Hampton Downs: is there an issue?

[Devil]

COmbined with another bunker it might work, but not if it's just grass. You dont slow down very well on grass with anything that has more than two wheels...

[scrivy]

People who've raced at Bathurst are probably barring up right about now.......

[FROSTY:Me]

A point to consider for my mind, is that until the thing's actually built, there is no way of knowing exactly how much of a hazard it may be.

For example, I'm sure that when looking at the plans for Taupo, the final turn onto the pit strait probably looks fine with the pit wall situated where it is. Untill the track has actually been completed and more inportantly RIDDEN, there is no way of knowing for certain what lines will be ideal for quick lap times and therefore where the actual danger areas may be or what the speeds will be.

Just a thought. I know fuck all about engineering or the like.

i'm sorry bro but specific to Taupo track -I was lucky enough to be taken fro a drive round it when it was a gravel pit. The construction and desighn team were well aware there was an issue with the final turn.
Their answer was to change it from the origonal lovely wide sweeper to the chicane we have now.
I suggested to them that the wall needed to be curved back over its last 50m so it hugged the pit lane rather than trackside--at that stage the last 50m hadn't been built. They were under major time constraints to get finished.
With HD there is a small window of opertunity to fix things before its finished.

[oyster]

I was at a street circuit safety review meeting once where the circuit "designers" explained how cars routinely oversteer after a big slide which puts them going at nearly full noise into the inside of a corner. This can happen from about a third of the way in right thru to the exit. As a result , no spectators were allowed within about 50 metres on the corner insides, plus, as we all know, flag points on our circuits are heavily barriered when seemingly safe on the inside of corners. This was 20 years ago so it's no new discovery! Once I had a huge long slide on a bucket mid corner, which, once I caught it, it speared me off into the infeild. So yes, it happens with bikes too, but obviously not as common.

[FROSTY:Me]

The idea might be to curve the leading edge of EVERY barrier so tis not pointing dirrectly at oncoming vehicles.

[Reckless]

Would four rows of bundled covered tyres do the job?
I'm surprised every 90° concrete barrier close to the track doesn't have to have protection as standard?
A redesign of the angle makes sense but the above would work meantime?

[Fatjim]

Racing on race tracks is dangerous! Keep it to the roads.

[javawocky]

Racing on race tracks is dangerous! Keep it to the roads.

You have got to be kidding - I felt much safter on the track than on the ride back home, it was like culture shock.

[enigma51]

Racing on race tracks is dangerous! Keep it to the roads.

High FIVE ......

[sharky]

You have got to be kidding - I felt much safter on the track than on the ride back home, it was like culture shock.

Yes I think he is kidding

[javawocky]

Yes I think he is kidding

walked into that one

[lostinflyz]

that wall theres a lose lose situation. going head on in a car into a wall usually isn't too big. sideways is the problem. which your not too likely to do there as is. If the wall was curved to blunt the impact it'd throw the cars back into the racing line, which is way worse. As for bikes its not good either way.

Why there are walls near any corner (esp right angle walls or walls that can throw bikes/cars back on track) is crazy. Hampton downs is flawed from the off by not having any infield making it a requirement to have walls everywhere.

So much for WSBK aspirations i think.

[Quasievil]

that wall theres a lose lose situation. going head on in a car into a wall usually isn't too big. sideways is the problem. which your not too likely to do there as is. If the wall was curved to blunt the impact it'd throw the cars back into the racing line, which is way worse. As for bikes its not good either way.

Why there are walls near any corner (esp right angle walls or walls that can throw bikes/cars back on track) is crazy. Hampton downs is flawed from the off by not having any infield making it a requirement to have walls everywhere.

So much for WSBK aspirations i think.

Forget WSBK they (Hampton) have the rights but dont have the ten million cash, and they wouldnt run it there in its current state.

[FROSTY:Me]

that wall theres a lose lose situation. going head on in a car into a wall usually isn't too big. sideways is the problem. which your not too likely to do there as is. If the wall was curved to blunt the impact it'd throw the cars back into the racing line, which is way worse. As for bikes its not good either way.

dude You really need to look at the vid--the car hit the "sharp" end of the wall almost cutting the engne bay in two.

[lostinflyz]

yea i saw the vid. The only other option there would be to curve the wall to deflect the impact which would have thrown both cars out onto the racing line.

my point about going head on is that race cars are usually designed or heavily modified to be very strong in the front compared to the sides and somewhat the rear, meaning a head on impact is much preferable to a side on. most car deaths and significant injuries in racing are through side impacts esp. since HANS devices have become mandatory in many parts.