Jason Richards Walks Away From a HUUUUGE One!

[retro]

Richards walks free from crash


Jul 24, 2005

New Zealander Jason Richards survived a spectacular high-speed accident when his Holden Commodore was launched several metres in the air flipping at least six times at Sunday's Queensland 300 V8 Supercar race at Queensland Raceway.

On lap 44 Richards was clipped from behind by Gold Coaster Paul Morris accelerating out of turn three doing about 170km/h and spun onto a curb which launched his car into the air where it rolled several times but luckily landed upright.

After rescuers freed him from the wreckage, the Team Dodo driver miraculously walked away from the crash without serious injury.

"I'm very, very disappointed with Paul," he said.

"I have got a sore neck and sore back. He just turned hard right into me. It surprised the living hell out of me.

"The first roll over hurt my neck and I curled up and grabbed the front of my helmet."

The strap from Richards' helmet crushed onto his voicebox, affecting his speech.

He was treated at the circuit and diagnosed to be suffering from shock and a headache but had no physical signs of injury.

Richards was then driven to Ipswich hospital for precautionary x-rays but is still expected to fly home to Melbourne on Sunday.

His fiancee Charlotte was not at the track on Sunday, but was telephoned in England where she is visiting relatives and reassured her husband-to-be was safe.

Ironically, prior to the smash, Richards had labelled the Willowbank circuit as his least favourite on the 13-event V8 Supercar series.

It is his second high-speed crash in two years after Richards also rolled his car several times at Pukekohe in New Zealand in 2003.

"I was seeing more stars than in Pukekohe in 2003," said Richards.

"It was a real struggle to get out of the car."

Making matters worse for Richards his team does not have a spare racing car meaning they must repair the damaged Commodore in a fortnight before the next round at Oran Park from August 12.

Morris was black flagged for the incident and given a 60-second pit lane penalty, although he is expected to be further punished by race officials.

On Saturday Carrera Cup driver Cameron McLean crashed in identical fashion at the exact same point on the track - also walking away without injury.

Source: AAP

[tanalised]

that was certainly a big one!
Very lucky chap

[plonkey]

I reckon the Mclean crash in the Sherrin Hire Porsche was more spectacular.

[GTRMagic]

The first bounce of the Dodo car end for ended the car, which took a lot of heat out of the rolls....

In each case, the driver was very lucky to be securely held in their cars, with HANS devices to restrict head movement...

Mr McLean looked a little worse for wear on the teev today, I expect Mr Richards will be feeling similarly second hand tomorrow

[GTRMagic]

From Racenews:

PAUL MORRIS MOTORSPORTS
24 JUL 05
MORRIS RECEIVES 'STOP-GO' PENALTY AFTER SHUNT


NEWS RELEASE
V8 SUPERCAR CHAMPIONSHIP – ROUND 7
QUEENSLAND RACEWAY, IPSWICH: Race Report, Sunday, July 24

MORRIS RECEIVES 'STOP-GO' PENALTY AFTER SHUNT

Sirromet Wines Holden Commodore driver Paul Morris received a 60-seconds 'Stop-Go' penalty after a massive shunt during today's seventh round of the V8 Supercar Championship at Queensland Raceway.

The incident on lap 43 led to the Dodo Racing Commodore of Jason Richards rolling over and flipping in mid-air. He was later taken to Ipswich Hospital for examination.

Morris' Commodore made contact with the car driven by Richards as they approached a steep kerb on the exit of a right-hand corner. Richards, who was in front of Morris, appeared to be launched off the kerb after the contact. A Safety Car period was called immediately after the accident.

Stewards penalised Morris with a 60-seconds 'Stop-Go' penalty which dropped him from 13th position to 27th and a lap down on the leading cars. The 37-year-old Gold Coast driver eventually finished 26th and was classified as completing 89 of the 90 laps in the event.

After the race the Investigating and Prosecuting Officer conducted a further investigation into the incident, but no further action was taken. Morris scored 42 points for his result, and dropped from 17th to 18th in the championship with an overall tally of 630 points.

Craig Lowndes won the race on the 3.1km circuit in a Betta Electrical Ford Falcon with a time of 1-hour 57-minutes 29.651-secs. Marcos Ambrose was second in a Pirtek Falcon. Ambrose leads the championship with 1,166 points.

