Euro F3 shunt - Holy Moley!

Hey,

It's very rare that any European motor racing makes it to ESPN. Let alone an F3 race.

But it did tonight..... No one was hurt.

Maybe the biggest shunt I've ever seen. And I've seen a few. Think Marks aerial acrobatics in Singapore a few years back, x3!

Cheers,
Ian

 

Here it is.

I do wonder how they keep managing to have these absolutely savage shunts in F3 in the lat few years. It's like 90% of the drivers have all ''learned'' to race on their playstation instead of karting. Last year they even got told to ****ing behave or the whole weekend would be cancelled!

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob68JaHDjjU[/ame]
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Thanks man.

I think you may very well be right on the money there.

They think they're invincible & can't possibly get hurt. Just hit the reset button....

But, that wasn't the case here IMO. The dude was blind.

As for 'behaving', I agree, but they're all longer in balls than brains at this point in their careers. Formula Ford was always good 'value' that way.

Cheers,
Ian

 

Yes and no...they all have pretty bright LED's right in the line of sight that flash up as soon as a car goes off track in their area. It's pretty obvious.

But fair enough, entering a corner etc perhaps he just missed it, it can happen.

Point does stand regarding their playstation reset crashes!

Back when I was younger I also watched Formula Ford a lot...highly entertaining. I'll probably never forget at the exit of Tarzan in Zandvoort when 1 guy went of track (at the end of the corner) which resulted in about 10 cars flying all over the place, including one guy (at least) doing multiple sideways rolls...nose to tail! Very impressive.

 

Whilst the LED's tell the drivers behind that a car has gone off track, they don't tell them that it is now sat stationary slap bang on the racing line.

The driver behind would most likely have assumed that a car ahead had gone off track, gone straight on and rejoined the track, throwing a shed load of dust up, and carried on it's way (there are tracks in gravel indicate that that is what another driver had already done), rather than being stopped on track.

I do agree though that with the modern safety standards involved in motor racing, far too many "Playstation Generation" drivers race in a manner whereby they simply believe that they will walk away from any shunt uninjured.

They seem somewhat oblivious to the fact that in real life, there is no reset button, and shunts cause real pain and life changing/threatening injuries!


The latest on Peter Zhi Cong Li and Ryan Tveter's conditions (From: Peter Zhi Cong Li survives shocking crash in Austrian F3 race as Chinese driver luckily escapes with only broken heel bones | Daily Mail Online ) :

"Chinese driver Peter Zhi Cong Li was 'alert and speaking with team personnel' on Saturday afternoon after suffering multiple broken heel bones and four fractured vertebrae in a shocking crash during a Formula 3 European Championship race in Austria.

Li was airlifted to hospital with suspected head and back injuries along with his American team-mate Ryan Tveter, who sustained heavy knee bruising, following the incident in race one at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg."

 

All true. But it all comes down to ''what means yellow''?

 

What racing drivers are supposed to do, and what they actually do are rarely though are they?

 

This is another terrifying crash in EuroFormula Open series that happened yesterday. Thankfully the driver is alright.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CwPQtyhNzQ

 

True .

 

Jesus. Very odd how that happened though.

 

+1

Looks to me like he launched himself off the kerb. Air under the car. Think Mark Webber (?) at Le Mans a few years back.

Loose downforce & all kinds of weird **** can happen!

Good to know he's OK.
Ian

 

Helluva screen grab BTW..... Speedy would be proud!

Cheers,
Ian

 

Exactly that. Too much over-kerb.

 

I saw that f3 crash yesterday. Insane. Is there any responsibility to slow down in that situation? It seems it should have been clear that something happened and given the cloud of debri and zero visibility, you'd think there'd be some caution taken. I mean it looks like he hit him full speed.

 

The 'Formula Ford festival' at Brands was always good value too.....

Lots of young, hungry, hotshots that figured if they won it an F3 drive was in their future. (Generally the case. IIRC, Ayrton won it one time.)

The 'best' learn quickly that sticky-out wheels & stupidity don't mix to well...

Cheers,
Ian

 

I'm sure the marshals were waving the yellows.

But, the unexpected is a car, stationary, on the racing line! And hidden by a cloud of dust.

'Motor racing is dangerous.' **** happens.

Cheers,
Ian

 

My first thought was what the (expletive deleted) was he thinking trying to pull back onto the track? But on watching again, I think he was pretty much just a passenger. When he did skid back on the racing surface, he didn't have time to think and make a move to either get moving or get out of the way.

Curious to see the on board from the following car. What did he see, and did what he saw suggest he should have done something different. Probably yes. But it's easy to second guess without facts.

 

+1

As always, just my 02c, I certainly don't claim to know, but my guess would be his engine had died; He was literally just sitting in a dead car in a very unfortunate location.

Second guessing can be fun though....

Other than a yellow flag or two, & maybe some flashing lights on his wheel (per Bas), I don't think he saw anything other than a bunch of dust.

He's a race car jockey - His "natural" intent is to keep going - maybe slow down a little.

He certainly wasn't expecting a car parked on the racing line!

Maybe "they" should have waved the red earlier? As you say, easy to say with the benefit of hindsight, slo mo replays and so on.

I also know "we" are very quick to criticize Charlie for too many yellows & throwing out the SC before it's "needed"...... Maybe he knows a little.

Cheers,
Ian

 

OK. I don't get it. There was plenty of time to throw a yellow. Did he just miss it?

 

I think it was just too fast, even a yellow would have barely slowed them down, and then you've still got a car stopped on the racing line in dust so you can't see it.

 

4 broken vertebrae...

 

It wasn't *that* slow. You don't see the trackside yellows when approaching a turn, imo. Hence the light in the cars...but if it only comes on as you're entering the corner, you are not focused on that too much.

+1

And when do racing drivers really actually slow down for yellows? Technically speaking the slightest lift indicates they've ''slowed down''. It's a risk they ALL take.

 

Seems F3 is the new FF these days. I'm not sure if FF racing is still a thing? I know they brought out a new car a few years back but if it's actually being raced?

Ouch.

 

I think this is an area the sporting authorities should really tackle.

They have virtual safety car and plenty of track side electronics at their disposition to really detect the offenders who do not slow down to a pre-agreed maximum speed.
Cars could even be fitted with GPS to check who is speeding under yellow.

 

All cars are fitted with GPS and the FIA tracks everything, including fuel flow rate.