37 replies to this topic

[dank]

Watch, and be amazed:

Not a single injury. The marshal legging it was brushed by the car as it landed.

I was at Brands Hatch yesterday for the WTCC and complained about the new catch fencing they've installed at parts of the circuit, seems they've not gone far enough!

[Henrytheeigth]

Danke dank. Gee that was mad and I thank God noone was injured!

[Dunder]

Wow!
Very, very lucky that nobody was hurt.

[NeilMick]

I hate Brands Hatch, so many nasty crashes there over the years.

[Suzy]

Absolutely terrifying! It goes to show how much danger marshals are in whenever a vehicle is on the track - and there were some extremely fortunate spectators there too. All credit to all involved for being able to get out of the way in time; and to the marshals who carried on flagging after the crash happened whilst also worrying about their colleagues.

Is the driver alright?

On every ticket there are the words: "Warning! Motorsport is dangerous." I know I'm guilty of just assuming that those four words are common sense but things like that prove that, just because you may be on the safe side of the catch fencing, freak accidents do happen!

Edited by Suzy, 18 July 2010 - 16:03.

[Pato]

Is the driver alright?

From what I've read he's been checked out at the medical centre and is believed to be okay, but thats not official.

[stevvy1986]

Bloody hell, what a crash. Shocking that he ended up over the barrier and in amongst the marshals/fans.

[Massacrator]

Luckly nobody got hurt, but as it's been said, it shows the risks the marshals take by being there. Safety should be improved.

Leaving bad things aside, I liked the way the car gets up, hitting the front part first then the back part then lifting off. Seemed cool and smooth.

Edited by Massacrator, 18 July 2010 - 16:21.

[goat0063]

Glad everyone was ok. That was one amazing escape.

[pRy]

Luckly nobody got hurt, but as it's been said, it shows the risks the marshals take by being there. Safety should be improved.

Motor racing is dangerous. There will always be a risk of a car getting somewhere it's not meant to be.

[postajegenye]

It's a scary reminder that even at today's safety standards, sometimes a huge disaster is waiting just around the corner. Let's hope we'll never see an accident like 1955 Le Mans again (even with much less casualties), but watching these videos we realise why that sentence is written on every ticket...

Those people have been very, very lucky today!

[Massacrator]

Motor racing is dangerous. There will always be a risk of a car getting somewhere it's not meant to be.

There was no fence there. I think a human life is worth the price of a fence, isn't it?

[Fastcake]

There was no fence there. I think a human life is worth the price of a fence, isn't it?

You could cover the circuit in an iron cage, and it'll still be dangerous.

[Massacrator]

You could cover the circuit in an iron cage, and it'll still be dangerous.

What an argument....

Let's not use helmet, fireproof wear, safety tyres in the endings of the circuit, etc... it is dangerous anyway, so why bother in improving safety?


I sometimes believe there's people who believe danger is one of the good things in racing.

Edited by Massacrator, 18 July 2010 - 19:48.

[Atreiu]

That was a very, very lucky escape.
It seems Brands has more than its fair share of nasty accidents, compared to other circuits.

And it remindas me of an accident at Suzuka some 5 or more years ago. This car just went flipping over and over and don't even remebr where it stopped.

Edited by Atreiu, 18 July 2010 - 19:57.

[Ellios]

I sometimes believe there's people who believe danger is one of the good things in racing.

well that little sentence deserves a thread all of it's own....


Glad no one was hurt! crazy crash and perhaps a little too close to the trees for comfort!

[wingwalker]

Holy ****, that was close.

[Tolyngee]

It goes to show how much danger marshals are in whenever a vehicle is on the track - and there were some extremely fortunate spectators there too.

If those indeed are spectators, they are way too close to the track.

[The July Plot]

I have a huge amount of respect for the marshalls there...after coming within feet of death, as soon as the car stops rolling they just turn and run back to attend to the driver! Very very brave!

[pingu666]

needs some catch fencing...

[Fastcake]

What an argument....