PAUL MORRIS QUOTES: "I didn't agree with the penalty. Jason Richards didn't have to run that wide. He should have left room for me and we both could have got through the corner. Unfortunately he kept pushing me wide. I was going to hit the kerb so I turned right because I had nowhere to go. Even if I had braked I would have hit the kerb. I had a choice of either hitting the kerb or turning right. I decided to turn right. When I turned we made contact. I didn't like what happened afterwards, but I think he could have prevented it if he had given me some room. The penalty put me a lap down so that ended any chance of a good result. It's disappointing because our car was quick for most of the race."

RESULTS – RACE (90 laps):
POS DRIVER CAR TIME
1. Craig Lowndes Betta Electrical Ford Falcon 1:57:29.651
2. Marcos Ambrose Pirtek Ford Falcon 1:57:32.452
3. Garth Tander HSV Holden Commodore 1:57:35.097
4. Russell Ingall Caltex Racing Ford Falcon 1:57:35.625
5. Steven Richards Team Perkins Holden Commodore 1:57:36.293
6. Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team Commodore 1:57:40.153
7. Steve Ellery Betta Electrical Ford Falcon 1:57:41.150
8. Greg Murphy Super Cheap Auto Holden Commodore 1:57:44.424
9. Jason Bright Ford Performance Racing Falcon 1:57:44.779
10. Steven Johnson Westpoint Ford Falcon 1:57:47.118
OTHER:
26. Paul Morris Sirromet Wines Holden Commodore Lap down
FASTEST LAP: Ambrose 1-min 11.196-secs

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS (after round 7): Ambrose 1,166, S. Richards 1,061, Ingall 1,051, T. Kelly 1,032, Skaife 954, Lowndes 910, Tander 859, Johnson 843, Murphy 828, Seton 785. Other: Morris 630

WEBSITE: http://www.paulmorris.com.au

[peckstar]

i am not a morris fan, this was a harsh penalty. he was not left racing room and is not consistant with prior penalties (or lack off) handed down this year

[lookleft]

Agreed - Mezera made the right call. In both cases the car on the right (i.e. the one that ended up turtle) pinched the other car for room. As Morris states, he would have clouted the kerb if he didn't take avoiding action.

Wonder what the legalities are given the same incident happened in 24 hours with no attemp made to adjust the circuit. Is the circuit unsafe in the configuration?

[inpitlane]

Must have been a weekend for it. Jon Trende in the Porsche 964 had a similarly big lose at the end of the front straight at Sandown today.
Jon was severly shaken but aparantly otherwise unhurt. The car got some serious air.
Pictures in Vic State Racer Magazine for those in Melbourne. Probably get a run somewhere in MSN as well.

[IronLion]

i know crashes like that dont happen alot (even though it happened there 2 times this weekend), but the track design in that corner didnt really help.

I think we need a serious review of the saftey of our tracks if we want to ever been taken serious in the overseas market. These types of crashes shouldnt happen, and 2 times in a weekend to me holds the track at 100% blame. It doesnt make it seem such a "freak incident".

[GTRMagic]

From tasmanmotorsport.com.au...

Richards escapes violent roll-over in disastrous day for Dodo Racing at Queensland Raceway
24-7-2005

DODO Racing driver Jason Richards has escaped largely unscathed from a major roll-over in today’s seventh round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series at Queensland Raceway

The New Zealander, who started from 22nd on the grid for today’s 90-lap race, was exiting the turn three hairpin on lap 44 when tapped sideways by Paul Morris.

Richards’ car hit a trackside kerb side-on, pitching the car into a violent series of rolls at a speed estimated to be 160 km/h.

The incident was virtually identical to one yesterday when the Carrera Cup Porsche of Cameron McLean was spun off the road at the same point. Morris, meanwhile, was handed a one-minute penalty and summoned to face race stewards post-race.

Richards was taken to Ipswich Hospital for x-rays and observation after a spell at the circuit’s medical centre, escaping without any life-threatening injuries.

