Hep Me Not Do It Again

[JLawton]

Ok....Now after watching it several times......

You tap the rear bumper while his brake lights are on. he gets off the brakes, starts to turn then hits the brakes again. One of his tires lock up and the back comes around on him. I "think" the second stab on the brakes is what spun him, not the initial bumper tap......

My unprofessional opinion!! Which means jack!!

[lateapex911]

I wouldn't lose sleep over that. Looks like the inside Z was over slowing due to his lame attempted pass.

[RedMisted]

The car you hit from behind was Brent Walton; car 57 was driven by Bill Schauer. I've known both drivers for a few years and in fact crewed for them at the 12- and 24- hour endurance races at Nelson Ledges. Both guys are gentlemen and understand what the sport is all about.

In fact, Bill had a coming together with a BMW in the Keyhole on Saturday, and at dinner afterward he was all light and air about it. These things happen and he accepts the risks involved.

As for your reaction, I don't think you did anything wrong. I remember that the ITS/ITB field was huge and there was a lot to be on the lookout for. With so much stimuli, it's often hard to be on top of everything, let alone what the guy in front might be trying to do. My guess is that since Brent and Bill are friends, maybe they were trying to "take care of each other" entering the turn, and therefore one or both became overly cautious. If so, they probably produced a situation that was outside of your expectation, hence your surprise at finding Brent so close to your front bumper.

I'd leave it at that--just a racing incident. As for future avoidances, I found that it's very difficult to plan ahead what you might do. There are too many variables in many wreck situations, and very often these same variables are changing in unexpected ways as the wreck unfolds.

Hope this helps.

[CCDangie71]

Marty,
From what I saw on the video, Brent stayed to the inside because he hadn't fully passed Bill. Once they started braking for the corner, it appears Brent got on the brakes harder than normal to give Bill room to go by and likewise, Bill seemed to slow thinking Brent had the ability to overtake and would complete the pass on the inside. Unfortunately two gentlemen racers were both giving the other some room and you got caught up in the mix, hence the slower corner speed that lap. No one's fault in my opinion as his braking took you by surprise and the subsequent lockup and tap was the result. Glad to hear that the incident had no effect on the performance of the cars involved.

[Eagle7]

Thanks guys. I guess you've restored my confidence that I should trust my instincts. Most of what you've said has been rattling around in my head all week.

Marty

[Catch22]

As Vaughn alluded to, often the best thing to do is floor it and get the hell out of there. Its counterintuitive, and as a wise man once said "if you hit anyway, you'll hit harder," but if this was easy everyone would do it.


I always try to concentrate on the throttle as the first option in a "situation." The goal being to not linger and get caught up in it myself. I want the action behind me, not in front of me.
Doesn't always work. But there are few absolutes in this game.

[Eagle7]

Yes, I was just easing into the throttle about 1/2 second before 57 locked it up.