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euan
17th October 2011, 11:55 AM
I was watching this last night, absolute shocker. The way the cars launched in the air you just cannot believe that more people weren't killed.

RIP Dan - 2 times Indy 500 winner.

Craig
17th October 2011, 12:47 PM
Missed this as I'm at the lodge. Saw it on the news this morning. Very sad news. :frown:

RIP Dan - great driver :sad:

AndyP & Lenore
17th October 2011, 01:59 PM
Never followed Indy racing, but any loss is tragic. He leaves behind a wife and 2 young kids too. Very sad indeed.:sad::sad::sad:

I guess it does show you how dangerous motorsport is, but at the same time, how safe it is these days... How many races take place every weekend around the world and how many drivers loose their lives?

A.

The Dogfather
17th October 2011, 02:30 PM
Formula 1 sorted its act out, its time for other areas of the sport to do the same.

34 cars on a small oval track @ 225 mph was always going to be dangerous, it was a horrific crash that a lot of drivers had predicted.

Looks like Indy racing doesn't value driver safety in the same way as F1 and as a result a young father lost his life.

zimbo
17th October 2011, 04:21 PM
Very sad news :frown: thoughts go out to the family and friends.

euan
17th October 2011, 08:28 PM
Look at it mathematically. The track was 2.4km long and there were 34 cars with top speed of 220mph.

2.4km = 2400m
2400 / 34 = 70.6m nominal spacing between cars.
220mph = 352kph = 352000 metres per hour = 352000 / 3600 metres per second = 98 metres per second.
So even with nominal spacing, drivers have less than 0.72 of a second reaction time to avoid a crash...

The Dogfather
17th October 2011, 08:38 PM
Slightly miss-leading as the cars can race side by side.

Cars were never going to be spaced out at the start and when one went it took out at least one that was running alongside it. I watched the clip on Youtube, kind of wish I hadn’t - horrific

euan
17th October 2011, 10:05 PM
Slightly miss-leading as the cars can race side by side.

Cars were never going to be spaced out at the start and when one went it took out at least one that was running alongside it. I watched the clip on Youtube, kind of wish I hadn’t - horrific

Indeed, but even if they were all side by side it doesn't make things much better, plus you then introduce lateral movement to the equation. I don't want to get into it too much, the point being that circuit is small for the speed and the number of cars on it and nobody really would have stood a chance.

He was in the wrong place at the wrong time, not through bad driving but just by chance.