He was released following the end of the race and returned to the circuit to survey the damage with the Dodo Racing team. His #3 Commodore, which was built new by the team at the beginning of this season, had one of its wheels ripped off by the impact and was severely crushed at the front end.

“I’m very, very, very disappointed with Paul and what happened, said Richards while receiving treatment for severe whiplash and a sore neck and head.

“He just turned hard right into me and it surprised the hell out of me. It was a massive hit that pitched me straight off the road.

“The first roll was the worst on my neck. I curled up and grabbed the front of my helmet. I’m very lucky to still have my head to have a headache!

“My helmet strap crushed into my voicebox and I’ve got a sore neck from where my HANS Device (Head and Neck Safety Device) has dug in when my neck got ripped to the right.

“It was a real struggle to get out of the car. I’m seeing more stars than at Pukekohe in 2003 (the New Zealand circuit where Richards rolled a car in practice).

“It ripped all the pedals off in the footwell and damaged the seat but the car stood up very well.”

Dodo Racing only has two Commodores and doesn’t have a spare car ready for the next round of the series at Oran Park in Sydney in three weeks’ time.

Team Manager Graham Jenkins said that the team had briefly been able to look at the car at the circuit but wouldn’t be able to get a full idea of the damage until returning to the team’s workshop in Melbourne.

“Until we get back home it’s hard to get an idea of how much work is left to be done on the car,” he said.

“The bottom line is whether the floor is damaged and if so, how much. The roll cage looks OK. With no spare car we really don’t have much choice but to fix it.

“I’d reckon it’s a $180,000 to $200,000 salvage job.”

To round out a disastrous day for the team, Jamie Whincup was forced to limp home to 28th spot after two different gearbox problems slowed the #23 Commodore.

Whincup had decided to stay out on the track in the early part of the race and not pit with the rest of the field under the first Safety Car, before the gearstick snapped at the base on lap 40. He lost five laps while it was replaced and then towards the end of the race he also lost fourth gear.

“We really struggled for car speed all day and couldn’t find a quick setup,” he said.

“I got a good start and made six spots on the first lap from 24th on the grid. Our lack of speed made us come up with the plan of pitting for tyres late and try and use our fresher tyres in the latter part of the race to over-run a few people.

“But we didn’t get that chance when the gear stick snapped. And towards the end we were stroking it around a few laps behind to get to the line.”

The disastrous day drops Whincup to 16th in the championship after entering the Queensland Raceway event in 13th spot.

The team now has a major amount of work to do before the V8 Supercars head to Oran Park in Sydney in three weeks’ time for the eighth round of the series.

Craig Lowndes won today’s round ahead of championship leader Marcos Ambrose and HSV Dealer Team driver Garth Tander, who scored his second podium in succession.

Round 7, Queensland 300, Queensland Raceway, QLD
Race Results
1. Craig Lowndes, #888 Betta Falcon BA, 192 pts
2. Marcos Ambrose, #1 Pirtek Falcon BA, 186 pts
3. Garth Tander, #16 HSV DT Commodore VZ, 180 pts
4. Russell Ingall, #9 Caltex Falcon BA, 174 pts
5. Steven Richards, #11 Castrol Commodore VZ, 168 pts
6. Todd Kelly, #22 HRT Commodore VZ, 162 pts
7. Steve Ellery, #88 Betta Falcon BA, 156 pts
8. Greg Murphy, #51 Super Cheap Commodore VZ, 150 pts
9. Jason Bright, #6 CAT Falcon BA, 144 pts
10. Steven Johnson, #17 Westpoint Falcon BA, 138 pts
28. Jamie Whincup, #23 Dodo Commodore VZ, 30 pts
DNF. Jason Richards, # 3 Dodo Commodore VZ, 0 pts

Championship Points After Round 7
1. Marcos Ambrose, #1 Pirtek Falcon BA, 1166 pts
2. Steven Richards, #11 Castrol Commodore VZ, 1061 pts
3. Russell Ingall, #9 Caltex Falcon BA, 1051 pts
4. Todd Kelly, #22 HRT Commodore VZ, 1032 pts
5. Mark Skaife, #2 HRT Commodore VZ, 954 pts
6. Craig Lowndes, #888 Betta Falcon BA, 910 pts
7. Garth Tander, #16 HSV DT Commodore VZ, 859 pts
8. Steven Johnson, #17 Westpoint Falcon BA, 843 pts
9. Greg Murphy, #51 Super Cheap Commodore VZ, 828 pts
10. Glenn Seton, #18 Westpoint Falcon BA, 785 pts
16. Jamie Whincup, #23 Dodo Commodore VZ, 671 pts
23. Jason Richards, #3 Dodo Commodore VZ, 503 pts

[lookleft]

So who has a VZ for lease.....

