MSR Cresson (ongoing)...

The most dangerous race I've ever done was a NASA event at MSR in a FM 2 yrs ago. One car flipped and was totally destroyed, the other car involved was heavily dammaged as well. Later that same race another car spun and permanently stalled at the out apex before the straight leading to big bend ( flat out acceleration and cornering at this point ) This location is visually hard to see in a formula car. The race continued for many laps with this car there. A miracle there was no further carnage. If I remember right a tow truck was circulating on the track as well durring the race. Pandamonium.
FMs, F2000s, and FSCCAs still use tube frame technology which is cheap to build but lacks intrusion protection into the cockpit. And open wheel fat slicks lead to the danger. But boy are they fun. Until someone gets hurt. I was thinking on doing the SWFM series again but the timing with my schedule was wrong.
I know most of those guys and hope all is well. Good group of people.

 

http://forum.specmiata.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=002865;p=0

It's actuallyonly 3rd hand Rob, and after you read that thread it's 2nd hand.

Let's hope there's something with you and 2nd hand stories!

 

I arrived at the track house just after the accident happened. I noticed the track was quiet so I looked out my back window to see an ambulance on the track, along with lots of other people/vehicles attending to the accident. Shortly after a helicopter landed and the driver was care flighted away. Later I saw the vehicle being removed from the track and back to the garage via fork lift. It was under cover and I am told both cars are behind locked doors pending an investigation.

Despite being there the rest of the weekend, I know very little about what happened. No one could talk about it, partly due to legal reasons I am sure. At one point some eye witness acounts was brought in to a couple of the instructors and I was asked to leave the room so they could discuss it.

Here is what I heard:

Car #1 spun after Ricochet trying to avoid another spin or traffic. He ended up stalling on the track, facing on coming traffic.

Car#2 spun trying to avoid that car or other traffic and ending up making contact with car #1. Apparently the area of car #2 with the gearbox had a direct hit on the driver in the first car. One person said he died instantly. I had also heard that they had him on a breathing machine before care flight arrived.

They were running the 1.7 mile course, not the full track with the new section.

Obviously a horrible event, especially for the families involved. It also a reminder about how dangerous this sport is, even on a "safe" track like MSR. Let's all be careful out there .....

 

This just in from an e-mail that was sent to MSR memebers, it sounds like the driver in car #2 was the fatality:

Dear MotorSport Ranch members and friends:

On Saturday, March 4, 2006 shortly after noon, during the NASA Formula
Mazda
race at MotorSport Ranch, a racing accident claimed the life of Greg
Bruder
when his car collided with another Formula Mazda which had spun in
turn #2
(Ricochet).

Greg got into driving/racing and became a member of the Ranch about a
year
ago. Although I hadn't the pleasure of meeting Greg myself, his
friends and
fellow drivers describe him as one of the finest individuals and
aspiring drivers
who would beam at the mere mention of racing his car.

Sharon and I and the entire staff at MSR are deeply saddened by this
racing
accident and the resulting loss of a fellow driver and member of the
club.
Please join us in keeping Greg's wife, daughters, and other family
members in
your thoughts and prayers.

A memorial fund is being established at this time. More information
regarding this will follow.

Visitation will be Tuesday, March 7, 2006 from 2:00 till 4:00 and
6:00 till
8:00

The funeral is to be held on Wednesday, March 8, 2006

Bluebonnet Hills Funeral Home
5725 Colleyville Blvd
Collyeville, TX 76034
(817) 281-8751



Best regards,

Jack and Sharon Farr
www.motorsportranch.com

 

My deepest condolences to the families of both drivers.

RIP Greg Bruder,

///Michael

 

Dont think I met Greg, however feel a deep sorrow at the loss of life in pusuit of the full enjoyment of it. I was involved in three major racing accidents in 2004 and there but for the grace of God, something serious did not happen to myself.

 

This is indeed a tragedy, which could put our club racing back several years. We shall have to see what happens when the plaintiff lawyers finish with this one. But I know I join many in offering my condolences to anyone who new or was related to Greg. He was doing something he must have enjoyed and that is better than many can hope for.

 

This is from Balir, the photographer at the track. I'll post this to help dispell whatever rumors might be floating around. Certainly what I heard initially was not accurate:

The official cause of death was heart failure, resulting from internal
secondary injuries from the accident. He was wearing a HANS. According to
doctors at the receiving hospital, Greg Bruder's aortic vessel collapsed
momentarily after impact.

This was announced by NASA officials at the racer's meeting Sunday morning.
It, needless to say, was very somber.

According to witnesses and reports from the accident scene (MSR officials,
emergency officials, NASA Texas officials and other safety crew), there was
no helmet damage/marks, nor any other visible external bodily damage.
Besides the standard EMS crew, there was an ambulance on scene. There was
also a Fort Worth Harris Methodist ER doctor (who was a driver in the
Formula Vee run group) on scene. Then, there was Care Flight on scene.

Greg did have to be extracted from the cockpit of his FM. The driver's
compartment was deformed, but not breached. It was a right side impact on
Greg's FM, and a rear impact on Austin's car. Again, information from the
officials on the scene, as well as visual evidence.

There's a lot of documentation on this incident, despite rumors of the
opposite, as well as rumors of the incident happening different than what
Jack put out in his email to the membership. From corner workers (one being
our very own Michael W), to track position/lap timing records (which Michael
helped out with as well), to trackside video, and some of my photography,
there was a lot of things to pull into the investigation. It's an area that
everyone at MSR and NASA Texas has never had to deal with.

