AutoX Gone bad

youch! though i have seen it before... scarry reminder of what we try to avoid.

Evey time I se or hear of a bad accident it involves a c-5. We lost our prosolo in Florida because a C-5 hit 2 courseworkers last year.

When I was at an event in Sebring a C-5 went over 100' off course into the grass before it stopped. Same happened at another event I was at. A C-5 was so far off course it ended up in a ditch over 50 feet from the edge of pavement and 75' from the course.

Was everybody o.k. at that incident?

interesting...i wonder if there is some form of inherent instability at the limit in the c5's or the cause resides with overconfident inexperienced drivers that cannot handle a corvette?

I've seen that video before... if you look closely I think the guy looses an arm or a leg. You can clearly see the blood splatter...

:frown:


Neutrino... I don't think its the Corvette's stability in question, I think it's as you stated. The drivers pushing too far past their own driving skills. It's obvious this accident could of been avoided if the guy hadn't gotten on the gas like he did. :disappoin

it must be those crappy 350 small blocks...i bet those cause all the accidents :disappoin










sorry could not help it.... :grinno:


but seriously....the only reason i mention a potential instability was because jims mentioned seeing a lot of c5 crashing....of course it could be just a coincidence

although i think its most likelly to be driver error.....inexperienced amateurs that don't know their own limit

Corvettes are amazing cars. I was lucky to get to drive one on an Autocross practice day. They are Monsters. Tons of torque. They are also so well balanced it was a pleasure driving it. I have formed the very unpopular opinion that the C-5 can make a so so driver look good.

The one Vette I saw in Sebring do 100' off course had a 4 time national champion woman at the wheel. The only reason I know that is because in the pits I was told to watch her run and learn. That particular event was my 2nd time Autocrossing so I was eager to learn better technique. I decided not too watch her too closely after that. LOL.

That wreck is horrific. The guys that got hit at the pro solo last year both walked away shaken up but o.k. - Well, I know for sure 1 did I talked to him about it at the next local event. He was sort of pissed at the Vette owner for not getting out of it sooner. Same scenerio as the vid. As soon as that car got out of wack both pedals should have been in.

Corvettes are amazing cars. I was lucky to get to drive one on an Autocross practice day. They are Monsters. Tons of torque. They are also so well balanced it was a pleasure driving it. I have formed the very unpopular opinion that the C-5 can make a so so driver look good.

That wreck is horrific. The guys that got hit at the pro solo last year both walked away shaken up but o.k. - Well, I know for sure 1 did I talked to him about it at the next local event. He was sort of pissed at the Vette owner for not getting out of it sooner. Same scenerio as the vid. As soon as that car got out of wack both pedals should have been in.


I agree 137%. Vette's are a cheap enough that almost anybody with an average paying job and no kids ( :lol: ) can afford a used or even new base model now days. Just think of the cost of SUVs now, and you'll know what I mean. (I looked online the other week, and you can pick up C4 LT1 (92-96) Corvettes now for less than $10,000)

I think people are putting tooo much confidence in the Car, and over stepping the limits of themselves and the car. What's worse is that when they do exceed the limits of the car they have little clue what to do to recover. That's when things go wrong, like the video shows.

I make no claims saying I'm a super duper good driver, I know what my limits are. I guess what I'm saying is that accident could happen to any one of us while at a track event similar to that.

We as the drivers of whatever it is we drive... have to realise not to overstep our abilities cause not only are our lives are at risk. Innocent people are too. Keep safe folks.

:lol2:

i'll bet if they lived they were getting the insurance deal from scca.

If he didn't, he deserves to be burried in a Corvette.

i'll bet if they lived they were getting the insurance deal from scca.


what insurance deal...everyone on the course signs a waiver.

signing a waiver is just to scare the naive, you can still sue.

anyone else notice that the link to the vid. says funny in it....i don't find it funny at all..specially when you can see something bloody coming off the person. looks like he lost an arm or leg.

That is actually the short version of that video, the long one i d/l off IMESH shows that peson fly over the car and land about 20 feet away...

R yall sure that its real and not just fake?
I dont know but............that just SUX.
I feel really bad for the drive too.