[ashman36]

Do Team Dynamik have a spare car, perhaps they could lease him the car in lieu of the money they owe Jason????

[PVDA]

I like how everyone is blaming the kerb.

Yes it's there for a short track configuration but if the short cut wasn't there there would still be some sort of a kerb on the exit of the corner to discourage the cars from running wide.

CAMS doesn't tend to jump to knee jerk reactions but AVESCO does so it will be interesting to watch what happens from here.

[lookleft]

PVDA - are you suggesting that a curved curb jutting into the nominal racing line (only because the short track it there) is equivalent to a straight kurb ala T1?

[FPRXR-6]

PMM should give them their spare.

[Razor]

I think, if Dodo Racing's chassis manafactuer (is it Dencar, or some other company?) doesn't get the new VZ spec car build soon, I think that the guys at Dodo Racing might use the VY chassis for the next round. Does any one agree? or disagree?

[GTRMagic]

Originally Posted by Greg Barton

I think, if Dodo Racing's chassis manafactuer (is it Dencar, or some other company?) doesn't get the new VZ spec car build soon, I think that the guys at Dodo Racing might use the VY chassis for the next round. Does any one agree? or disagree?

Whachoo talkin' bout Willis??? A VY & a VZ are the same!!!

Meantime, one of the team's endurance drivers currently runs a VY (albeit with a VX engine aboard) in the HPDC series... presumably this is a serious option for the squad....

In case you havent seen the hi-res pic...

[Razor]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

Whachoo talkin' bout Willis??? A VY & a VZ are the same!!!

OK. Even though the front suspionsion and engine mounts are diffrent to the VY.

[sizzle]

Originally Posted by Greg Barton

OK. Even though the front suspionsion and engine mounts are diffrent to the VY.

Me thinks young Gregory you would be thinking about the VX and VY. The VZ is only cosmetic changes.

And it will indeed be interesting to see what car fronts for Oran Park.

[Razor]

Originally Posted by sizzle

Me thinks young Gregory you would be thinking about the VX and VY. The VZ is only cosmetic changes.

And it will indeed be interesting to see what car fronts for Oran Park.

OK. Oh, and Sizzle, never call me by that name again, PLEASE.

[PVDA]

Originally Posted by lookleft

PVDA - are you suggesting that a curved curb jutting into the nominal racing line (only because the short track it there) is equivalent to a straight kurb ala T1?

No.

I've got to have a good look at a replay in slo-mo but I think both cars hit the straight section of the kerb not the angled part. I could be wrong and I only saw the various replays shown during Ch10's delayed coverage yesterday.

Any car pushed sideways onto any kerb or grass or even into a gravel trap can end up with the dirty side facing the wrong way.

[mac]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

In case you havent seen the hi-res pic...

Dodo, Dodo - internet that flies!

Sorry.

[Kerri]

I thought it but wasn't game enough to put it on here.

Certainly is a great advertising pic to go with their logo though

[911]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

From tasmanmotorsport.com.au...

“I’m very, very, very disappointed with Paul and what happened, said Richards while receiving treatment for severe whiplash and a sore neck and head.

“He just turned hard right into me and it surprised the hell out of me. It was a massive hit that pitched me straight off the road.

Jason must have bumped his head fairly hard and become very disorientated to think PM 'turned hard right'.
From watching the replay it looked more like Jason squeezed PM towards the kerb giving him no option but to turn slightly to the right and tag the Tasman car.
I can't stop laughing at 'turned hard right into me' and 'It was a massive hit'.
It was only the end result that was massive.

[Razor]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

People who have joined Dodo may have to pay higher fees, due to a crash in the Dodo industry .