbox are O.K. before scrapping or selling off any bits.

I first started Sprinting in 1993 and I have now definitely, possibly, maybe retired?

Thanks and regards,

Graham