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Rossi wins

What a subdued race

Not sure if it's the package or the fact the start crash spooked everyone but literally nothing happened in this race, it was if a computer program ran it and turned off the "random event generator"

Never seen anything like it

Next week will hopefully be better.

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RIP Birmingham Wheels: here's some of the crash videos I recorded when it was there:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIaKIE ... 5t9d5PvoHA

Twitter:

http://www.twitter.com/paulhadsley

The pit strategy battle between Power and Rossi was fun at least. Hope the teams can figure out how to get more runs out of the setup without having to throw tons of downforce at it (hopefully more power will fix that in a few years)

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Wickens update

Orthopedic can mean a lot of different things. It sounds pretty serious though.

That was such a brutal crash at the worst spot to crash at Pocono.

Also, real classy of Michael Andretti for blaming Wickens right away.

You expect different from Michael? Hah.

Typing this from a diner in Newburgh NY.

Left at lap 175 since the finish was not in doubt. Aero package is out of whack, although this is to be expected with less downforce. The dirty air is a surprise since we undertray generates more downforce than the top side does. Still, I think the lack of drafting is due to less aero drag.

Wickens wreck was unbelievable. Hard t see exactly from where we were, but all I saw was a red car go airborne, a fireball and an ocean of junk and sliding cars. The grandstand around us went, "Oh My God" in unison. Surreal. It's amazing how fast it happends in person versus TV. Glad he's more or less OK. At least he's alive which I wasn't sure about for quite awhile.

The race itself was lackluster at best. I thought it would tone down after the wreck, but 188 laps of green was not what I expected.

Not as bad as Kenny Brack, but similar injuries.

Not really but I can be naïve.

Yeah, that’s better than I was fearing, even after they announced he was awake/alert.

The tub really did a great job holding together. I think the DW12 must have some upgrades in that area because even Conway’s tub got gouged open in his Indy crash. But Franchitti, Aleshin, and now Wickens all really took bad shots into the fence and, as far as I know, there was no intrusion into the cockpit. Saved him from some grisly injuries I’d assume.

Official statement by SPM


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so damn lucky that it's not worse, and also shows how much IndyCar has improved things in the recent timespan. Hope that someone can get some ideas on how to make improvements with the fencing and other things for the tracks.

Watching replays, anyone notice that a tire/wheel assembly went flying out of the track?

Seems like I made the right call by going to bed on lap 140.

I was wondering if that T2 wall should be higher. Wickens rode that wall for quite a while before dove in to the fence.

Then again he was unfortunate to bounce over RHR's front tire on that exact spot and exact way.

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"Indy doesn't give you a second chance. You have to earn it."

the exception for the dw12 would be hinchcliffe's indy500 practice crash in '15 that almost killed him http://www.mensjournal.com/sports/james-hinchcliffe-how-i-survived-my-near-fatal-crash-w207998/

and i agree with those who said the safer barrier should be taller. if he misses it and goes straight into the fence at that angle its game over

also, like the idea of developing a fence with the support poles pushed back somehow. somebody needs to pay some engineers to sort that shit out

Just finished the race, Wickens crash scary as hell but glad to hear it's not as bad as it looked. Hope to see him back next year, he's been a revelation in open-wheel. What a wheelman.

Oh, and from the commentary in this thread, it really sounds like a lot of you need to become engineers and find an alternative to catch fences. All the answers and no viable fucking solutions

That is what I am thinking as well. Also have they identified what two fences might do, ie, the first is some kind of high strength (Kevlar?)netting/mesh with the main catch fence sitting behind that? The idea being that the mesh would retard the car somewhat before it slams into the poles.

The poles are not really the problem, any kind of "soft" fencing will bend, grab the car, and spin it around while tearing it apart. Something smooth like a Plexiglass, or even a plain opaque wall in areas with no cameras/spectators, would do a better job in letting the car slide along and bring it back down on the track.

The damage to Franchitti in 2013 was all done all by the body/head rotating very fast, faster than the brain could rotate, the brain then hitting inside the cranium as a result. No tub can protect you from that if the rotational acceleration is violent enough, which is what inevitably happens with catch fencing (with or without poles)
I'm glad he doesn't have a very bad concussion like Franchitti - from what we know anyways. Franchitti was alert but forgot a couple weeks before and after the crash, and had a lot of bruising on the brain leading him eventually to call quits after several concussions in his career.

A lot of the changes to the DW12 tub (secondary side walls, intrusion preventative parts on the wishbones) were all made as a result of Hich's crash.

I don't think that fencing needs to dissipate energy, just redirect it. It's almost never hit with a high impact angle. If the fencing has any sort of "give" to it, it will grab, tear and spin. Raising the walls means more concrete up so that would work, but it isn't very TV or spectator-friendly. Well. If we had the solution we'd just start a company and equip all tracks worldwide.

No one is sitting behind any wall in the stands in corners. Raising the walls there ain't gonna ruin anyone's view. Had the T2 wall been like 30-40cm higher might have been just enough to keep the car away from the fence. Maybe adding plexiglass on high risk areas could be a good idea, maybe overkill, since these happen rarely and in different places.

So keeping the cars on the ground together with higher Salla might be the best way to go.

Does anyone know the G-forces from Wickens car?

_________________
"Indy doesn't give you a second chance. You have to earn it."

Okay so we got move the fence back, raise the wall a couple of feet, and add plexiglass. How far do we move the fence back? Wouldn't the raised wall have sent Wickens' car into the fence at a higher angle, and maybe have turned the top of tub into the fence? How thick is the plexiglass? 1/8 inch? An inch? 12 inches? Are we sure it's not gonna break and cut up more vital arteries and shit?

Seriously, we gonna fix this shit right here and now. Lots of big brains in here, lets work this out