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| Photo: SportsCarDigest |
Historic racers Dan Marvin in the Brabham BT44 and Charlie Nearburg n a Williams fw07 got in a bit of a tangle a the Laguna Seca corkscrew resulting in a spectacular flip for Marvin in the Brabham. Neither driver was injured and Nearburg makes a very gallant and, quite period attempt at a rescue.
The clip was shot by our friend Alex King who recently started publishing Auto100.com. Check it out after the break...
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Farrrrkkk...his head seemed to be protecting the roll hoop.
ReplyDeleteElements of the crash - that era of car (inverted), a fellow driver coming to his assistance, and an apparent lack of marshalls - remind me of the horrible Roger Williamson crash from '73.
Look at those stupid corner workers just standing around.
ReplyDeletePlease, unless you understand marshalling, or for that matter instructions from the officials, or racing, criticize unpaid, hard-working, and experienced marshals. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteAnyone else notice that the flag station is well past the point of the incident, so really there should be no flag. The waving yellow should be displayed at the top of the corkscrew, not at the bottom after the driver has already gone past the incident.
ReplyDeleteFurther, the corner marshal would have no business running across a hot track in the middle of a corner with nearly no visibility for oncoming traffic and a corner where a driver has very little room to maneuver should they find themselves about to run over said marshal. Best action for the corner marshal here is to call in an ALERT and get emergency crew there ASAP.
Seriously! I know those marshals are probably all volunteers, but goodness, where is the response?!
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the same, but then I realise the entire clip is in slomo. I think they were not that slow and useless at normal speed ;)
ReplyDeleteRemember guys that corners 7 (top of corkscrew) and 9 (after the corkscrew) both have corner workers - I'm sure they had the yellow out at the top of the 'screw...at least I hope so.
ReplyDeleteYou're not seeing the flag station at the apex above the Corkscrew, or the two flag stations prior to turn 7.
ReplyDeleteAs for response time, yes, they're slow at Laguna and I'd like to see the whole event in time sequence, but I've seen many serious crashes at T8 (Corkscrew) since the 90's and the Laguna response can be literally fatally slow even if they have an EMT stationed at the corner in an ambulance, the full rig drives up from the start finish at 50 mph. If you're on fire or suffocating, the Laguna crew aren't going to be there in time to help you. Even once they get there, the kitty litter and exposed tire walls make for painfully slow extraction and they often don't have the equipment and skill as people jog around with hand extinguishers and keystone cops efficiency.
Laguna makes big money. They should have a permanent crane, fire ex canons, track caution lights and full emergency medical tech team stationed at the top of the Corkscrew, ready to assist anywhere from T6 to T10 in under 30 seconds.