DAMN

Vettes aren't that good around tracks ie there was one in a best motoring video it finished 20+ seconds behind a Skyline and Evo RS and a 911 turbo

That's horrible :(

I know JS about AutoX, are these events "official" or what? i.e. are they well organised, does anyone make sure people are viewing from a safe area etc.. cos that poor guy who was run over shouldnt really have been sitting there...

That's horrible :(

I know JS about AutoX, are these events "official" or what? i.e. are they well organised, does anyone make sure people are viewing from a safe area etc.. cos that poor guy who was run over shouldnt really have been sitting there...


Yes they are official events sanctioned by SCCA. They are well organised but accidents can happen at any time.


However to keep the costs down the drivers have to double as course workers when their class is not racing. You just have to be careful. I know that everytime i'm out there I make a point of watching every car so they won't sneak up on me and i try to stay close to an object big enough that i can hide behind (usually light poles).

I have some pics of me autox-ing if you want to get an ideea how it is. And ofcourse there is my sig picture taken last sumer at one of the events. It reminds me to check my tires' presure more often when i race;). I ended up feathering the threads pretty bad.

yeah post some pics man that would be cool :)


.... but not just of you hiding behind light poles :lol2:

yeah post some pics man that would be cool :)


.... but not just of you hiding behind light poles :lol2:

crap but all i have is pics of me screaming like a litle girl running away from cars and hiding behind light poles:uhoh:


















I'm the guy on the right with the sunglasses. Btw I’m red as a lobster because like a dork I forgot my sun cream and in pain since I twisted my ankle a few days prior to the event

Oh and btw that guy mustang is modified extremely for handling even though it looks stock. The only giveaway is the monstrous custom brake system he ordered from Baer

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/13360Ecenter.jpg

and this is another random photo. You can see the couse workers in the background
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/13360Ecenter1.jpg


same pic as in my sig just bigger
http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/868407fairpark7.jpg

http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/948637fairpark6.jpg

notice the black box....that is the finish clock sensor.....and its three yards away from a 90 degree turn after a starightaway.....so you either come full throttle and understeer into the cones or brake early before the sensor....at the begining i had some major understeer caused by locked wheels but in my last few runs i got down sone nice brake modulation as you can see in the pic i was able to come almost at full speed and turn....
http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/362647faipark5.jpg

Nice pics, AutoX looks like a lot of fun.

It seems challenging to place the finish line where it is too :thumbsup:

edit: how many runs do you get?

Nice pics, AutoX looks like a lot of fun.

It seems challenging to place the finish line where it is too :thumbsup:

edit: how many runs do you get?


in average we get about 6 runs per person

oh and another fun fact, i was running about 42 psi (which seems the best for my current dunlops) and i was gaining about 3 psi at each run just trough sheer heat. A tire presure gauge is extremelly important at autox so you can keep an eye on the tires. This year i'll bring a water sprayer to cool them off between runs. It seems to come in handly for most of the veterans. Plus it might come in handy to get the radiator wet too.

A tire presure gauge is extremelly important at autox so you can keep an eye on the tires. This year i'll bring a water sprayer to cool them off between runs. It seems to come in handly for most of the veterans. Plus it might come in handy to get the radiator wet too.
Hope all you rookies are taking note, this is good advice! :D

Hope all you rookies are taking note, this is good advice! :D


yes take notes or be banned :mad:



muhahaha :evillol:



btw i'm curious are there any AutoX events in europe or at least something similar?

I dont know of any, but there are probably similar types of events. Track days are very much the rage here in the UK and look like awesome fun. I'd do it, but it wouldnt be much fun in a Golf...

lol! great pics neutrino!

i dont think i've ever had to do a parking lot event out here... i'll put some az autoX pics up in a few min.

Vettes aren't that good around tracks ie there was one in a best motoring video it finished 20+ seconds behind a Skyline and Evo RS and a 911 turbo


I guess you've never seen the Video you can get off of Kazaa of the C5 Vette racing a Lotus Elise Race car on Nurburgring.

It was just as fast in the corners, and faster down the straights. Basically the Lotus got :owned:

That is why the Corvette autocrosses I go to they setup these dink tight courses (great for small lilttle Hondas :) )

The event chairperson event told me they don't want these Corvette guys to get that loose and end up doing something drastic (not saying all Corvette drivers are like that).