viper vid from VIR.......What the heck happened???

[Eric H]

http://jeffsweb.net/viperattack.php

anyone know what the heck happened to this guy????


This was this past weekend at the mazda days events at VIR Grand Course

 

[Leslie]

couldn't download the video, but I ran VIR last wknd with the Mazda group

If it's the silver ACR-he hit a guardrail

 

[Eric H]

is it an ACR? looks like an RT/10

how in the heck did he do that going down the front straight????

 

[Don]

Wow, that sure would get your blood pumping! I can't imagine how he or she managed to do that on a straight away?!?!?!

 

[Bonkers]

#95 - looked like a blue or black SRT or vette, but definately not gen II.

 

[Vic]

That looked like a black SRT to me.

CLOSE UP! Time to check your underwear after that close call.....

Did you hear how the driver was shaking it off? It really suprised him! Betcha he wasn't "right" for hours.

As far as what happened, it appears that the Viper got "light" going over the last rise. Probably didn't have the wheel straight going over the rise, and it swapped ends, hooking accross the track. Hmmm, seems familiar....

 

[ViperJohn]

That's Vipera Russeli(sp?) He posted about the wreck from two weeks ago. I suspected it was him. I looked at your video and the car had the number "95" on it. I looked up his avatar which also has "95". I am sure he would like to see this footage.

Please tell me this was from atleast two weeks ago. He was able to get his car fixed quickly. I hope, for his sake, this is from that outing.

BTW, if I were in your shoes, I would have had to pull right into the pits and call it a day. (Probably change into some clean shorts too!)

 

[ViperBite]

An extra coat of paint on either car and it could have been ugly.

 

[Vic]

Snipped from Vipera's other thread-

Russ,
Sorry to hear about the car. What part of the track did the mishap occur at?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks. It happened coming out of the corner before the front straight.

I was having a great time roaring around the track when at one point I caught up with a guy who wasn't going quite as fast. As he entered into a long two-point corner/curve before a straightaway (shown here as corner 17 and 17a http://www.virclub.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=section&id=23&Itemid=106), I picked up speed to close the gab between us so that (or so I calculated) I would be on his tail when we emerged from the corner/curve and entered the straightaway. Unfortunately, I closed on him too fast and caught him before we were out of the corner. To keep from hitting him, I had to lift off the gas and stop accelerating while I was still in the corner Making matters worse, just where I stopped accelerating there is a slight dip in the road in this already down hill corner . I spun off the track, into the grass and then into the guard rail --WHAP!!! I thought for sure that the back end would hit the guardrail as well since the spin continued, but I missed it. I came to a stop on the side of the track facing the direction I was going initially. The car managed to stay running throughout the crash, so I check my gages, checked the track, and then limped back to the pits.

Here is a vid of guy doing almost the same thing in the same spot, although his problems result form him being off-line. Oh, and he's lucky to miss the guard rail.

http://www.negative-camber.org/jam149/video/crispy_virnT17_dry_spin.mpg

 

[Vic]

In this example video from 2001, the driver was turning in way too early, unable to make the apex at the right spot. His car was headed towards the inside candy stripe at an angle that could only result in going off. When he corrected, he let completely off the gas, resulting in "snap oversteer". Kinda like dropping out of warp. Should stayed on the throttle and rode the tiger, power slide it with weight transfering rearward, unwinding the wheel CCW, then gradually feather off the gas when possible.

now back to your regularly scheduled programing

 

[ACR steve]

That was a blk SRT and I hope it wasnt a Viper with the in car because he couldnt even catch a 325 BMW

 

[Leslie]

well I have learned at VIR and most any track you CAN'T let off the throttle to correct an early apex-you gotta stay on it and steer the car through it

I was tracking my Z06 that wknd at the event, talked to the viper guys for a bit-good group and some sweet rides

 

[Eric H]

Apparently it was Bugeater from this forum who hit the guardrail in the silver viper! oops!

