Big crash at Mid Ohio

[Tawfik]

Anyone see the M3 crash at the race at Mid Ohio.
Driver is ok.
See link below for video.
http://s25.photobucket.com/albums/c72/e ... lipmp4.flv

[ronaldtrotter]

Holly molly he did a 720 in all that without touching the ground. I think I counted eight flips. Thank goodness he is okay. But I'll bet he'll be sore for a few days.

[paul-silver]

Anyone see the other big crash of the weekend, in Cleveland? Paul Tracy's car went up and over Sebastian Bourdais and came down on top of his head. He's OK, some marks on his helmet and he may have been knocked out for a short time.

[Tim Comeau]

Yes, the BMW crash was horriffic. I watched it again and again from different angles. Paid attention to front wheels, steering wheels, lines. Can't help but blame Edwards in the tube-framed GTO replica for that NASCAR style nudge. I didn't accept his side of the story either after having watched the video. I understand it was the end of the race, but desperate times don't call for deadly measures.
Pretty disappointing.
The good thing is that the BMW was a real car and it held together pretty well. They said the driver, Hand, who was driving well, got out of the car by himself. I really hope he's ok and can drive again soon.

[Tawfik]

Tim, agree with you on the GTO giving a bump. Do you have any idea what cause the BMW to launch into the air at such high angle? Seems to me that is something the track needs to correct!!

[4est]

Horrific to watch, for sure. What was the GTO guy thinking? He coudn't have made that pass stick, anyway. Hand wasn't even in the running for the championship. 'Thou shalt not crash the leader with two laps to go' has gotta be a commandment some where. I hope Hand is O.K., having broken his back a couple of years ago, I can't imagine what was going through his head during the wreck. Hans device, Inc. should buy the rights to this vid from Speed. How many full frontal crashes into a stationary object ground) did this guy survive. The GTO clown should get some body guards; I would want some pay-back for him very nearly killing me.....

[Trevor Myrus]

Do you have any idea what cause the BMW to launch into the air at such high angle? Seems to me that is something the track needs to correct!!

From watching the video. There appears to be a burm in the area where the BMW launched. Here is a link, to how Hand, recalls what happened.

http://www.grandamerican.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6724

[Tawfik]

Thanks Trevor.

[Kenyon Blower]

The crash was horrific, The driver was taken to the hospital & released about midnight. At the scene of the crash, he was stripped naked & hosed down. The safety crew was afraid of chemical burns. The bad part of that was nobody thought to bring clothes to the hospital. He had to leave in a hospital gown. He came into the announce booth the next day, sore but all right. The one thing we noticed about the crash was most of the speed was scrubbed off by the time he hit (or actually landed on the guard rail). Each time he hit the ground, it was a glancing blow, not a direct impact. He flipped 6 times.

The "launch area" is a drainage ditch in the infield. It has been there for years. One of our announcers, Dorcey Schraeder hit it in a Trans Am car years ago.

Kenyon Blower
Tape Producer/Speed Channel
& PCASDR member

[kary]

Why the hell is there a launch ramp that close to the track there? That sbould be removed!