Deltawing crash at Road Atlanta

[Grand_Fromage]

To my eye... the driver of the Porsche saw the nose of the DW and forgot that the back end is that much wider. Avoiding traffic is instinctive, and the instinct is that a car that looks like it is passing you six feet away doesn't have the equivalent of a caravan trailing behind it!

http://www.lemans.org/en/races/american-le-mans-series/update/video-%E2%88%92-accident-for-deltawing-at-road-atlanta_9053.html

[Fran]

....Avoiding traffic is instinctive,..

True - but it surely isnt the first time he has seen the Deltawing ... and the front end is equally distinctive from any other car as the back end!

F

[Brad Zarse]

Looks to me like the Porker was headed for the pits, and didn't bother to check his mirrors before changing his line.  Not a design fault of the DW, and completely the fault of the Porsche IMO

[Kev_mk3]

oooops 

[Fran]

oooops 

Yep - I bet that was exactly what he said!

[Grand_Fromage]

Not a design fault of the DW, and completely the fault of the Porsche IMO

I'm not suggesting that it is a 'design fault' on the DW, just that in the fraction of a second between seeing the nose and beginning to move over, the Porsche driver forgot that (1) the DW is MUCH wider at the back and (2) the DW is loooonger than other prototypes. I was not surprised at the collision with Toyota at LM and this new incident is also down to the fact that the DW is such an odd shape that drivers instinctive allowance for other cars has yet to catch up. Be prepared for much more 'DW bashing' before that happens. 

[Grand_Fromage]

From http://www.motorsport.com/

[Fran]

Nah - I reckon like Brad, he simply wasnt using his mirrors - the DW was coming up behind him down a long straight and through the two previous corners.  He should have know exactly what what and where the DW was long before he randomly moved right!

F

[Grand_Fromage]

He didn't have to use his mirrors to see the DW, it was already alongside before he started to move over. Unless his peripheral vision is verging on blindness, he would have seen it. I guess we'll find out when we get the other side of the story from Peter LeSaffre.

Nah - I reckon like Brad, he simply wasnt using his mirrors - the DW was coming up behind him down a long straight and through the two previous corners.  He should have know exactly what what and where the DW was long before he randomly moved right!

F

[Fran]

Porsche driver LeSaffre's version of the incident:

“I had no place to go,” he said. “I was tracking out on the curb. My steering wheel was straight, and he whacked me. There is quite a bit of traffic and a lot of turns where you should not pass even if you're in a P1 car. It comes down to being patient. The race, especially in our class with eight cars, is going to be a tough one.”

Hmmm

[Grand_Fromage]

Jeannette: "I basically pulled almost completely past and then he cut over to try and take the apex, made heavy contact with the left rear of our car which, erm, sent me for a bit of a ride."

[Brad Zarse]

Porsche driver LeSaffre's version of the incident:

“I had no place to go,” he said. “I was tracking out on the curb. My steering wheel was straight, and he whacked me. There is quite a bit of traffic and a lot of turns where you should not pass even if you're in a P1 car. It comes down to being patient. The race, especially in our class with eight cars, is going to be a tough one.”

Hmmm

He should probably think about looking at the video, and re-considering that statement - he quite clearly turned INTO the Deltawing!

[Dirk3D_NL]

if that is his statement it might even be wise for him to reconsider a racing career in the first place

[Lorry]

It does look like the Porsche pulls out, away from the kerb.  No excuse

What worries me is how easily the Deltawing flipped over.  A minor accident becomes a disaster as there's no width and hence stability at the front.  I always said it was dangerous

[nopanic - neil]

Porsche driver LeSaffre's version of the incident:

“I had no place to go,” he said. “I was tracking out on the curb. My steering wheel was straight, and he whacked me. There is quite a bit of traffic and a lot of turns where you should not pass even if you're in a P1 car. It comes down to being patient. The race, especially in our class with eight cars, is going to be a tough one.”

Hmmm

He should probably think about looking at the video, and re-considering that statement - he quite clearly turned INTO the Deltawing!

if you see front wheels go past you, you don't have time to think oh yes, Delta, fat arse, better give it extra space,

Nice-ish car, but built back to front