[Wichita-SCCA] What to cry?

[Brian Meyer]

I completely agree that the course was way too close to the barriers but
I think most of the blame belongs to the driver.  It appears to me he
entered the turn way too fast, cranked the wheel to lock and guess what
- it still didn't turn, and never even hit the brakes.  Maybe he wasn't
used to driving a manual transmission car and forgot to hit the clutch.
Anyway, he sure looked dumb.
 
I agree that the car can be fixed.  People are so quick to write off
carbon fiber chassis cars, but they're surprisingly easy to repair if
you are set up for it.  So, I suppose I'll do the merciful thing and
offer them say, $50 for the car so it's not a total loss.  Heck, I'll
even come and pick it up!  Just trying to help out...
 
I've seen links to this video on several other forums.  The kind of
publicity this deal has generated is worth way more than the value of
the car.  I didn't even know about the movie before this.
 
This also reminds me of a couple of rules to live by:
1. Never borrow a car you can't afford to fix.
2. Never race a car you can't afford to walk away from.
 
-Brian
 

  _____  

From: wichita-scca-bounces at wichitascca.org
[mailto:wichita-scca-bounces at wichitascca.org] On Behalf Of Greg Laws
Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2007 3:14 PM
To: Wichita Region SCCA.
Subject: Re: [Wichita-SCCA] What to cry?


Okay, I finally got a few minutes to watch the Enzo crash.  Three things
immediately came to mind:
 
1:  They should have hired Dave Geis to monitor safety concerns in their
course setup because the management clearly didn't know what they were
doing in that regard.  I tease (okay, I complain) that Dave can be too
fussy at times but the truth is that I highly respect Dave.  There has
never been a serious solo accident here on his watch and that is exactly
as it should be.  But he can still be too fussy at times!  <grin>
 
2:    The Enzo is not and never will be a decent solo car.  It has way
too much chassis flex and the suspension setup is just wrong.  In fact,
it looked somewhat pathetic going around that corner even when he didn't
wreck it.  We have several solo drivers/cars who would easily handle
that corner better than did the Enzo.  The Enzo belongs on high speed
tracks where that built-in massive understeer would be appropriate for
safety.
 
3:    The wreck seriously damaged the Enzo but the breathless reports of
it being a total loss are coming from someone's overheated imagination.
It's not possible to total that valuable of a car, especially one with
the relatvely minor damage that this one experienced.  It will be
rebuilt.  The insurance company will probably have a $100,000 repair
bill to pay but they will insist upon repair rather than to shell out
$1.2 million or more to total it.
 
Enjoy,
Greg (frustrated Odyssey driver) Laws
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