Instructor killed at Summit Point today

sad news

 

It just happens so fast. Sad news for sure.

 

you can hit a tree at a racetrack?

 

at summit point you can

(and a number of other second tier tracks...Blackhawk Farms, CMP, etc)

 

Just awful. I always worried about this when I was instructing. Condolences to all involved.

 

Another reminder that this can be a dangerous hobby. Important for all of us to take responsibility for ourselves and make sure the tracks do as well. If anyone has any interest there is a Motorsport Safety Foundation that you can get involved with.

 

To echo GuyIncognito, you can hit a tree on every turn at this track -

NYST on Vimeo

 

yikes!

 

Ummmmmm, why don't they just cut a bunch of trees down?? This seems like a pretty easy fix.

 

RIP. In car driving instructors are brave people.

 

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I did not witness it directly, but this is what i heard:

It was the owners car (GTO) not a rented exotic, he had signed up for multiple hyperdrive sessions. These are typically supposed $50 sessions with an instructor to be an "intro" for those thinking about getting into tracking to get a feel of the experience. From a safety perspective there are minimal requirements, you do not need harnesses/race seats.

This was with NASA although it was not a NASA instructor, and I believe that rules will be changing because of this incident.

Rest in Peace.

 

+1

I don't understand why people agree to climbing into a car with a complete stranger and then try to go around a racetrack instructing them how to do it.

I really like Summit Point but there have been a number of fatalities there. I don't know if it's the course or the type of events it attracts?

Deer and groundhogs come out onto that track as well. Can't you fence against that?

 

animals are hard to completely fence out of a circuit...a number of tracks I've been at, including Road Atlanta and Road America, have given warnings in drivers meetings about animals wandering on track (usually the protocol is for the track to go yellow or red, depending on what and where the problem is). remember DaMatta's crash at Road America a few years back, or this incident at Summit:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8FBxS-00xU]Hyperfest 2012: "Some guy hit a deer" (c) - YouTube[/ame]

as to Summit Point, it like many other second tier tracks have not had massive safety reviews since the 60s or 70s, and track owners don't have budgets to spend on knocking down trees, paving gravel traps and runoffs, building proper fences and tire walls, so at those facilities the danger factor is really high.

tracks built in the last 20 years are pretty safe as they have those measures designed in from the start, and first tier tracks (anything with a pro series running there) have the budgets, and mandates, for upgrades; but the smaller club tracks are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

maybe a solution is a fund gets started (similar to Snell) to fund upgrading those tracks, it could be funded by sanctioning bodies, racers, etc.

 

the car that crashed was a GTO?

 

Pontiac GTO (the ones from the mid-00's)

http://www.heraldmailmedia.com/news/tri_state/west_virginia/instructor-dies-in-raceway-crash-at-summit-point/article_771e28ee-c00e-50e6-bb80-87ce6d384cd4.html

 

Nurburgring is second tier now ?

 

Summit has been my home track for a long time now, and, on occasion, incidents do occur. Especially at T3 (I can think of several off the top of my head). The run-off has been improved and trees taken back, as a result. Could they be taken back farther? Possibly. But, honestly, this isn't a basket weaving class. Racing has risks, and it's good to know the track can bite back. Summit, like many tracks, is deserving of respect and doesn't have some vast wasteland of run-off outside of every corner like many modern tracks do. That's not to say that a fatality is desirable in any way, but if a driver doesn't respect their own limitations...

Further, while I know a little about Hyperfest, I'm not familiar with its safety requirements. I don't think cars are required to be caged. They're also most likely not using proper harnesses or other safety gear. Some of the cars I've seen even look like they're ready to disintegrate. That's not necessarily unique, as cars I've seen pass tech in HSR, SVRA, VRG and other series look suspicious to me, and, often, I'm dodging tools and other debris falling out of cars for the first few sessions. Regardless, events such as these (as sad as they are) are good opportunities to re-evaluate whether changes need to happen. That said, too many changes have already made track events less enjoyable. I can't imagine that trend will be reversed.

CW

 

when did I mention Nurburgring? or, for that matter, when was the last time someone hit a tree at Nurburgring (without going through a safety fence, tire wall, etc first?)

the fatality at Hyperfest was in a beginner's HPDE class at Jefferson Circuit; I assume it was in a road car with no harnesses, cage, etc.

 

New York Safety Track kinda ironic.

 

Again, I'm not familiar with Hyperfest's organization, but at virtually each and every event I've driven at, there's been driver's meetings including discussions of the correct, racing line. There have been track walks and/or ride-alongs offered to rookie drivers or first-timers to The Point. Mostly, if you're a novice you're even REQUIRED to do check-rides with an instructor before you're cleared to go out solo. Free of charge. I don't know what certifications are required for competition licenses, but I seem to recall seeing (maybe in this thread?) that NASA is the sanctioning body. Does anyone know if NASA-licensed drivers are required to go to a competition school to get their credentials (Skip, Bondurant, etc.)?

HyperFest | The Automotive Amusement Park - HyperFest? 14 (billed as "the Automotive Amusement Park"!).

There's just really no excuse for making such a big error that results in a fatality. Worse, the driver is going to have to grapple with the fact that he killed his passenger. Hyperfest mostly isn't racing. It's "racing", like drifting. So, stuff like this ought to be totally avoidable.

CW

 

the fatality occured in a beginners HPDE course...no racing license required. I assume they did the basic racing line, etc meeting (they should per NASA rules), but put a novice on track for the first time and bad things can happen-overdriving, panicking, not listening to instructor, all of the above...