Another Lambo incident (no mx5s involved)

Magpie · Postby **Magpie** » Wed Oct 30, 2013 6:30 am

What about fitting cars with a flashing rear light if stalled on the grid?

mazmad · Postby **mazmad** » Wed Oct 30, 2013 7:15 am

Not a bad idea , don't know if it has been tried already? The problem is you wouldnt see it often until you were on it - you are hard on someones tail off the start, they pull to the side suddenly in front of you and you don't see the stalled car in front until then, cars now on both side of you ... etc. Matilda's incident with the other Lambo at SMSP off the start was in the rain, when you also woudln't see the light unfortunately.

MrB · Postby **MrB** » Wed Oct 30, 2013 7:24 am

Perhaps little decks you should find out the facts before commenting. I notice too that the post is more about your ego rather than showing any empathy for the people involved. That crash happened right next to me and it could've happened to anyone whatever teds history and could also happen on a rolling start at the first corner. What made it so bad was that the Ferrari in front of the Datsun next to me came across the front of the Datsun who went the other way straight into the back of the stationary lambo. The crash you mention was caused by dean sammut of bowe school stalling a Porsche on the grid which Ted was unable to fully avoid. Whilst I agree that Ted should retire maybe a bit more respect for others is appropriate....

little decks · Postby **little decks** » Wed Oct 30, 2013 10:08 am

MrB wrote:Perhaps little decks you should find out the facts before commenting. I notice too that the post is more about your ego rather than showing any empathy for the people involved. That crash happened right next to me and it could've happened to anyone whatever teds history and could also happen on a rolling start at the first corner. What made it so bad was that the Ferrari in front of the Datsun next to me came across the front of the Datsun who went the other way straight into the back of the stationary lambo. The crash you mention was caused by dean sammut of bowe school stalling a Porsche on the grid which Ted was unable to fully avoid. Whilst I agree that Ted should retire maybe a bit more respect for others is appropriate....

I'm sorry you feel that way, I don't really see what it has to do with my ego... I'm passing cars that are crashing on the straight, that doesn't really make a statement about my talent level at all... If you want to discuss the particular incident at length, all other 40 odd cars avoided the porsche comfortably, and Ted had as much time as anyone else to miss it, it seemed like he was not quite aware of the width of his car... I agree that stalling can happen from time to time and it can happen to anybody, but I also know that Ted has always struggled to get that car off the line, and stalls it or gets away VERY slowly much more often than not. I also know that Ted is a big supporter of motorsport and PIARC in particular, and has been racing many many years. I do have much empathy for the people involved, as I love motorsport and it is always a sad, unfortunate and upsetting thing to see anybody get hurt in any way. My point generally was based on the fact that you aren't able to get a CAMS circuit license without being able to demonstrate that you can compete around others without posing serious risk to yourself and your competitors, there should be a point where someone should recognise that you may no longer be able to do this and someone should have a quiet respectful word.

MrB · Postby **MrB** » Wed Oct 30, 2013 11:46 am

My comment was drawn more from your wording little decks and the use of phrases such as excellent photo and that you seem to be just bagging the crap out of Ted. I know that there are plenty of other incidents that people can point at but on this occasion it was just sh*t luck for everyone. The driver of the Datsun is also 70+ and was racing well and safely the day before however one wonders if the combination of and old car no crumple zones and what appears to be no HANS device contributed to the severity of his injuries. I just hope for him and his family that he is able to make a full recovery without too much suffering for all involved. If anything I would say that it's about time that cams, aasa etc got off the fence and got fair dinkum about things like Hans including at club level. As far as competency I know of plenty of people far younger who you could say the same thing about and cams and aasa are only making this worse by dumbing down licensing standards and relaxing standards in an effort to get more people in. Ffs they treat a fire extinguisher more seriously than Hans.

little decks · Postby **little decks** » Wed Oct 30, 2013 12:04 pm

Sorry, I just think its a cool action shot...

Again, I agree that these things happen, but they shouldn't happen that often to the same person without some reasonable conclusions being drawn. I couldn't agree more with the other factors contributing to the severity of the incident, and CAMS being too worried about their accountability to take some action.

MrsB · Postby **MrsB** » Wed Oct 30, 2013 1:33 pm

I'd like to suggest we leave this post for sending our well wishes to the driver, family and friends who need all of our positive energy and thoughts right now.

Chris

MrsB · Postby **MrsB** » Wed Oct 30, 2013 3:33 pm

It is with great sadness that I have received an email advising that Peter has passed away this afternoon. My condolences to his family and friends and fellow competitors. RIP Peter

Guran · Postby **Guran** » Wed Oct 30, 2013 4:19 pm

Oh no! Sincere condolences to Peter's friends & family.

MattR · Postby **MattR** » Wed Oct 30, 2013 4:25 pm

A sad day for the greater racing community and the SA racing community in particular.

My sincerest condolences to his family and friends.

little decks · Postby **little decks** » Wed Oct 30, 2013 4:58 pm

That is truly terrible news, sincerest condolences to his family and friends.

mazmad · Postby **mazmad** » Wed Oct 30, 2013 8:27 pm

Very sorry to hear that, that is terrible news.

greenMachine · Postby **greenMachine** » Thu Oct 31, 2013 7:48 am

This is very sad, my condolences to his family.

MrsB is on the money. Without jumping to conclusions about causes, there seem to have been a spate of fatal/serious accidents recently, and I think this points to two things:

1. Drivers need to have a good hard look at their safety equipment/practices - it CAN happen to you (me);

2. Circuits/sanctioning bodies/organising clubs need to look at their standards/requirements and, to satisfy their 'duty of care', ensure they are fully up-to-date.

:mrgreen:

bigdog · Postby **bigdog** » Thu Oct 31, 2013 10:49 am

This is very sad news. I worked with Peter for several years on the CAMS Historic Commission, he was a lovely bloke, and I recall discussing the safety aspects of Phillip Island's start grid after a similar accident in an F5000 race several years ago. PI's layout tends to magnify the speed differential to stalled cars compared to other circuits. My thoughts are with all of those involved in the race as well as Peter's family.