WOW...sobering video. Could I get out in 10 seconds?

Another good reason that even yu have a plumbed fire system, it wouldn't hurt to have another handheld bottle in easy reach from the outside/passenger side.
 
One of those times when seconds feel like minutes. Sounds like the Porsche driver rushed when hooking up his belts before the session. The narrator said that the release mechanism was against the drivers body. Lucky the wind was pulling the fire away from the Porsche driver or things could have ended very differently.
 
Wow is right. That 944 driver took way too much time to get out of his burning car. He also forgot to hit the kill switch to turn off the fuel pumps. Lesson learned here!

After my roll-over in May where I needed help from the rescue crew to get out of my car (again, God bless you folks!), I've taken a much closer look at my safety gear (both car and driver). My new car (a Spec Miata) is getting a fire suppression system installed as we speak, just for incidents like this.

Every time we have a forum discussion like this, we always talk about how drivers should make sure that they can quickly get out of their car in X amount of time. How many of us actually do this? Maybe this should be done as part of the annual tech?
 
here is more video with a full description of what happened. FF to the 9:45 mark.

http://goracingtv.com/09/16/2012/speed-news-video-mag-september-episode/

Story from the GTS page:






Quote Originally Posted by shiza40

The fire

Despite our lamentations to the drivers regarding contact, arguably the worst incident of the weekend happened during Thursday morning's qualifying session. Southeast Regional Director Jim Pantas was driving his daughter's Pepto-Bismol pink BMW SE30 as a GTS2 car. Hurrying down Thunder Valley, a short straight along the back of the Mid-Ohio facility, he watched the traffic ahead of him scatter just in time to see the nearly-stopped GTS1 Porsche 944 of Greg Panik, busy fighting a gearbox problem, dead ahead.

Although Panik had moved well off the racing line, a gaggle of GTS3 and GTS4 cars around Pantas' slower BMW left him in the same place. Pantas had no time to divert and just managed to lock up the brakes before slamming into the back of Panik's limping car. Unbeknownst to either driver, the impact burst Panik's gas tank and fuel was gushing out beneath Pantas' car and across the track.

Several cars made it safely past before Mike Ward (GTS2 Porsche 968), assuming he was seeing coolant, drove through the river of fuel. The resulting splash sent gasoline misting up to his hot brake rotors and ignited the whole thing.

Ward continued on with flames streaking down both sides of his car. Meanwhile, the main part of the puddle--the part under Pantas' BMW--burst into an inferno. You know how it is in the movies when they light off gasoline bombs and there's an obscene dark orange flame pumping out an incredibly thick column of sooty black smoke?

It was exactly like that.

Exactly.

I've seen video of this from a following racer and the whole thing is absolutely sobering. Inside of what was probably no more than two or three seconds, Pantas' car became fully engulfed, surrounded on both sides by flames reaching ten or more feet into the air.

Of course, he unbuckled and exited the car, but as he told me afterward, "I started to take a breath but it was too hot so I held my breath but then realized I couldn't see anything and didn't know which way I should go. I knew the other car was over that way so I just ran the other way and hoped it was right."

In all, it took him nearly ten seconds to get out of the flames which, when you see the video, seems like a very, very long time. A scary long time. Miraculously, and thanks to the quality of his safety gear, Jim's only burns were on his chin and eyebrows as he'd skipped wearing a balaclava. He has vowed never to do that again.

The impact pushed Pantas' BMW's left front tire back into the passenger compartment, spraining his ankle. Once out of the flames, he limped over to the guardrail only to realize he could hear the other driver screaming, "I can't get out! I can't get out!"

Panik, it turned out, had a harness on which the central connector was attached to the submarine strap rather than the more conventional lap belt configuration. By accident, he had turned it the wrong way when buckling in and now the release handle was up against his body instead of facing away as he expected. In the excitement and fear of the moment, he didn't realize the issue and couldn't find the release as the flames licked ever closer.

Fortunately, and thanks to the incline of the track, the bulk of the fuel and flames remained in the rear of the stranded 944 and hadn't quite gotten to the driver yet. Hearing the screams, Pantas hurried across the track again as fast as he could on his bum leg, helping to extract the panicked Panik safely.

Thanks to Jim Pantas' quick thinking and bravery, both drivers ended up okay (small burns and the hurt ankle notwithstanding) but the cars are both write-offs.
 
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The first time I watched this was at work, so I didn't have the sound on. I would be amazed if Mr. Panik(?), the driver of 44 retained his license for long. I mean really. In my eyes, he just about kacked not only himself, but Mr. Panta as well.

Off the racing line??? The 44 car, fighting a gear problem put on the brakes and stopped on course!! In traffic!! What? Assuming that everyone could get around him? Just as there was a pass on right that trapped the BMW. Perfect timing to make a pit stop... on course.

So first off, if one is having issues that may hinder with their forward progression, the safest thing to do is to remember where the best place to land as soon as practical. But please don't park it on the track. That's pretty darned dangerous. And no less for the Marshals who's duty they've assumed to assist in minimizing that danger, it's beyond annoying.

Do the NASA Grid folks check for nomex? Or belts?

His equipment was on backwards. How do you fasten a buckle on backwards? I've never seen it done before.

Wow. Is right. Good video.
 
