Malcolm Cox wrote:
>
> A note about Derek Israel's death.
> I could be accused of being morbid, but I really like to know the details,
> so I can upgrade my own safety practices/hardware.
>
> >From what I have gathered, Derek had REAL bad luck.
>
> The race group was reasonably speed and mass matched.
<snip>
This could be debated. The accident happened in the esses at Sears
Point. This can be a very fast part of the course with only one good
line. If two cars of similar speed are going 100% (as I am sure these
SCCA racers were), it is not good judgment to attempt to pass there.
Although I have not heard the details of who did what, from the location
of the vehicles I think that more than just bad luck was involved here.
The mixing of ITC cars with the SRF class was controversial, even before
this accident. A Candidate's Statement was circulated at the event by
an IT driver/safety worker running for the board of the SF Region of
SCCA who urged that SRF have their own group. He said, "It is very
apparent amongst the ITC drivers that they are not happy running with
the SRF cars."
My understanding is part of the gripe is visibility, and the SRF cars
are much lower and harder to see than the relatively tall IT cars.
The SRF cars are slightly faster than the ITC's (approx 10 seconds per
lap for the fastest car in each group, 18 or so among the slower cars),
and considerably lighter than the IT cars. Even though a spit start is
employed, the race results indicate that the two classes will
intermingle at points on the course.
Regards,
Tom Matychowiak
Elva Courier #43
|