Dan Wheldon 1978-2011

[FairfaxPat]

I was watching that race live when it happened. Got this really sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, hoping everyone was OK. That was the biggest IndyCar wreck in over 40 years-my sympathies go out to the Wheldon family.

 

[FMJ]

Seeing his father give an interview/statement in his garden while being held up by Dan's brothers was gut wrenching.

 

[thesneaker]

Horrific crash, when watching it i can't believe only 1 person lost their life, the company i work for sponsor the car Dan Wheldon was driving, B&W, not the way you want to see your company advertised, through the death of its driver

 

[Awkward Kid]

It had that shocking feeling similar to when Senna lost his life, you just knew watching the footage that someone wasn't walking away. I hope the sport learns from this horrific tragedy, saftey is improved and my thoughts are ultimately with Dan's family

RIP

 

[Dr S]

The organizers should be shot for this. Running 34 cars on a high banked mile and a half track. Thats only about 80 yards between cars running at 220 mph! These cars are so restricted that they just bunch up too which doesn't help and makes the drivers try crazy stuff to get ahead. Dangling a 5 million dollar prize carrot in front of them was only going to make things even more crazy.

Such a shame that this was allowed to happen.

 

[Neil]

The organizers should be shot for this. Running 34 cars on a high banked mile and a half track. Thats only about 80 yards between cars running at 220 mph! These cars are so restricted that they just bunch up too which doesn't help and makes the drivers try crazy stuff to get ahead. Dangling a 5 million dollar prize carrot in front of them was only going to make things even more crazy.

Such a shame that this was allowed to happen.

In fairness, I've watched plenty of Indycar races in the past on short ovals (most seem to have some banking), and there's always been quite a number of cars in the race.

If the number of cars and type of track is the real issue, then surely there will be several other races / tracks that need culling?

Whether short oval or super speedway, there's always plenty of close running, and silly high speeds in Indycar - I've watched huge smashes in the Indy 500, and at other ovals - Greg Moore was killed in a single car incident at an oval track, Zanardi's accident was on the German oval track (the name escapes me at present) and a good few years back, I remember seeing a horrific accident in the Indy 500 (which as an event, seemed to attract the once-a-year-pay-driver, dunno whether it still does) - think it was Stan Fox who looked very precarious, the front of his car was ripped off, leaving his legs exposed as the car bounced and span around.

edit: and of course, Mansell's last Indy 500 ended with him retiring from the race after Dennis Vitolo, and his car (!), landed on top of Mansell's. I remember watching the race where a fairly innocuous crash on an oval, for Adrian Fernandez, resulted in a wheel flying over the catch fencing and killing a spectator.

I guess my point was motorsport is dangerous - which I think we all know. That's not to say that lessons can't be learnt and safety improved - but all the same, putting aside the tragic loss and the emotional response (and yes, I also read Blundell's comments) if the event was that bad, there will be others that need addressing, too - a few years back, I remember hearing talk about how the high speeds at Fontana (I think) averaging over 240 mph a lap, was pushing the limits too much, and that drivers were in danger of passing out.

High speed (whether short, or super speedway) ovals are dangerous places - not just for single seaters - and occasionally there are tragic - perhaps freak- accidents. I'm not trying to trivialise that, just putting it into context - if there is a real problem with the event, then surely there is with several others, and surely there has been for years.

 

[rosstheboss]

I remember seeing a horrific accident in the Indy 500 (which as an event, seemed to attract the once-a-year-pay-driver, dunno whether it still does)

It was mentioned on tv that a fair few of the drivers weren't 'professional' i.e. full time racing drivers.

Maybe someone can fill me in but surely you need a professional racing license for this sort of racing like F1 or MotoGP, does the FIA even regulate American racing???

 

[Neil]

I remember seeing a horrific accident in the Indy 500 (which as an event, seemed to attract the once-a-year-pay-driver, dunno whether it still does)

It was mentioned on tv that a fair few of the drivers weren't 'professional' i.e. full time racing drivers.

Maybe someone can fill me in but surely you need a professional racing license for this sort of racing like F1 or MotoGP, does the FIA even regulate American racing???

I don't think the FIA is involved.

There was a time when Indycar / Champ Cars were run by CART, but the Indy 500 was always a one-off sanctioned by the company that owns / runs the track, I believe, then - Tony George?

Then when the Indycar series split into CART / Champ Cars and the Indycar series (around the mid / late 90s), I believe what was then the breakaway IRL was formed, I think Tony George formed that?

In the era that I used to watch the Indy 500 races, all drivers that had never taken part in the Indy 500 were considered rookies (including, in 1993, F1 World Champion - at the time Nigel Mansell) and had to take part in, and pass, mandatory rookie training, where they were assessed at various speeds, driving around the track. I assume this is still in place, although I haven't watch an Indy 500 race in years.

Thing is, though, the Indy 500 was / is a big thing for US motorsport - so much so, that almost in it's own right caused a faction and split in the then sport and series (from memory, it was a fallout between CART and the Indy 500 event (USAC?) and rule changes (that, and an assumed significance of the Indy 500, really) - that in effect spawned a new series. That shows you the power of certain motorsport events like the Indy 500.

At that time, IRL was considered very secondary to CART / Champ Cars, but the Indy 500 was a huge thorn in the side for CART / Champ Cars - to the point that several CART / Champ Car teams entered cars in the Indy 500 even though they normally competed in a different series. And over time, the IRL prevailed, and CART / Champ Cars folded.

I suppose, the equivalent, in F1 terms, is the Monaco race being it's own thing, that F1 / FIA could take part in, then deciding they wanted their own rules, giving priority to a certain group, the FIA falling out with Monaco, deleting it from their F1 calendar, and not sanctioning the race. Then, the hypothetical Monaco race institution forming it's own racing series with Monaco being the premiere event, and including a burgeoning race calendar. Then, over time, interest shifting to that series, and interest in the hypothetical, traditional, F1 series dwindling to the point it collapses and a (hypothetical) Monaco based racing series prevails.

Sounds odd? Well that's klinda what happened over the Indy 500, and partly explains why it was such a big deal.

 

[FairfaxPat]

The reason there were 34 cars in the race at Las Vegas (one more than the Indy 500) was it was the last race of the season and next year the cars change, so all the back-up cars were hauled out and entered too, as they will be obsolete next year. Probably not wise on the sanctioning body's part to let that many cars run on a smaller oval. The cars are actually slower than they used to be- Mario ran a lap of almost 245 MPH at Indy during practice in the 90's-they run in the high 220's now-and CART canceled their race at Texas Motor Speedway (another 1.5 mile banked oval) about 8-10 years ago because they were lapping at around 235-240 there and the constant 3-5 G load they were sustaining on each lap was disorienting the drivers. Present day IRL cars lap Texas at 215-220 and the G load is much lower and easier to take at the reduced speeds.

 

[tintin40]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motogp/15421404.stm

:cry: :cry: :cry: And a bad month for motor sport

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4-Ght1eYwQ