2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar ChampionshipSports Cars
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Silver Arrows
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Didn't JPM basically predict the two Mazda's reliability problems early this week?
Silver Arrows
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- RacingAtHome
Exciting motorsports is not sending cars out to crash. When you aquaplane, you are not in control of the car. I'd rather not have cars spinning into a wall or other cars at ~150mph. It's not the downfall of motorsports. It's the understanding that the risk is great and sending cars out with sizeable unavoidable puddles. Let's not ignore that.
If you want to watch a series where they send cars out to crash, there's another race at Daytona in a few weeks you might like. Teams have budgets. They don't want their cars crashed in unavoidable situations.
List the cars that didn't aquaplane in the conditions.
Sebring. A week after St Pete IndyCar with the WEC.
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Of course, @GTvsForza , if you don't want to wait until March, the Bathurst 12Hour is next weekend and is usually a safe bet for a good show.
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- fortbo
- fortbo
I just think spectators have no place in commenting on a drivers safety when they have never experienced any sort of racing conditions that they are in. When you have drivers saying that they cannot see and that it is too dangerous to continue, then spectators have NO place to speak against that.
They aren’t the ones risking their own bodies. I have raced in the wet, admittedly at a much lower level than this race, so I have an understating of how truly difficult and dangerous it can be. No amount of driving skill or tire compound can save you when you are hydroplaning going triple didget speeds.
When you have large amounts of standing water on a track with virtually no visibility for drivers, that is a recipe for disaster. I for one love to watch competitive racing, but I would rather them call off a race then to see drivers potentially getting seriously injured in the name of “entertainment”.
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GTvsForza
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How can I watch that?Of course, @GTvsForza , if you don't want to wait until March, the Bathurst 12Hour is next weekend and is usually a safe bet for a good show.
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Yes, but safety has come far in terms of protecting the drivers from impact. Might as well ban all motorsports if heavy rain is allowed to decide the 24th hour.
Watching cars constantly spin and crash is "exciting motorsport"?
It was exciting before it was red-flagged, but not because cars were spinning. The battle between Alonso and the other Cadillac was exceptional because Alonso adapted masterfully.
It's supposed to be difficult! The danger will always be there no matter the weather, but safety has come far enough to marginalize the risks.
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If cars are aquaplaning the race gets stopped. If you aquaplane no matter how good a driver you are the result is the same. You have zero control and you crash. To suggest stopping a race because cars are aquaplaning is 'ruining the excitement' is utter stupidity.
Silver Arrows
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- Cockpits are stronger than ever
- All cockpits are closed
- Necks are protected from moving under impact
- Tires are better than ever
- Tire barriers are placed strategically
I’m just very glad @Nielsen isn’t a race director...
Ok, whatever.
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- fortbo
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Just from a cost standpoint as well many teams won’t be able to afford a full season entry based on the carnage that would happen if races are not called because of bad conditions. Yes, the cars are safer now, but drivers still get seriously injured and sometimes die even in this day and age. Allan Simonsen is a great example. We can’t just act like these cars are indestructible safety bubbles and just throw caution to the wind.
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Putting the safety issue to one side for a moment because one member thinks that it shouldn't come into any one's thoughts as 'cars are much safer now', we are still left with the situation where aquaplaning removes all skill from the equation. If you actually understand what aquaplaning is you would soon realise that there is no skill whatsoever involved in dealing with it. How is that exciting?
Roo
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I expect Memo Gidley would disagree quite strongly. The #63 Ferrari hit the back of the #540 Porsche in the same way (head on into the back of another car) for the same reason (lack of visability) but with a much lower speed differential, and it still destroyed the front of the car. A stationary spun car on the back straight could have been fatal.
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"You have to race in the swimming pool. I don't care if your race cars aren't designed for it, you're doing what I tell you or you're contributing to the downfall of motorsports."I’m just very glad @Nielsen isn’t a race director...
Safety has come far. But it doesn't mean you can throw out of control cars into walls and each other at 100mph+. Also, your other statement is nonsense. Simple as that.
It was exciting because the puddles had greatly reduced. But you could see cars aquaplaning at Turn 1, coming off the infield and the bus stop with cars stopped in the middle of the circuit. It was survival. That's not racing.
It's supposed to be difficult. Not impossible. If the track is covered in water, it's just a matter of time before you see a number of cars piled into a wall at a corner because they're not in control. There's no reason to allow for an opportunity to have 6/7 cars piling into each other because they can't slow down. Just look at the Croft incident in BTCC qualifying in 2017.
His argument is that some people didn't.
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To be fair, the car he was driving wasn't the most advanced when it came to safety (or anything else). However, someone like Andrew Palmer is a very unfortunate example that even modern safety standards aren't always enough. He crashed a modern GT3 car in 2016 and there's been a Schumacher-esque radio silence since.
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- smcinnis
How is everyone missing the point of the race. It wasn't the weather, it wasn't the drivers or cars and it wasn't the marshals.
The race would have been 24 hours of bumper to bumper action with no cautions if only IMSA stuck with Continental. Michelin ruined everything!
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The race would have been 24 hours of bumper to bumper action with no cautions if only IMSA stuck with Continental. Michelin ruined everything!
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