I'm with Ken on this one. I feel this incident is born primarily out of the 944 driver "doing it wrong" at multiple points in the racing equation.
 
First of all, if you have CAMLOCK belts it isn't too difficult to fasten them with the buckle backwards. And, that would really be confusing if you reached down to undo them quickly.

Second, we don't know the severity of the cars problem (it sounds pretty bad) but Ken, WHERE would you have him pull over? He had just started up the hill and had Jersey barrier about 3 feet to the left and Jersey barrier across the full width of the track on the right. Furthermore the 'proper' racing line up that hill is stay to the RIGHT up the hill getting ready for the left hander when you crest it. So, he was about as far from the racing line as he could get.

P.S.
I was NOT impressed with how long it took the safety truck to reach the cars. The worker with the fire bottle probably did the best he could based upon where the nearest station was.
 
I have to agree with Richard on this after watching it several times. With the fast approaching traffic to his right, and with very little time to make a decision, I am not sure the 944 had any other option but to stay left. I presume he lost all ability to keep moving. It was just really bad timing that the BMW was moving over to let much faster cars pass. Not sure, under any circumstance, whether the collision could have been avoided. And I am sure most of us have done something really stupid rushing to grid, etc. Once I went out in, essentially, what were slippers having forgotten to lace on some driving shoes. Made heel/toe a bit problematic. It all just drives home the need to always be prepared when we get out on the race track.

Bill-
 
I have a suggestion for any driver planning on testing how long it takes him/her to escape. Look at other possible escape routes. If the drivers door is completely blocked by the wreckage of another car, could you get out the passenger side? How about exiting through the windshield? What obstructions are in the way to those escape routes? Giving some thoughts to worse case scenarios ahead of time came make all the difference in the world. As a safety worker, I'd rather show up and sympathize with you while the team put out your car than have to help the team pulled charred bits out of the car. A gruesome statement, but I hope you will all give time and thought to getting out alive.
 
And where the @@#$%#%$#& did the lady in shorts come from? That was another possible problem.

Rob, with you on the slow responce of e-crew, but then he shows up and looks like he was trying to figure out where to 'shoot' his bottle.

Just glad it turned out okey.
 
To answer Richards question. I would not have hammered my brakes (notice the brake/accelerate indicator on the left side of the screen). I would have let whatever momentum that I had left carry me to as close to a position off course, in this case drivers' left, as best I can all the while waving my hand to let traffic know I have a problem. Isn't that what you instructors teach in your schools?

In the video it seems that there probably isn't any good places, but until the next left hander up the hill a ways and there's a good chance (I haven't had the pleasure of working this track) that there is a manned turn station just about that same location, where the driver may have found more immediate assistance. Fire or no. Maybe the car would not have made it that far, but when a car slows to a stop that quickly, the driver has left no time, or opportunity for the traffic to react let alone the last observed flag station to put up any warning for incoming cars. So he got his tail pipe packed!

The turn crews notice things like missed gears, or trouble finding gears, or engines making nasty sounds and can react as quickly as possible with flags and communication. But a driver cannot simply stop on course like it was some club track day.

I believe that it was a bad decision by the driver to park there as suddenly as he did and it led to a catastrophic event, potentially worse, that could have been avoided with a little better situational awareness, and racing sense.
 
To add a bit of levity to what could have been a tragedy, in another forum that Rice_Classic and I frequent, the 944 is now referred to as "the Hindenberg car". :)
 
robjacobsen said:
I have a suggestion for any driver planning on testing how long it takes him/her to escape. Look at other possible escape routes. If the drivers door is completely blocked by the wreckage of another car, could you get out the passenger side? How about exiting through the windshield? What obstructions are in the way to those escape routes? Giving some thoughts to worse case scenarios ahead of time came make all the difference in the world. As a safety worker, I'd rather show up and sympathize with you while the team put out your car than have to help the team pulled charred bits out of the car. A gruesome statement, but I hope you will all give time and thought to getting out alive.
Click to expand...

This is what I tell other racers the best "free" mod you can do. Cannot tell you how many hours I spend a year in my garage getting in and out of the car. Through the driver door or window, passenger door or window, and even tried it a few times with the hardtop off to see if I could do it that way. I'd rather be really freaking good at it and be able to do it blindfolded then to have to sit there and wonder.
 
Definitely practice getting in and out of your car fast. And do it in full gear, with your
HANS attached if that is how you are in the car. Make it a habit to do that quite a few
times at the beginning of every season, and anytime you change your driving gear, or
the layout of the interior of your car.

Oh, and practice shutting down all your electrics, and hitting your fire bottle, too.

It's just like racing. Practice right, and you get faster.
 
I have raced at Mid Ohio. The part of the track in the video is very confined. However, I would have not stopped like the Porche did. If I had the speed that he had I would have coasted up to the corner and that would have put me out ot the racing line. G
 
kbsmith1 said:
Definitely practice getting in and out of your car fast. And do it in full gear, with your
HANS attached if that is how you are in the car. Make it a habit to do that quite a few
times at the beginning of every season, and anytime you change your driving gear, or
the layout of the interior of your car.

Oh, and practice shutting down all your electrics, and hitting your fire bottle, too.

It's just like racing. Practice right, and you get faster.
Click to expand...


Then, when you are good, then practice the same thing with your eyes closed and holding your breath, you cannot see or breathe in a smoke filled car.
 
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