It was just another day at the races

[RonDent]

Until this happened.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcvHdhTSnEk



I was at the track that day but was not working turn 8. Friends who were couldn't believe what they had seen.

I'm glad to see that Ms. Monk is doing well.

[Noah930]

Wow. Thank God she's OK! Shades of Gonzalo Rodriguez.

[Tervuren]

What do you think you would do?

Avoid the other cars and hit the wall?

Or use the other cars as brakes?

[ted]

Ron glad to hear she is OK.
Years ago I was lucky? when my brakes failed in T6 before climbing the back straight.
Not much run off at the top of the back straight.
Still it's my favorite west coast track.

[RonDent]

Mike,
We have a joke. Over the wall at Turn 6, next stop Salinas.

[ted]

Originally Posted by Tervuren

What do you think you would do?

Avoid the other cars and hit the wall?

Or use the other cars as brakes?

It's really tough to do anything.
You come up the steep uphill back straight and about 30 feet before the corkscrew left turn apex the track has a crest and so it's actually a slight downhill into the first left apex, car gets light/unweighted, like a negative G feeling, the car is not going to respond to any inputs when its barely touching the ground.

If I had to choose I'd side swipe a wall to slow a runaway car, before I'd hit another car.
Although I see no other option for what happened in this video.
Other than pumping brakes before each corner, which I've done on occasion.

Perhaps added corkscrew run off to the flag stand outside T8?
But that would take moving the corkscrew pedestrian bridge and grooming the side of the hill.

[ted]

Originally Posted by RonDent

Mike,
We have a joke. Over the wall at Turn 6, next stop Salinas.

I had a couple pounds of gold DG in my car and trailer after this.
Just needed a few more yards to make a nice DG path in the back yard.
Grateful for all the T6 runoff improvements.

https://youtu.be/4glx1pjt10w?t=12m25s

[sand_man]

Scary!!! Pretty sure I saw her at VIR this past August!!!!

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by Noah930

Wow. Thank God she's OK! Shades of Gonzalo Rodriguez.

Was that the Champ Car driver who t-boned the wall?

Originally Posted by Tervuren

What do you think you would do?

Avoid the other cars and hit the wall?

Or use the other cars as brakes?

I doubt she had that much time to think. One second and it was into the tires. Took another second or so to fly up and land. Says a lot about the cars.

[Tervuren]

Originally Posted by Zeke

I doubt she had that much time to think. One second and it was into the tires. Took another second or so to fly up and land. Says a lot about the cars.

These things can go through your mind ahead of time, no thinking required.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by Tervuren

These things can go through your mind ahead of time, no thinking required.

Well, no need to debate, You've raced and I've raced. She blew by those cars so fast it didn't look real. I'll go with ted and say little control available even if she had the time to steer the car into another. Which would be a bad move in my book. Why take out an innocent racer because of your misfortune? This ain't NASCAR.

[Rtrorkt]

brake failure or brain failure?

[Tervuren]

Originally Posted by Rtrorkt

brake failure or brain failure?

I have seen brain failure twice in karting.

In both cases, no brakes, no steering.

Both cases were pre-teenage karters. One had a history and the parents did not disclose ahead of time.

One incident required an ambulance, hospital, and surgery. T-boned a Suburban at about 45MPH. We had to pick the SUV up to get him out. Just piling on people until we had enough to get it up.

The other hit layers of tires bolted together that did a good job of slowing him to a stop.

In the video she is turning left. Likely a brake or throttle issue rather than a brain issue.

[ted]

I think her brains are fine.
Her last act of control was self preservation.
She made a left correction staying on asphalt off line instead of rear ending another car.

Doubtful the case in this lucky lady's accident.
In amateur racing Brain fade or unforced errors more related to hydration/overheated body temperature, fitness.

[Baz]

Meanwhile Lamborghini issued its own statement:

“Our thoughts are with Sheena Monk as she recovers from yesterday’s accident in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Upon initial analysis of the car data following the accident, all of the operating systems were found to be functioning appropriately, as did the car’s safety systems during, and after, impact. All of us at Lamborghini are thankful for the safety of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo race cars.”

https://autoweek.com/article/imsa/imsa-lamborghini-super-trofeo-racer-sheena-monk-issues-statement-day-after-scary-crash

[pwd72s]

An interview she did last year..."Can't wait to go through the corkscrew"...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Wi7-nedOgQ

[ted]

“Our thoughts are with Sheena Monk as she recovers from yesterday’s accident in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Upon initial analysis of the car data following the accident, all of the operating systems were found to be functioning appropriately, as did the car’s safety systems during, and after, impact. All of us at Lamborghini are thankful for the safety of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo race cars.”

That sympathy card was a bit passive aggressive.
Get well quick and it was all your fault.
Terrible luck, a crash at the corkscrew then thrown under a bus.

[Tervuren]

Originally Posted by Baz

Meanwhile Lamborghini issued its own statement:

“Our thoughts are with Sheena Monk as she recovers from yesterday’s accident in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Upon initial analysis of the car data following the accident, all of the operating systems were found to be functioning appropriately, as did the car’s safety systems during, and after, impact. All of us at Lamborghini are thankful for the safety of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo race cars.”

https://autoweek.com/article/imsa/imsa-lamborghini-super-trofeo-racer-sheena-monk-issues-statement-day-after-scary-crash

So it sounds like it was a George Miedecke moment.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Tervuren

What do you think you would do?

In that short period of time I would be pumping the brakes and wondering WTF is going on. Not much time for reflection or strategizing.