Let's not use helmet, fireproof wear, safety tyres in the endings of the circuit, etc... it is dangerous anyway, so why bother in improving safety?


I sometimes believe there's people who believe danger is one of the good things in racing.

That's a bit of an overreaction, considering I was merely stating the obvious things will always be dangerous.

[Massacrator]

That's a bit of an overreaction, considering I was merely stating the obvious things will always be dangerous.

[johnap]

needs some catch fencing...

Sure does

[ibf1]

Firstly I must say marshals at every event do a brilliant job but I am also very disappointed and concerned how Brands Hatch position their Marshals around the circuit.

Last year there was a massive 1st lap pile up as the WTCCs entered Druids Hairpin, many cars departed off the track and used the grass on the right hand side. This year bizarre as it seems 3 marshals were in that area yesterday and 2 young 'inexperineced looking' marshals were located in that position today (of course behind the barrier). What I find disturbing is the lack of protection for these marshals. If you view the hugh crash today it looks to me as if the marshals running for their lives also had NO PROTECTION (cage/fencing) in front of them unlike the flas marshal post.

I think its about time somebody reviewed where marshals position themselves and how they are protected.

I hope the marshals and the driver are well and all return back to what they enjoy most.

[alfa1]

Leaving bad things aside, I liked the way the car gets up, hitting the front part first then the back part then lifting off. Seemed cool and smooth.

It is, but it also seems to be that the wall is badly designed.
Hard to see on the video, but maybe its tilted back slightly, or there is a bit of dirt in front of it as a ramp, or it tilted backward under force.
Cars should never flip up like that.

[Birelman]

Geez, the cornerworkers! They were borne again, weren't they?

[David M. Kane]

What can I say about those corner workers other than they are so brave and so dedicated. Bravo!

[krapmeister]

I've been to Brands and stood at that spot - was amazing how close you were to the cars but felt pretty safe because you weren't on the outside of the corner. Just goes to show that accidents can happen anywhere.

The armco barrier probably contributed fairly heavily to the crash - IMO on impact it crumples and moves backwards, throwing the car up into the air. A concrete barrier would stay vertical and not allow the car to launch upwards.

Edited by krapmeister, 19 July 2010 - 03:47.

[schtix]

The main factor in this crash is not barriers, catch fencing, armco or the circuit. It was the two touring car drivers being massive cocks.

[LB]

Too some of the comments on this thread

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH

God some people won't be happy until we are racing surrounded by cotton wool with spectators 300 yards away.

Motor racing is dangerous, it says so on the ticket. I have watched Motorsports events at Brands since the early 80's I have never seen a car go off in that area, I probably never will again.

[britishtrident]

Reminded me of the Douglas Niven "Boss Escort" accident at Ingliston 35 or so years back.

[Rob]

Even catch fences don't necessarily catch cars. Look on Youtube for Kieth O'dor's accident at Donington.

[Wingnut]

Respect for the Marshalls, that guy who nearly got crushed just seconds before started heading for the car to help the driver.

[Rob]

Too some of the comments on this thread

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH

God some people won't be happy until we are racing surrounded by cotton wool with spectators 300 yards away.

Motor racing is dangerous, it says so on the ticket. I have watched Motorsports events at Brands since the early 80's I have never seen a car go off in that area, I probably never will again.

I absolutely agree.

[JPW]

same here, freak accident.

[OfficeLinebacker]

Leaving bad things aside, I liked the way the car gets up, hitting the front part first then the back part then lifting off. Seemed cool and smooth.

Gotta admit, it did look pretty cool. But only noticing because the OP said noone got hurt. Thanks OP!

[DazzlerF1]

Firstly I must say marshals at every event do a brilliant job but I am also very disappointed and concerned how Brands Hatch position their Marshals around the circuit.

