[cmartin]

Thanks for the input guys! I'm still optimistic this track will live up to the hype. Some of the corners sound just plain fun, especially as my skill (s) progress. Reading about the recent incident on the west coast, reminds us barriers should be a 100% requirement for tracks with tight configurations.

Maybe the new track in NJ and maybe if the additional track in VA will be more open designs. No knocking BSR hear. I'm just a beginner that likes open space and piece of mind. While I cant wait to drive the new track, I'm going ito this cautiously.

[CrewChief]

What incident on the west coast? Link please?

[cmartin]

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showt...hreadid=185553

summary....

Two killed during practice at Thunderhill Raceway
By E-R Staff

(WILLOWS) Two Bay Area drivers were killed Friday afternoon when their cars collided during a practice session at Thunderhill Raceway Park, west of Willows.

Track officials said Robert Smeltzer of Petaluma and Charles Aliberti of Clayton were killed in the accident on turn No. 8 of the 15-turn, three-mile road course.

Aliberti, driving a Mazda RX7, struck the side of Smeltzer's Sports Car Club of America GTA sedan.

Rescue crews were on the scene immediately with Side Trax Medical attending the two injured drivers. Enloe Medical Center's FlightCare helicopter also responded to the site from Chico, but the drivers' injuries were fatal.

[Chopper Dropper]

These guys were practising for a race with completely different rules and procedures to DE.
Dirk

[DonNewton]

Dirk is absolutely correct. These guys were practicing for a race, BUT, the incident brought into stark reality how easy it is to lose it and end up with amazing carnage. All because there were no separators/berms/tire walls to preclude communication between different parts of the track. Is Shenandoah this tight?

[cmartin]

Not sure these are the best shots to answer your question, but this gives you some idea of the layout. http://www.pcapotomac.org/pca/html/d...ndoah_pics.php

and

http://www.pcapotomac.org/pca/images/Shenandoah.jpg

[Eric S]

Dirk is correct in stating that racing (practice or otherwise) uses different rules and policies than DE. However there are many drivers and cars capable of achieving just as high of speeds as the racers attain, and whether by driver induced error or mechanical failure, these vehicles can become high velocity projectiles.

Every track has its own inherent safety issues. When circuits are designed to incorporate multiple configurations, such as both Thunder Hill and Shenandoah Circuit, these issues are sometimes amplified. In the case of running the SC in the clockwise direction, for example, there is a long straight that approaches a left hand turn; there is also a cutoff road that continues straight and intersects another straight running left to right at 90 degrees. A car experiencing brake failure at the end of this straight would lead to very undesirable results. Imagine Turn 1 at Summit Point with no gravel trap and a perpendicular straightaway instead of the skid pad retaining wall.

These are the type of possibilities that our evaluation team tried to uncover at the SC this past weekend. While not every possible circumstance can be realistically identified or mitigated, we can certainly address those that we see. In this case, there would need to be a temporary tire wall installed, at a minimum.