 

[Vic]

well I have learned at VIR and most any track you CAN'T let off the throttle to correct an early apex-you gotta stay on it and steer the car through it

I was tracking my Z06 that wknd at the event, talked to the viper guys for a bit-good group and some sweet rides

Leslie, I was re-thinking my post, and I seem to have made an error, or tell me what you think, in this scenario-

You turn in too early, and your car is heading into the candy stripe on the inside of the corner, way before the apex. Your choices at this point are?

1. Stay on the gas, and steer it gradually towards the outside of the turn, to avoid going off the inside?
2. Breathe off the throttle slightly, just enough to transfer weight forward and help the fronts bite a bit, unwinding the wheel just enough to avoid going off on the inside?
3. Honk your horn, then slam on the brakes.
4. Turn on the wipers, and whip the wheel suddenly outside.

Or some combination of the the above, depending on how deep you are into it?

Sorry to hear of the troubles for Bugeater and Vipera. Glad you're ok.

 

[Leslie]

hey Vic

I was running advanced/solo group that wknd, think Bugeater was too. I was sitting out that run, my oil temps were in the 300's on the vette, time for a cooler!

I stay ON the throttle,keep on the steering but nothing jerking, ....if I get on the brakes in the vette with rwhp I am headed for a spin haha

I have been lucky, in 2 yrs never gone all 4's off, but I do have a lot of seat time in the Z06-55K miles and mostly track

on that video above where the guy spins out-I am FULL throttle there, he must have let up on the gas

 

[Janni]

Or - dropped a couple of tires near the flagstand on the right side, tried to save it and shot across the track - happens all too often....

 

[Vintage Racer]

A great example of how NOT to come back on the track after dropping two wheels off. Anyway, the guy with the camera in his car knew he was coming since he had continued to stay off line to driver's left. But what a way to get passed!

 

[Vic]

Missed this response!

Thanks for your input, Leslie.

Dayum, you got a jones for tracking! Wish I had that kinda time and money. Seems like I got less of both lately...

 

[Leslie]

thanks Vic I love it, it's my therapy

 

[Vipera Russelli]

Sorry I’ve been away for so long. I was crazy busy at work after the Mazda event and then took two weeks vacation and just noticed this post last night. Shoot, I just found out about this video this past weekend when I arrived back at VIR for full course with Car Guys. I hadn’t been there five minutes when someone walked up to me and started telling me about a spinout that occurred involving a Viper like mine a few weeks ago. In fact, all weekend long people were talking about it, some of whom knew it was me and some of whom didn’t. And then someone, actually lots of someones, said “So, have you seen the video?” Video? What video? Damn.

As for what happened. Vic got it right.

As far as what happened, it appears that the Viper got "light" going over the last rise. Probably didn't have the wheel straight going over the rise, and it swapped ends, hooking across the track. Hmmm, seems familiar....

I was passing the Beemer (the car with the video) and just as I was at the Beemer’s right quarter-panel it moved to the right just a bit (you can see it in the video). No foul on his part, but still being a little jumpy from buying a guardrail just two weeks prior, I panicked a bit and ****** the wheel to the right. The Viper jumped a car width to the right and I corrected left while in the dip. The front tires grabbed HARD coming out of the dip and I rocketed to the left in front of the Beemer (God, I can still see his hood when I close my eyes!) and off the track. I did at least two three-sixties and ended up what seemed to me to be at least 150 years off track. The spinout lasted so long that I had time to recompose and start looking around to see what I was going to hit. Nothing. Once I determined that all had survived, a feeling of euphoria engulfed me. Whew! Interestingly, from that point forward all the previous wreck jitters were gone and my driving has never been better. I had a blast this past weekend at VIR and have put my gardening phase behind me. Oh, and no damage or other impact on the Viper resulted, other than having to vacuum out all of the damn grass that came in through the windows.

My sincere apologies to Chuck Grafton, the Beemer driver, for the resulting gray hairs. And thanks for keeping it together Chuck! Not everybody would have kept their cool under the circumstances. Whew! That was a close one!

 

[AG98RT10]

Thanks for posting what happened, I'd seen that video and couldn't figure out where the SRT-10 came from!