http://russmarshall.com/albums/video/almost.wmv

sooooooooo close!

 

Did he pop the wall?

 

Does HE have in-car video?

 

Great video. I did the same thing in a Panoz GTS, was a bit luckier than this guy though.

 

that guy really knows how to almost save it. he started losing it 2 corners back it looks like. he got off line and put himself in the wrong place going too fast. i did that on a motorcycle once. 30+ stitches and a trashed bike.

 

Russ, great video. That was Sage Marie and if I may guess it was from Saturday's race. He pulled out all the stops in that race and this was just one of his moments. I saw him in the mirror get really crossed up in T1 at least a couple times (those were good saves). He had quite a wild race, unfortunately it ended in the tire wall on the lap 20 (last lap) in that same turn (T5). That Benz spilling oil all the way from the top of T1 to T7 on lap 3 I think contributed to several people going off.

I'll add a couple of clips to this thread from that weekend once I make them in a few days. Do you have any more? I saw the one you put on IT.com.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by D.CACO &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Does HE have in-car video?</TD></TR></TABLE>
Yes, he did but in VHS format, so no clips.


Modified by Hracer at 10:04 PM 6/8/2005

 

He didn't hit anything, he finally stopped right when I passed him.

I don't think he had in-car.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hracer &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">That Benz spilling oil all the way from the top of T1 to T7 on lap 3 I think contributed to several people going off.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

I have video of that too, it took me out (I never saw the debris flag)

http://russmarshall.com/albums...n.wmv

 

nice save, I was sure you were headed into the wall.

Will you be running with NASA at RA aug 13-14?

 

nice vids

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by smokin rubber &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Will you be running with NASA at RA aug 13-14?</TD></TR></TABLE>

probably, I'm going to the ROCK this weekend, you going to that?

 

Yep, thats Sage.
Looks like a slippery track.
And thats an ITA CRX.

And there you have it.

Scott, who now has a Road Atlanta Jonez (thanks Russ... Bastard)

I love me some turn 5.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Catch 22 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">And thats an ITA CRX.
</TD></TR></TABLE>
Yep, and I think it's in their genetic code that once you get them any bit upset, they'll resist pointing straight again no matter what.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RussTypeS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">http://russmarshall.com/albums/video/almost.wmv

sooooooooo close!</TD></TR></TABLE>

I am pretty sure that was sunday...I saw firsthand Sage's "moment" in 5 Saturday...that turn was nearly as bad to him this weekend as it was to me!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hracer &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Yep, and I think it's in their genetic code that once you get them any bit upset, they'll resist pointing straight again no matter what.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I've been told from more than one very good CRX pilot that the best thing to do is just let go of the wheel. I'm not sure if this would really work or if one's self preservation mechanism would actually allow you to let go of the wheel during such a moment.
Anybody actually done that? Alex? Adam?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Catch 22 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I've been told from more than one very good CRX pilot that the best thing to do is just let go of the wheel. I'm not sure if this would really work or if one's self preservation mechanism would actually allow you to let go of the wheel during such a moment.
Anybody actually done that? Alex? Adam?</TD></TR></TABLE>

That used to be my standard practice back when I was autocrossing front drivers, but that sounds like it would be all sorts of scary the first time you tried it on track!

 

I doubt I could make myself do it.

 

I don't know if that is entirely relevant but at the Summit school, I got sideways in the civic in turn 3 (sticky hoosiers in front, rock hard hoosiers in the rear) during a warm up lap. It completely took me by surprise and *yanked* the wheel out of my hands. I gassed it and grabbed for wheel and all was well. Not sure how that worked out, but I don't care, I stayed on track

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SJR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I gassed it </TD></TR></TABLE>

Even the most seasoned vets forget to do this sometimes, It will save your rear! as much as you get crossed up, keep that thing wide open well, as long as you know where the wheels are really pointed.. don't floor it unless you know that..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RacerBowie &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I am pretty sure that was sunday...I saw firsthand Sage's "moment" in 5 Saturday...that turn was nearly as bad to him this weekend as it was to me!</TD></TR></TABLE>
Yeah, unfortunately for him and especially you, you saw the lap 20 moment first hand. It could be Sunday, but if it was on Saturday it happened early on in the race. I remember in impound him telling me he had a previous wild ride in T5 early on.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Catch 22 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
the best thing to do is just let go of the wheel. Anybody actually done that?</TD></TR></TABLE>
Never done it, but I've also heard it can work. Problem with that is it's easy to loose track of the steering and when it's pointing straight. When the car is coming around you have a very short moment in which you need to catch it, and if you don't know when the wheel is straight after having it spin out of your hands previously, you'll probably miss it and the car will pendulum the other way. As with any car, but especially with the CRX, the whole key is to catch every twitch as early on as possible, so that it doesn't grow into a bigger problem - the effects and difficulty of which grow exponentially the longer it takes you to react.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hracer &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
As with any car, but especially with the CRX, the whole key is to catch every twitch as early on as possible, so that it doesn't grow into a bigger problem - the effects and difficulty of which grow exponentially the longer it takes you to react.</TD></TR></TABLE>

and not only is the reaction time important, but so is your detection time. With a finely calibrated butt, you can detect a twitch early on. That's a feel that you have to develop for each car, I am finding out. If you don't feel the car sliding until later, fast reflexes won't save ya.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hracer &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Yeah, unfortunately for him and especially you, you saw the lap 20 moment first hand. It could be Sunday, but if it was on Saturday it happened early on in the race. I remember in impound him telling me he had a previous wild ride in T5 early on.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

Gotcha! He had an even worse Saturday than I thought!

Man I hope I can get things together in time to make the July race! Practice, qualifying, and the first 17 laps of the race on Saturday were just too much fun.

Sarah asked me over the radio during qualifying if I was coming in early due to it being so hot and the good times for the session being long since over, and I never thought twice about staying out, just to play and enjoy driving hard.

 

Nice heads up driving not collecting him

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SJR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
and not only is the reaction time important, but so is your detection time. With a finely calibrated butt, you can detect a twitch early on. That's a feel that you have to develop for each car, I am finding out. If you don't feel the car sliding until later, fast reflexes won't save ya.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Yes for sure, I just combined them both in the time it takes to correct the problem. You went ahead and separated the two. Imo the detection time as you put it, is even more important than reaction time. A ping pong player has very well tuned reflexes (a reason why I play ping pong often!), but probably would not know what to feel (let alone what to do) behind the wheel of a car until much too late. This fundamental ability to feel what the car is doing is what makes a driver good. It lets you know how to push a car closer to its limits and also saves your butt out of difficult situations. Unfortunately it can only be developed with seat time. But fortunately, it's a skill that can be applied to driving pretty much anything.

Bowie, that's good news. Hope you can make it in july! We'll definitely be there if other really annoying things (school) don't get in the way.

 

Rick Mear's comments about Indianapolis in a magazine interview many years ago have stayed with me. The reporter commented on the incredible reflexes that it must take to control a car at 220+ mph in the corners. Rick replied that if you rely only on your reflexes, you are already backwards into the wall. You have to anticipate what's going to happen and know what the car is going to do and make adjustments before the car gets out of shape. You are processing things like "Ok, I've got a huge tow from the car in front of me this lap, so my entry speed in this corner will be more than last lap....and the dirty air will not let my front wing work as good, so I'd better breathe the throttle a little before entry this time..."

Our sedans are not quite as unforgiving, but its still good advice. Small adjustments made early prevent big saves made late!