Motorsport OMG / WTF moments - Racing Funnies, Fails, Crashes, And Randomness

[Seismica]

My main issue is with starting under safety car. If they're physically leading the cars around the circuit, then there's no reason the race can't start normally and let the drivers pick their pace (indeed, Button complained about starting Malaysia 09 behind the safety car as it created even more spray). Stopping the race at Canada this year was different - if the track is that waterlogged that you have to physically stop a race, then it's too bad to start under safety car too.

Basically, if it's too waterlogged, red flag. If it's not so wet the cars can't be led around, then they should race.

But sometimes it takes a few laps of the field of cars to clear away the spray. Under race conditions this can be dangerous. Behind the safety car it is less so, as the drivers aren't pushing. The only problem here is it makes the restart dangerous with low tyres temperatures etc. But I think that was compensated for in Canada this year as it was nearing the conditions required for inters, meaning the full wets would have come up to temperature very quickly (Though the same can't be said for the brakes).

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Scariest accident I've seen in a long time.

 

[homeforsummer]

But sometimes it takes a few laps of the field of cars to clear away the spray. Under race conditions this can be dangerous. Behind the safety car it is less so, as the drivers aren't pushing.

And again, that should be then up to the drivers to go along at a safe pace. Can't see? Slow down. They don't stop Le Mans if the heavens open in the middle of the night... the drivers just drive for the conditions...

 

[MatskiMonk]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt5nt7IdyPs">YouTube Link</a>

Scariest accident I've seen in a long time.

Yup, lucky the marshalls on that post were nimble... And the driver of the crashed vehicle was still in the cockpit, if he'd have been getting out...

 

[MagpieRacer]

This is a pretty scary looking crash, very OMG when I first saw it:

 

[TommyWizard]

Amazing the two walked away. Thank goodness there has been remarkable advances in safety in motorsports over the years!

 

[Speedster502]

I have a perfect video for this thread.



Say hello to FIA GT1 World Championship at Silverstone 2011...

 

[Furinkazen]

I see your Fuji and I raise you an Oulton Park.

Why the hell did they not throw a red flag immediately? And OMG at that marshal...

 

[AudiPro]

^ WOW....

]

Wheres a horn when you need one...

 

[AudiPro]

AND ALL THREE JUDGES GIVE THE 2nd PLACE CAR 10.0s!!!!

 

[Furinkazen]

AND ALL THREE JUDGES GIVE THE 2nd PLACE CAR 10.0s!!!!

Judge 4 scores 7.0 for not landing in straight line

 

[Ardius]

Why the hell did they not throw a red flag immediately? And OMG at that marshal...

They did...that all happened within the first lap, they weren't racing in the video, they were all on slicks struggling to get around the track!

 

[Seismica]

And again, that should be then up to the drivers to go along at a safe pace. Can't see? Slow down. They don't stop Le Mans if the heavens open in the middle of the night... the drivers just drive for the conditions...

In a sprint race (Which F1 races are), if you slow down to the conditions, the guy behind you will see his opportunity and try to go a little faster. And the car behind that and the car behind that and so on and so forth.

The spray in F1 is a lot worse than in Le Mans. But on occasion they do stop the race or require safety cars due to conditions:

 

[homeforsummer]

In a sprint race (Which F1 races are), if you slow down to the conditions, the guy behind you will see his opportunity and try to go a little faster. And the car behind that and the car behind that and so on and so forth.

...so are you agreeing with me or not? My reasoning is that the quickest guy wins. If someone has to slow down for the conditions, then the guy who doesn't slow down as much will be the winner.

As before, if everyone on the track is doing 30mph, the guy with the balls to do 31mph will win. It's what racing is about.

As for Le Mans, I'm aware they use safety cars but I'm fairly sure they don't red flag the race. You can't just stop the clock in a 24-hour race...

 

[Seismica]

...so are you agreeing with me or not? My reasoning is that the quickest guy wins. If someone has to slow down for the conditions, then the guy who doesn't slow down as much will be the winner.

As before, if everyone on the track is doing 30mph, the guy with the balls to do 31mph will win. It's what racing is about.

As for Le Mans, I'm aware they use safety cars but I'm fairly sure they don't red flag the race. You can't just stop the clock in a 24-hour race...

I'm saying that drivers will try to drive to the conditions, but will always try to push further. Inevitably this will lead to collisions. In the safety conscious world of F1 this means the race is stopped or the safety car is out to prevent any accidents.

I'd like to say I agree with you, but the very nature of F1 drivers means they will all try to push the limit. They can't be trusted when not behind the safety car to drive safely as they are all fighting for immediate track position, not trying to conserve the car like in Le Mans. It's a bit of a difficult topic, but I think perhaps you're right in that they do go a little bit far sometimes, like keeping the safety car out for 5+ laps and having a rolling start is not something that should exist in F1.

 

[homeforsummer]

Drivers do have a sense of self-preservation though. And some are simply naturally more talented than others and more likely to stay on the road.

 

[LewyOs]

 

[Jimlaad43]

 

[C-ZETA]

Fixed.

Tree'd???

 

[homeforsummer]

*Honda BTCC incident*

Yup, that was definitely one of those moments! Hilarious but a bit gutting for both drivers.

 

[Ardius]

What makes that event hilarious for me was that I was stood on the opposite side of the circuit and didn't know about it till we heard on the PA/race circuit commentary.
I saw Neal bump Shedden right in front of me at the hairpin and me and my dad were already commenting how Neal wasn't showing much respect to his teammate! We thought Shedden's victory was secure...as did everyone else. Even funnier was there were a fair few Honda fans about who did a fair bit of groaning and moaning! That Plato was then the one to take the victory made it all the more amusing, though his subsequent rant once again won no fans.

 

[homeforsummer]

Even funnier was there were a fair few Honda fans about who did a fair bit of groaning and moaning! That Plato was then the one to take the victory made it all the more amusing, though his subsequent rant once again won no fans.

Have to say I'm a Plato fan and I could see the point he was making (the speed difference between turbo and NA at that race was ludicrous - people sailing past on the straights like they had KERS and DRS...), but that rant was a bit out of order for someone who'd just won a race. Normally I find his honesty quite refreshing but if ever there was a "sore winner", he was one in that race!

 

[Nurburgthing.]

Animal lovers look away.....

 

[dadn]

Must suck so bad for both team mates to go in the gravel on the last corner, what a fool.

 

[Pupik]

IRL car and pace car crash:



Nice going, pace car driver:



And if you really hate the course cars, strike back:

 

[Roo]

Nice going, pace car driver:

The man who controlled the start lights was at fault - race control were unhappy with the formation and told the safety car to stay out. You can see the yellow flags still being waved. Also, whisper it... repost.

Contributing:

 

[Seismica]

This thread doesn't necessarily have to be about crashes, so;



I bet WTF is what the Red Bull guys were thinking.

Unfortunately Button, you can't defect in the middle of a grand prix.

 

[xX_F Alonso_Xx]

 

[Seismica]

This one was in the related videos for the one I posted earlier:



Whilst fuel pumps got stuck a lot, it's not everyday you see someone nearly decapitated with a lollipop.

 

[Nurburgthing.]

I'm sure this guy lived. Belt up people.