A very lucky Frosty....

**GTRMagic** · 12 Jun 2005, 08:33 (Ref:1326152)

Frosty Winterbottom has an incredibly lucky escape... look at the hole in the floor of his car...

And from the press release regarding the damage (from RaceNews)

THE GRATE ESCAPE

In 1980 it was the Bathurst rock that halted Dick Johnson in his tracks.

On the eighth lap of yesterday’s opening V8 Supercar race at the Shanghai International Circuit in China it was a steel drain grate that stopped Larkham – Orrcon Racing’s Mark Winterbottom in his tracks and has the 24-year-old thanking his lucky stars.

The grate measuring 240mm X 480mm and weighing 20 kg’s was extruding from the ground by over 200mm after it had been moved by another car exiting turn five on the circuit.

As Winterbottom exited the turn he hit the grate at 130km/h slicing through the front Kevlar splitter and impacting on the radiator and the engine sump.

The most frightening part for Winterbottom and the Larkham – Orrcon team is the fact that as the car traveled across the upturned grate it sliced through the floor tray impacting with the bottom and rear of the driver’s seat before gauging a hole immediately behind the seat.

This gouge measures a massive 200 x 800mm and almost sliced through Winterbottom’s carbon fibre seat.

Such was the ferocity of the great that is has also sliced the roll bar cross member in half like a carbon tipped saw.

“Exiting turn five I took the normal racing line that runs right to the edge of the track and hit a drain grate that was sticking up. It made a huge thud inside the car but I didn’t feel the brunt of the impact as it lifted my car of the ground,” said Winterbottom.

“I knew it had done a fair bit of damage but it wasn’t we got the car back to the garage that I had a look in the back of the car and seen how much damage was done inside the car.

“The grate impacted on my seat, but only just, it wasn’t until I woke up this morning that it hit me and I realized how lucky I really was to escape uninjured.”

The damage repair bill is expected to reach in excess of $75,000 with the components that are required to either be replaced or repaired as follows:

- Front spoiler
- Intake duct
- Front cross member
- Radiator
- Heat exchanger
- Steering rack
- Front roll bar and mounts
- Right and side exhaust
- Driver’s seat
- Seat belts
- Oil cooler
- Differential housing
- Watts Linkage arm assembly
- Floor from driver’s seat to rear fire wall
- Front & Rear roll bar cables
- Fuel cell box
- Internal roll cage
- Engine sump

“I have never seen anything like this in my life, the bizarre irony this being a potentially being the world’s most impressive racing facility and having something as insignificant as a piece of drainage caused so much carnage to a race car. Mark is a very lucky man,” said team owner Mark Larkham.

As a result of the damage Winterbottom didn’t start in today’s final two races at the Shanghai International circuit.

Event organisers increased the safety overnight on the area of the circuit where the incident took place by covering the drain grates with a row of tyre barriers on the edge of the circuit and have also indicated that the drains may be filled with concrete for future events.

Now that is an amazing hole!! Will the team be able to get the car to the next round of the series in Darwin, if the cars arrive home Tuesday, and crews not long after, they have only 4 days or so to rebuild the shell/cage before wandering up to Darwin...

From the look of this picture, and the damage list in the press release, it will be very touch and go..

Guss · 12 Jun 2005, 08:39 (Ref:1326153)

Personally I think winterbottom can thank his lucky stars ( hes bottom and*** was not damaged)

Very very lucky

Raglanparade · 12 Jun 2005, 10:09 (Ref:1326208)

What would have happened if that the same situation occured during a F1 Race last year, and an F1 Car hit the grate ?

Growling Ferret · 12 Jun 2005, 10:18 (Ref:1326210)

The grate Winterbottom hit was on the 'joining' section, and not on the F1 circuit. But, F1 drivers may be advised to miss the ripple strips in 2006...

DannyG · 12 Jun 2005, 10:56 (Ref:1326221)

very lucky to escape a serious injury. I hate to think what might have happened had it contacted his seat harder.

Matt H · 12 Jun 2005, 11:12 (Ref:1326230)

how the hell the brilliant v8 stewards missed that is beyond me.

resisturban · 12 Jun 2005, 22:05 (Ref:1326803)

Stewards? Wha?

Black flad the marshall for not running on the track during the race to remove a 20kg grate? Dont think so.....

**GTRMagic** · 13 Jun 2005, 00:01 (Ref:1326889)

They put a huge stack of tyres over the drain as a solution on Sunday, and were reportedly saying the drain may be cemented in for the next race...so there is more than one way to solve such an issue...

