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Ah that sucks

How bads the fracture? Enough so you cant drive for a bit?

Ive never known anyone to fracture that bone so Im not sure what sort of precautions you have to take with it.

Shame about the car too

Damn..I really hope this doesn't dishearten you since it was one of your first times out in the car....
I guess you were trying to save it until the bitter end and the car just wasn't playing ball!

I hope things get better from now on for you!

Blog updated with some additional information and wreck pics:
http://ptracer.wordpress.com/2009/04/19 ... ng-150409/

Nice to read your updates, too bad you crashed the car and injured yourself. I wish you a quick and good recovery and will follow the rest of the season for sure!

ah man, that must suck big time

After looking at some pics, and I am no doctor, I can say that you're lucky to getyour radius broken. Because the ulna is the main bone forming the elbow articulation, along with the humerus. Doesn't mean you can drive fully well I guess , but I wish you a good and quick recovery !

Two weeks to go until my first race.......

Just found this thread for the first time. Thanks for sharing, and sorry to read about your accident so soon into the season.

I was looking at the photos and something concerned me. I made a line between the top of the roll hoop and the front lip of the tub (just ahead of the steering wheel). Maybe it's the angle of the photo but how can this be safe?:

It wasn't, we've since had a 6 inch high extension welded onto the existing roll hoop.

^ Wow, that's great to hear.

It concerns me though that at tracks all around the world, especially in the vintage classes, drivers are allowed to go out on the track with their helmets protruding above the imaginary roll-over line from the hoop. Can you tell us, is this something they actually regulate, and check for in tech inspection or on the mock grid?

Well it's difficult with historics, isn't it? I mean, the MSA regulations state that all cars should have a rollover bar with the "line" 2 inches above the head, and a six point safety harness.

And yet they allow people to go out in cars like this:

People in Historics poo-poo modern safety devices and want to race the cars as they were raced at the time.

Personally if I were to race an historic I'd want a HANS device, strengthened rollbar/cage/whatever else.
Spoiling the look of a vintage car is one thing, dying in an easily preventable accident is quite another.

I'm usually too scared to go and see Historic stuff in person for this very reason.
(Mind you its only the price tag that is putting me off going to the Silverstone Classic )

Maybe their philosiphy is different. Maybe they don't treat it as a car they're going to push to the maximum and RACE.
Perhaps they just think of it as a quiet afternoon parade to demonstrate an old machine. Better that than let it sit in a museum.

I guess I can see that argument, but still, accidents do happen. And with the weight transfer on those things, they roll over at a drop of a hat!

Most of the people in historics are in their 30s, 40s, 50s or even older. They have nothing to prove to anyone, hence don't drive stupidly. That doesn't mean they drive slowly though!!!

Good point about the old open-top cars - those things really worry me!

As for drivers in vintage classes not driving to prove anything, well.. as you recently found out, you don't have to be driving like a mad man (either at a crazy rate of speed or making high risk maneuvers) for your car to suffer a mechanical issue. See this thread in which the driver who suffered a fatal mishap was said by witnesses to be "taking it easy".

I remember going to Watkins Glen one year for the Zippo Grand Prix vintage festival featuring old F1 cars and sports cars. At lunchtime I took a walk in the garages where some of the cars were on display.. the placement of the pedals in F1 cars as recent as early-to-mid-80's was just plain scary!! I'll never forget realizing that the pedals on at least one car I saw were AHEAD of the front axle! Were the drivers crazy or did they just not know any better?!

I'd love the opportunity to drive any race car (I have been to racing school) but am not embarrassed to admit that there are many cars that upon inspection, I would be chicken to drive, even if the owner said "go for it". I am glad therefore that there are drivers who know the risks, and are willing to take them so that they, and others like myself may enjoy them.

This car spins round at what looks like less than 30mph, but on the downhill bit, the tyres "dug" into the ground and toppled over, probably helped with the high centre of gravity...

what was that guy in the grey car at around 0:42 thinking?

He certainly wasn't paying attention. I hope they had words with him later.

All ready to go for Brands...painted, stickered and put together.

Great!