Here is my Drawing based on my observations...Now Tony, you know they were going fast... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
My observation is the P car was in a flat spin before you ever see any skid marks from the Ferrari. I assume either the Pcar hit the Curb and lost it or lost it. Halfway threw the spin it tagged the Ferrari just enought to get the Ferrari to slide sideways for 150yards. Look at this picture. The skid marks closest to us are the Ferrari The Porsche skid marks are way behind....This is purely speculation not placing blame on anyone. Its possible that the Ferrari pushed the porsche into the curb and they both lost it at the same time.... Image Unavailable, Please Login
RIP to the driver.Very sad. A couple of random thoughts: -Racing a 1977 Porsche!!..dont get it..nothing to prove -Shocked that this destruction can happen on a 3 lane, straight, one direction empty (I assume given the time of night) highway in dry conditions. -There must have been alot of alcohol consumed by both drivers for this to happen.
This is terrible. This is just speculation but between a Stradale and an old Pcar with a drunk guy behind the wheel, my money is on the PCar losing control and hitting the Ferrari.
Its possible, the P would have been ahead or next to the Ferrari, the P must be a much modded 930 I have a 77 930 as well IMO it would be easier to spin the F than the P even with all its modded power unless the P caught air somehow. or something.
Having owned a 73 RS I can tell you with experience that at the limit it in no way will a 911 recover from a spin at the hands of an inexperienced driver or someone with too much to drink. As im sure you are aware of this flaw in the 911 design, Unless he stays hard on the throttle and gives it oposite steering... Im also sure the CS has some serious suspension upgrades not to mention computer traction/stability equipment. All I can tell is that the two cars came in contact somewhere halfway through the Porsches flat spin. Now if the came in contact before that I can not tell by skid marks....
A 360/CS is like it's on ice once that rear end comes around. The P-guy was able to keep the car on the road. I'd say it's the better handling car. It'd depend on where the marks were on the P-car suggesting who hit who first? If it's anywhere near the front it probably suggest that the P nudged the F. I still think someone lost it first and then that caused them to bump, further causing loss of control. IOW the bump was just part of a chain reaction that had already begun.
I agree in a spin but a straight line with the added suspension mods of a 930 they are very stable, much easier to lose it in a mid engine Ferrari in my experience, ill bet the CS guy thought the same an old Porsche this will be easy and it turned into a real race, with the mods on my car almost 480hp and 2400 lbs I know it could take a CS in a straight line and my mods are typical nothing special.
bjm - here's a couple answers to your thoughts... As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I literally live blocks from the scene. In fact, from my home office window I can see the intersection of Jamboree and Eastbluff Drive (The last street light they saw). I drive Jamboree Road everyday. It has several elevation changes and curves a bit, but not sharply. At the posted 50mph limit, the road is a piece of cake. At more than double that, its hard to tell how different the road is and cars react. They were headed uphill and about to crest the top of the hill at Bison but did not make it that far. Also, even in "dry" conditions, the road can be a bit slick at that time of night due to the proximity if the ocean (about 2-3 miles away) and the Back Bay which is only just down the street. At that time of night, there is generally a marine layer that moves in and can make the streets a bit slick. I am still trying to figure it out myself what actually caused them to lose control.
Charles was my buddy. We had a lot of fun together. I helped him pick out the car at the Auto Gallery. Just started to live the life he deserved after all the hard work he has done. It was an American Dream. And I hope his girl friend (i will not mention her name) will recover fast. RIP Charles...... FYI, Charles did not drink alcohol or did not do any drugs. Period.
Ahh...I didnt realize it was close to the ocean...actually that explains alot vis-a-vis slick road conditions at that time of the night. Perhaps the cars are racing one car hits a slight dip in road at extremely high speeds, car becomes light momentarily driver over reacts to compensate, tail steps out and the slightly damp road conditions takes care of the rest putting the car in an uncontrolable skid that caused the chain reaction.
These are the pics on foxsports.com http://msn.foxsports.com/boxing/pgStory?contentId=9323124#sport=MMA/Boxing&photo=9324670 Pretty detailed.
I don't think it'd be too unlikely for the mid-engine CS to start drifting at full power, slight curve and slick road. Once that starts the rear end wants to come around. This is particularly charecteristic of 360/CS's if you're not careful. Once the slide began clipping the P isn't too unlikely either. Booze and high speed and it's all just Russian roulette.
Condolensces to friends & family. Sad to see a guy who worked hard and was living the dream fall short of enjoying his just rewards....MMA fans will always remember...
v, it happens so often. You have hit the nail on the head as regards the recipe for a very common and frequent automobile disaster. How do we teach our kids -------- when it was such a hard lesson for us to learn? Communication - talk with your young driving aged child (young adult). If we have learned our lesson (take it to the track & BTW, real Funny Cars don't race down Van Nuys Blvd.), then we must teach it to our kids. If we haven't -- then, God save us. As evidenced, it doesn't always work out so well. Those that "get it", get it. Those that don't---------------don't Once again, I feel sadness for loved ones affected by this terrible event, who can only shed tears while questioning why or how this could have happened. Hank
RIP and godspeed to the driver's family. Prayers to the GF involved. Let's not have a speculation fest here. It's distasteful and non-productive. Any number of things can happen.
True about the 360 back ends coming around but the P-guy was drunk and it appears that the Porsche's skid marks start first and then crossed the path of the Ferrari. As far as keeping it on the road, it also looks like the Porsche also hit the curb but but its skid marks continued back onto the street (bounced off?). If it was spinning, it probably burned off a lot more speed before it hit the curb than the Ferrari did. In any case, I'm sure we'll eventually learn what happened.