Too late for Frosty, and Mr Larkham's small budget

johnh875 · 13 Jun 2005, 01:03 (Ref:1326917)

They should bolt the grates down

Matt H · 13 Jun 2005, 02:21 (Ref:1326940)

Quote:

Originally Posted by resisturban

Stewards? Wha?

Black flad the marshall for not running on the track during the race to remove a 20kg grate? Dont think so.....

well the stewards do a lap of the circuit at the start of the day to make sure the track is safe.

its sumtimes also done before the v8 race is about to occur.

ive never seen a black flag given to a marshall

thejester · 13 Jun 2005, 03:02 (Ref:1326950)

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnh875

They should bolt the grates down

Abso - fargin lutely! That was terrible, no way should that thing be moveable.

billy bigtime · 13 Jun 2005, 03:46 (Ref:1326970)

I had a sore scrotum just looking at the damage

mountainstar · 13 Jun 2005, 05:10 (Ref:1327011)

Send the bill to the fools who run the circuit.

chavez · 13 Jun 2005, 05:11 (Ref:1327013)

These Chinese grates must not like touring cars.

Similar incident happened at the DTM race last year in China, although it was on a temporary street circuit and not the Shanghai grand prix track.

retro · 13 Jun 2005, 05:57 (Ref:1327033)

Quote:

Originally Posted by chavez

These Chinese grates must not like touring cars.

Similar incident happened at the DTM race last year in China, although it was on a temporary street circuit and not the Shanghai grand prix track.

Saw that on ESPN........... they had to race out in a truck and weld it shut.

Placebo · 13 Jun 2005, 09:00 (Ref:1327144)

Unbelievably lucky!

MRJUCY · 13 Jun 2005, 13:36 (Ref:1327318)

Imagine if it was a traditional style seat or just a poly or whatever one people run in lower classes rather then carbon fiber it could have been a very very serious injury because I imagine it would have done more damage to a human then it did to the metal work. I believe the track or promoters etc should be paying for the damage to the car as it wasn't an accident on the drivers behalf it was purely a track failure.

silvervsix · 14 Jun 2005, 01:14 (Ref:1327878)

What a big hole frosty is very lucky. Wonder if larko still thinks the trip to china was worth it. Could they ask for some money to fix the car from the track or the race organisers? seems a bit harsh that LMS has to pay for somrthing like this.

**GTRMagic** · 16 Oct 2005, 07:03 (Ref:1434762)

So the geniuses running this circuit... let this happen again... this time to JPM's McLaren.....

This should get the FIA safety group very concerned I hope!

An F1 car + 1 grate = big mess....

pete55 · 16 Oct 2005, 07:23 (Ref:1434767)

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

So the geniuses running this circuit... let this happen again... this time to JPM's McLaren.....

This should get the FIA safety group very concerned I hope!

An F1 car + 1 grate = big mess....

I would have thought they would have been concerned after the Winterbottom incident. Not concerned enough as it appears.

Rombles1 · 16 Oct 2005, 07:49 (Ref:1434772)

Sensible train of thought would have been "Hmmm glad that happened in a V8 Supercar race not F1 - we'd better fix it so it doesn't happen in the main, big series!" Obviously not.

Raglanparade · 16 Oct 2005, 08:04 (Ref:1434791)

CHina should have their GP taken away from them.

There are plenty of other circuits which can actually solve there problems lining up to for a spot in the season. But they wont do it... because China is where all the corporate dollars are.....

You reckon Sato is bad... wait to we get a chinese bicycle peddler in an f1 car

sizzle · 16 Oct 2005, 08:17 (Ref:1434804)

JPM was very laid back about it. One wonders what the result would have been if he had hit it sqaure on the tub and not the front wheel, it doesn't bear thinking about.

Mark Webber · 16 Oct 2005, 09:22 (Ref:1434878)

not good at but one would think that even it hit the tub the car would be effect for sure but no where near the the same as the taxi .
F1 cars are alot differnet and stronger . I would safetly say things will change at china the FIA will see to it

mmciau · 16 Oct 2005, 12:15 (Ref:1435042)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Webber

not good at but one would think that even it hit the tub the car would be effect for sure but no where near the the same as the taxi .
F1 cars are alot differnet and stronger . I would safetly say things will change at china the FIA will see to it

At that speed I would expect the grate slice to have its way through the tub, just like a knife through butter!

Mike

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