Be careful out there

[Bob Chapman]

Something like this could have easily spelled "game over" for an unprepared photographer.

Guy Smith's crash at PLM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etYHh8h-tic&mode=related&search=)

[Zerin Dube]

Yikes! I don't think I made it quite that far down the K-rail on that turn, nor do I think blue vests were allowed at that point on the wall...but for anyone not paying attention, that would have been awful!

[Morgan J Segal]

Am I missing something? That is what the wall is there for, it stopped the car

[Jim Sykes]

Yeah, the fact that those walls will move up to a foot or more when a car hits them and if you are leaning on one or shooting through a hole on your knees, you would find yourself on your back right quick.

Watch that slowly and look at how much the wall moves when he hits. Sure, the wall stops the car and will likely keep you from dying, but you could still be in for quite a hurtin'.

[Morgan J Segal]

How do you watch that slowly? I can't tell if the wall moves or not

Yes, it would knock you on your ass, and perhaps you would get hurt, but I am not so sure about Game Over (well maybe for a little while)
You should never be on your knees or in a position where you can't move quickly

Regardless, that is the chance you take shooting this stuff, if you don't know that, you should do something else.

After my third really close call ( without a wall to stop the car) I decided it was enough


Did something break on the car causing the crash?

[Todd Corzett]

Walls move... and some people are clueless (or maybe just REALLY stupid). Last year at the SJGP there was a guy standing between two temporary walls where they came to a 'T'. It also just so happened that was the corner where most of the cars were crashing.

An area to really watch-out for on temporary street circuits is when the wall is placed on the street and there is a slight space between the wall and the curb. Putting a foot in that space is basically asking for it to be removed.

Two years ago at the ALMS event at Laguna Seca a car went into the wall as it was exiting turn 11, which is a relatively slow corner (but under hard acceleration). The wall didn't move very much, but it scared the photographers who was standing next to it (I'll pull-out the photo when I get home).

I think the lesson of all of this is to keep your head in the game, and think about what may happen.

-Todd...

[Zerin Dube]

Can someone give me the back story of "Kitty Litter" boy at Road ATlanta? I heard several references to him this past weekend.

[Jim Sykes]

Earl Fannin likes to bring up a story about a photographer that supposedly laid down in one of the gravel traps at an AMA race there and couldnt understand why he was being thrown out and losing his creds.

I dont know if you can watch that one slow, I used TiVo and you can see even at real speed if you look close that the walls move.

Here is an image from two years ago where a Porsche backed into the wall at a much lesser speed than the Dyson car did and you can see how much the wall moved. There was about 6 inches of dirt piled up behind the wall too that was just pushed back and out of the way.

http://www.speedarena.com/gallery/albums//Sportscar/ALMS/2004/08%20Petit%20Le%20Mans/03%20Race%20Day%202/011.jpg

I think the entire point is that we all know in the back of our heads how dangerous it is, but that doesnt mean we should not be on our toes and ready. I had been shooting not too far from there about an hour before that accident. The hole is right at wall height through the fencing and with a lack of space, there really isnt any way to shoot there without being down on at least one knee and the old guardrail is right behind you so there really isnt anywhere to run. Hence the reason its off limits excet for a small number of folks. You have to be on your toes down there and for me it was stay a lap or two, get the shots and get the hell out.

This is a shot from that hole, though its slightly before where the car actually hit.

http://www.speedarena.com/gallery/albums//Sportscar/ALMS/2006/10%20Petit%20Le%20Mans/02%20Raceday/026.jpg

[Dennis Murray]

Huh, that was a general access hole a year ago if memory serves (although it might have been the one to the left of it from driver's perspective).

A concrete barrier weighing several hundred, if not thousand, pounds moving will cause injury of some degree.

[John Thawley]

I got knocked off the wall in Cleveland by a ChampCar just side swiping the wall about 25 feet past my position. I was amazed. He (Dimatta) just kept going...

Interesting note about armco... at Watkins Glen they warn that a car hitting the armoc several hundred feet down track can send enough shcok through the barrier that it can break your arm/leg if you're up against it.

I think the thing to note about the Dyson / Guy Smith incident is everything did its job.... this time.

JT

[Bob Chapman]

Jimmy, your shot is a pitching wedge from where Smith hit. Smith hit just as the narrow photographer pass-through starts to widen for T5.

A couple hours after the accident, I shot this...

http://www.autosportimage.com/auto_photo_net/2006/petit_le_mans/20060930_e_1693.jpg

Within spitting distance of where I stood, I saw several shards of carbon fiber from the Dyson car, one of which was about 1.5" long. However, far more concerning is the debris trail that travelled along the k-wall at significant speed. Watch again, and notice how many large pieces of the Lola fell just on either side of the barrier.

FWIW, I've never seen a car hit there before. But, mechanical failure is unpredictable and can change the normal equation in an instant. As I said before, be careful out there.

[Morgan J Segal]

I've had first hand experience with such things http://www.vtcar.com/video/angle%201%20reg.mov

And that is not the closest call I've had


Walls are for pansies :D

[John Thawley]

eh hem..... it's a fine line between brave and stupid. ;)

JT

[Bob Chapman]

I've had first hand experience with such things http://www.vtcar.com/video/angle%201%20reg.mov

And that is not the closest call I've had


Walls are for pansies :D

If I were you, I'd work on my foot speed. :p

[Morgan J Segal]

eh hem..... it's a fine line between brave and stupid. ;)

JT

ahh, but there is a >wall< between being brave and being a weenie http://www.elisetalk.com/forums/images/smilies/poke.gif

[Morgan J Segal]

If I were you, I'd work on my foot speed. :p

No need, I only shoot from behind walls now ;)

[Andrew Wheeler]

I've had first hand experience with such things http://www.vtcar.com/video/angle%201%20reg.mov

And that is not the closest call I've had


Walls are for pansies :D

Isn't that Travis Pastrana?

Crazy guy..

Andrew

[Bob Chapman]

ahh, but there is a >wall< between being brave and being a weenie

No need, I only shoot from behind walls now ;)

Weenie. :)

[John Thawley]

Better to be a weenie than to have no weenie at all. :(

[Zerin Dube]

Is there something you haven't told us about yourself John? :D

Better to be a weenie than to have no weenie at all. :(

[Morgan J Segal]

So I get out of rally to avoid getting killed and what happens.... My client nearly crashes the camera car with me hanging out the back during a car to car shoot. There is no escaping the death defying stunts is there? :rolleyes:





Andrew, yes, that is Travis