Crash!

[DNQ]

This is Garth's crash from Sandown a few years ago that I mentioned.

[racer69]

The thing with the footage of Johnson's accident at the elbow in '83 was that it was actually a mistake that we didn't get a RaceCam view of it. The guy in the Channel 7 van forgot to hit the record button at the start of his Hardies Heroes lap, and it was only after the crash this was realised, so the only footage available is the one that is always played. Interesting story i have heard about that crash, the first person on the scene was a Channel 7 cameraman, and his first question was 'how is the Racecam?'

Not Touring Cars, but how about John Walker's in his Lola T332 F5000 at Sandown in 1975

[FalconEL]

Hi all,

One accident that hasn't been mentioned was Terry Finnigan's massive hit in qualifying for the 1989 SATCC at Lakeside.

Finnigan was driving the Trojan Boats sponsored VL Walkinshaw and got it all wrong coming into the Kink at about 230-240 kmh, left the track to the right and spun across backwards into the tyre wall on the left after virtually no deceleration. The car then spun around in the air and landed with a thud. It was like slow motion from there because Finnigan was dazed after the massive impact and predictably fire erupted around him because of the ruptured fuel cell. Terry clambered out once he had regained his senses and realised fire was starting to surround him, barrelled out the driver window because the door wouldn't open, jumped up the bank and sat down in front of us. Took a while for the firey's to put the fire out because of the amount of fuel around.

It was probably one of the scariest I've seen because we were right there and got showered with broken glass from his rear window and dirt and **** from where he hit right in front of us. The car was absolutely stuffed, there was nothing left rear of the back door.

Main thing was Terry got out OK and lived to fight another day.

CD.

[FalconEL]

Hi all,

One accident that hasn't been mentioned was Terry Finnigan's massive hit in qualifying for the 1989 SATCC at Lakeside.

Finnigan was driving the Trojan Boats sponsored VL Walkinshaw and got it all wrong coming into the Kink at about 230-240 kmh, left the track to the right and spun across backwards into the tyre wall on the left after virtually no deceleration. The car then spun around in the air and landed with a thud. It was like slow motion from there because Finnigan was dazed after the massive impact and predictably fire erupted around him because of the ruptured fuel cell. Terry clambered out once he had regained his senses and realised fire was starting to surround him, barrelled out the driver window because the door wouldn't open, jumped up the bank and sat down in front of us. Took a while for the firey's to put the fire out because of the amount of fuel around.

It was probably one of the scariest I've seen because we were right there and got showered with broken glass from his rear window and dirt and **** from where he hit right in front of us. The car was absolutely stuffed, there was nothing left rear of the back door.

Main thing was Terry got out OK and lived to fight another day.

CD.

[Crash Test]

Catch ya tonite CD!

I remember a similar thing at the same spot in 1998 with one Shane Bradford and a Jimbo McKnoulty in the Geminis...

There was a bit of niggle at the kink, when 3 or 4 cars tried to get through at the same time, Shane lost out and tapped Jim into a spin. I'm standing near the flag point with a mate- he was watching Shane spew off to the inside, while I was watching Jim come straight in my direction, which was made worse when he got of the black stuff, and kept going in the air where the track drops away.

I grabbed me mate by the collar and dragged him down the hill, luckily Jim's car caught the top of the tyre wall, and basically came to a stop there and then. Glass everywhere, we were all pretty lucky to get a way with it. Probably the scariest bit was when Jim's glasses flew out of his full face helmet, out the window, and 50m up the road....

[flaggie1]

I remember that crash of Garths Correct me if i'm wrong but that was thru the esses before dandy rd had a great view from the Grandstand.

[racer69]

flaggie1 - yep, exactly where you said

Clive-Benson Brown had a major lose under the bridge on conrod on the 2nd hump in 1982 that he was lucky to get away with.

[Jack racer]

A little change in country but James Cressey that drives a F3 in auss had a huge one when he first tested a FF1600 in NZ, hit pit wall in the wet at taupo and moved one of the 2 ton blocks a few feet. had to get a crane in to move it back. He was walking again in 2 weeks but the car is still hanging on a freinds wall.

[RaceTime]

Hmmm still waiting to hear what is happening to Cressey since he quick the Piccola Scuderia Corse ;ast Wednesday - http://www.racetime.com.au/?racenews=97184

[Jack racer]

Didn't even know and I talked to his dad last night. He is not a bad driver just needs a little agression. Hope he does finish the series.