Last year there was a massive 1st lap pile up as the WTCCs entered Druids Hairpin, many cars departed off the track and used the grass on the right hand side. This year bizarre as it seems 3 marshals were in that area yesterday and 2 young 'inexperineced looking' marshals were located in that position today (of course behind the barrier). What I find disturbing is the lack of protection for these marshals. If you view the hugh crash today it looks to me as if the marshals running for their lives also had NO PROTECTION (cage/fencing) in front of them unlike the flas marshal post.

I think its about time somebody reviewed where marshals position themselves and how they are protected.

I hope the marshals and the driver are well and all return back to what they enjoy most.

Ok as a marshal (and one who has worked at Brands) the first thing I have to say is well done to the team on a great job. I've almost been hit by a car on a couple of occassions (all were freak accidents) and know how scary it can be.

Ok so now on to positioning of marshals and catch fencing. It's too easy for spectators to criticise where marshals are positioned on a circuit but what you have to consider a major part of an incident marshals job is to quickly get to the scene of an incident which could include a driver trapped in a burning car. To do this effectively you can't be stood behind catch fencing where you have to go through a small gap to get there as this takes up precious time which could be the difference between the driver surviving or not. The second point on this issue again relating to catch fencing is had there been catch fencing in this area it could actually have caused more danger than it stopped as it may have blocked the marshals escape route.

Marshals all accept the dangers of the job and are well trained in how to reduce the danger. You say that you saw "young inexperienced looking marshals" well in all fairness you can't tell how experienced a marshal is by just looking at them as I know several teenagers who are very experienced and quite a few guys in their 50's who are new to marshaling. The running of the marshals team and decissions on where to locate them are made in conjunction by the Post Chief (very experienced and also known as an observer, this person is responsible for the entire area the post covers inc flags etc) and the Incident Officer (again a very experienced marshal who is in charge of the incident team on a post), neither of these people would put their team in a dangerous position if it could be avoided, however, like others have said Motor sport is Dangerous. Always has been always will be and thats why we have marshals.

We can make the sport safe but at the end of the day freak accidents will happen I should know as I have been involved in some but in 14 seasons of marshaling I have only felt that I have been in real danger 4 times so far (not bad when I do about 20-30 meetings a year each with multiple races). Will I feel that I'm in danger again? Probably but thats part of my job and is unavoidable especially when dealing with high speed incidents.

[billm99uk]

Ok as a marshal (and one who has worked at Brands) the first thing I have to say is well done to the team on a great job. I've almost been hit by a car on a couple of occassions (all were freak accidents) and know how scary it can be.

Ok so now on to positioning of marshals and catch fencing. It's too easy for spectators to criticise where marshals are positioned on a circuit but what you have to consider a major part of an incident marshals job is to quickly get to the scene of an incident which could include a driver trapped in a burning car. To do this effectively you can't be stood behind catch fencing where you have to go through a small gap to get there as this takes up precious time which could be the difference between the driver surviving or not. The second point on this issue again relating to catch fencing is had there been catch fencing in this area it could actually have caused more danger than it stopped as it may have blocked the marshals escape route.

Marshals all accept the dangers of the job and are well trained in how to reduce the danger. You say that you saw "young inexperienced looking marshals" well in all fairness you can't tell how experienced a marshal is by just looking at them as I know several teenagers who are very experienced and quite a few guys in their 50's who are new to marshaling. The running of the marshals team and decissions on where to locate them are made in conjunction by the Post Chief (very experienced and also known as an observer, this person is responsible for the entire area the post covers inc flags etc) and the Incident Officer (again a very experienced marshal who is in charge of the incident team on a post), neither of these people would put their team in a dangerous position if it could be avoided, however, like others have said Motor sport is Dangerous. Always has been always will be and thats why we have marshals.

We can make the sport safe but at the end of the day freak accidents will happen I should know as I have been involved in some but in 14 seasons of marshaling I have only felt that I have been in real danger 4 times so far (not bad when I do about 20-30 meetings a year each with multiple races). Will I feel that I'm in danger again? Probably but thats part of my job and is unavoidable especially when dealing with high speed incidents.

Nice post