Myself, I was photographing the race moving around Rattlesnake and Wagon
Wheel on the four wheeler. I had a track radio for communication.
Afterward, I talked with a lot of the corner workers, and had to answer to
track and race officials in the investigation, both Saturday and Sunday.

My last image of Greg was one lap (possibly two) before the incident,
according to my camera date/time. About 7 cars after he passed me, I had to
go in to download the memory cards. On the way, I heard about the incident.

It's a little weird having the last image ever made of Greg. I'm donating
all the images for a slideshow at the funeral, as well as a matted/framed
poster of this image to his wife and family. Greg and Ellen have three
daughters. Don't know all their ages. His wife and one daughter, age 13,
were there that I know of. I also heard his father was there.

Greg (driver of the #11 FM) and Austin (driver of the #64 FM) have been/are
customers of mine.

R.I.P. Greg Bruder

 

A slight variation: Apparently the first car spun and ended up facing more or less facing in the right direction. Greg was full on it behind him, as one would be for this fast LH corner and instead of going for the weeds to the right, he braked, over steered and the righ side of his car impacted the gearbox of the car in front of him. He had to be cut out of the car and the medical examiner said something to the effect that CoD was blunt trauma to the heart!

Now here is the disturbing thing that I have not been able to verify: the driver of the first car was a 14 year old boy with only kart experience. No race school and no comp license. I just cannot believe that NASA would let him on the track unless someone fiddled the entry as in Dad registers, techs and makes all the right "driver noise" while son suits up and applies helmet and gloves. No grid official is ever going to be the wiser unless the kid wins or wrecks and even then no one may correlate the fraud.

I really want to get to the bottom of this!

 

My condolences, RIP. I was out there the week before at the PCA event.

 

I heard something similar to that as well from another board, they thought the driver was 17 though but no way to verify this information.


Btw Rob, your link don't work.

 

I dont know if age is a big factor anymore, other than the " bullet-proofness " that goes along with it. I've been trounced by 16 yr olds just out of go carts, which start a 8 ? yrs old.
It is assine for "the pedal to the metal", attitude out there through an accident scene , for the sake of a trophy ( or even 10th vs 11th spot ), and bragging rights.
Lots of times the racing contines all out because the yellow flag has not had the opportunity to wave yet so its still " fair ".
To be honest, I have done all of the above. Time to rethink.

 

Agreed - spoke to Kurt this morning who said that the lead driver and first spin was 14/15 bu that he was properly accredited to the best of his knowledge. And that my assertion that his only expereince was karting (for which he may or may not have been "licensed") is not something he has heard on the rumor mill. So this is not a fact. In anyevent the guy was stopped mid-track after a spin, which is something that happens to all of us. I dont have mine documented as well as Rob but I did it in lap 1 of a NASA race last year and stayed mid track in turn 8 I believe. How nobody hit me, I do not know.

 

Time to bring back this thread on a happier note....

Colin and I will be out playing on Saturday, running the 3.1 mile course. Anyone else headed there this weekend?

 

From: http://forums.corner-carvers.com/showthread.php?t=28254

If you invite me I will, lol .

I was just there this past wekend btw.

 

Is Colin the driver with the #21 Porsche? I got a wild ride in that car...

Was there an event at Hallett or somewhere North this past weekend? I saw the #21 Porsche and some others on trailers headed north through Oklahoma.

 

They were probably headed to the PCA Club Race in Kansas last weekend.

I'll be at the track on Friday if it doesn't rain. Isn't looking good right now though.

 

No - I run the #5 Audi A4 in ITE and the #01 TT in T3.

 

Agreed, I think you've still got a lot of time to find out there. I spent a couple of weekends on it earlier in the year and got down to 2:34 in the 911 on MPSC, but you are a much better driver than me and I can easily see you getting to 2:25. I still have a lot to learn as well and I've heard that the line I was on that was thought to be the fast line has changed quite a bit as others have gotten more seat time and tried new things.

Unfortunately, they are running the 1.7 track a lot more often than the 3.1, not sure the reason. I'll be out there this coming weekend but I don't see the 3.1 on the schedule again until August 11-13.

 

1) I am told this can be taken flat out but quite frankly, this turn scares me. There seems to be a patch of asphalt right at the apex that has no grip. The margin or error on this turn is also pretty small and probably the most dangerous part on the track with regards to making contact with a barrier. I'm still working on getting up my courage here.

2) I struggle on this turn also and am probably giving up a lot of time here. I take more of an inside line and try to turn very early to start the descent down the hill. I think I am doing this very wrong and need to follow someone through.

3) I stay to the right and throttle steer to rotate the car with my eye on track out, getting to full throttle very early. I use the rotation of the rear to scrub speed and am actually pretty light on the brakes coming in (though I admit I lift a bit at the top of the hill). A watchout is to get very close to the apex on the right, but do not hit the curbing! You can not drive over this curb without upsetting the car in a very bad way. I like my line through here and I seem to put some distance on folks through this section. It seems to work with a 911 but your results may vary. If nothing else, the corner worker seems to enjoy watching me drift through the turn.

I will try and make the 12th myself. I need to run with you out there before you learn the line and are able to pull away from me. Were you able to get the Challenge car on the lift OK?