[Mr Squiggle]

He's entered for Winton in an F301 Dallara with Speiss power. It's one of a couple of new cars as Caruso (ex-Ford Kart Stars) has a new car entered as well as a mystery driver (I've heard its Christian Jones) in another F301 from QLD.

[PEPSI]

Good to see Michael Caruso getting another drive, I knew he had tested an F3 about 6 months ago. It was a pity that his equipment let him down in FF which caused his confidence to slump and thus poor results. I hope he can recapture his Go Karting form.

BTW, no seems to have metioned Big Rev Kev's roll in the Ch 9 Camaro at Bathurst.

[Crash Test]

But that would be one of the lazier rolls in the history of motorsport

[PEPSI]

Crash - right up there with Cam McConville's Winton effort last year

[Crash Test]

I know Patto saw this one- Daniel Wilkie rolled his Mazda RX7 6 times about 150m after the start of an Improved Production race at Lakeside... it was huge!

[Flaggie]

There was a biggun at PI (natch) in 2000, at a state round. 3 Formula Fords were in close formation down the main straight, when two pulled to one side of the track and the third to the other to try and slingshot the one that was leading into turn 1.

Well there was the inevitable contact, and one car ended up turret testing the tarmac in the middle of the track, the other two in the wall. There were wheels and debris from bung hole to brekky time. Another driver who was following had a tyre mark on her helmet from a wheel... To make matters worse the bloke who ended up on his scone's father was in the crowd and jumped the fence to get to his son. That wasn't pretty at all. The said father went to get into the Air Ambo with his son and managed to belt his head on the door and split himself open into the bargain.

That one was made scarier by the fact it happened in the PI Race Control's blind spot. Blocked out by the pedestrian bridge. It was panic stations for a while. I had Rick Kelly with me doing his 8 hours trackside penance for a licence upgrade, and he had all the cars well and truly Identified before the nearest people did.

[Dazz]

I think Tony Longhursts crash in NZ (I think) in the B&H M3 where he clipped the wall entering a kink in the track, bounced off and hit the other wall on the other side smashing the glass in the side of the car, and due to the force of the impat his head actually came out of the window and his helmet scraped along the concrete, wall was one of the most graphically disturbing crashes I have seen. Very lucky to get away with that one without serious injury.

[Flaggie]

And that was the crash that was pretty much the cause of window nets today... Something I wholly agree with.

[PEPSI]

I must admit to being a bit concerned last year at Sandown when a third of the FF field played stacks on the mill in the wet as they headed into Turn 1 after the start

[Flaggie]

Not as concerned as the flaggie was on the point who commented thusly: "I couldn't see a thing, there was too much spray. The first I knew there was anything awry was when I looked up and saw a big 'Ozemail' at eye level heading in race direction..."

[Crash Test]

I think the crashs that really started the window net push were the DJR ones at Bathurst in 1993- IIRC, in modern times they would have been near to the first circuit racers using them.

[William Dale Jr]

IIRC, Longhurst's accident broke the front of his helmet, and Johnson was one of, if not the first to use a window net at Amaroo in 1994; his first race since his Bathurst accident the year before.

[DAVID PATERSON]

I've always believed that Longhurst's NZ crash was the catalyst for the introduction of window nets in Australia.

FalconEL, we must have been standing very near each other, as Terry Finnigan's crash was right were we were standing, though when he crossed the track and headed directly towards us, my mate and I turned and bolted, while everyone else stood still. After the hit we turned around and walked back to our spot and there was debris all over the ground where we were standing and all over the people who were standing beside us.

[Jack racer]

Dave McMillan a x kiwi had one of lucky crashes of all time,
He was racing on a oval in the usa and rubbed tyres with another car which sent him flying of the track into a gard rail, it hit him clean in the face and pushed his head back threw the rollover hoop and smashed the engine cover. It was the most damage ever seen by the simpson helmet people and still is. He turned up at the race track 2 weeks latter cut the wires off his jaw and went racing. No ****. He is a legend.

[racer69]

There were a few good one's at Wellington. In practice for the 1987 race (the January one, not the WTCC one later in the year) there was a four or 5 car wreck, involving Johnson's Mustang, which was to be his last run in the car.

Longhurst was very lucky to get away with that one, he'd just taken the lead from Jo Winkelhock as well had he not. Window nets definatly a positive. Lucky he didn't have an open face helmet.