Talk about needing a diaper...the people standing behind the wall.
view :
YouTube - Allan McNish Crash Le Mans 24 Hours 2011
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Talk about needing a diaper...the people standing behind the wall.
view :
YouTube - Allan McNish Crash Le Mans 24 Hours 2011
Damn scary. And really doesn't make any sense... why would a driver like McNish try such a move?
Just lucky none of the people trackside were hurt.
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Rockenfeller's was more frightening... and definately the GTE Ferrari's fault, the guy had to know he was there and moved over. :(
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I have been told by a person involved that Rockenfeller's impact was at around 310 Km/h and the negative g-force exceeded measuring capabilities of the the data recording system in the R18.
It seems that both crashes are also more or less the result of the aggressive Audi strategy of 'using' their faster car to cope with the consumption disadvantage over the Peugeots...
McNish's overly aggressive move was ill advised but Rockenfeller got hosed by a a club racer (Kaufman) paired with Michael Waltrip in a Ferrari (big surprise).
Both were a couple of knuckleheads in WAY over their heads.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor...s-nascar_N.htm
I heard that the night crash could have been partly due to the extremely bright lights of the Audi blinding the Ferrari driver in his mirrors. With such bright lights flashing on and off that was all he could see and his night vision would be compromised. That would make it very hard to judge distance and closing speed, and where the Audi was going. The Ferrari driver was starting his normal turn-in for Indianapolis.
With McNish, he just seemed way aggressive diving down the inside of his teammate and the Ferrari in the middle of the turn, particularly at that early stage in the race.
To be picky...
The accident occurred at the Mulsanne kink, not Indianapolis. Kaufman (Ferrari) could have easily made the turn w/o having to move over into Rockenfeller's line. This ws noted by several commentators and drivers. The ACO subsequently pulled Kaufman from the race as a driver.
Been up half the night watching...
OK, when I was watching the Audi feed live they thought it was after Mulsanne and before Indianapolis. I did not know they pulled the Ferrari driver. Interesting. This is nothing new having "gentlemen drivers" at LeMans. The GTE-Am class teams all seem to have only 1 amateur on the team, plus 2 professionals.
05.33 Uhr: Robert Kauffman wird vom ACO wegen gefährlicher Fahrweise von der Veranstaltung ausgeschlossen.
http://www.speedweek.de/news/19960/L...10-Uhr%29.html
Autoweek says it happened between Mulsanne and Indianapolis: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20110612/ALMS/110619966
Right near a chicane ... some other views ...
http://www.lequipe.fr/Formule1/breve...re-moitie.html