Sad news at Le Mans

[Bigasshammm]

While the 24 just finished up this morning im only so far 2 hours into watching it. Sadly though 10 minutes into the race got driver Allan Simonsen had a horrible accident in the chicane of the main straight that has sadly claimed his life. His family expressly asked that Aston Martin rating continue the race and he race not to be stopped. I watched the beginning last night before bed and it was just an awful looking accident. Full speed (about 180 I believe in the GT cars) into the Armco barrier and making things worse it looked like right where he hit was a large tree that didn't allow the Armco to flex.

RIP

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2013/06/22/gt-driver-simonsen-killed-in-le-mans-crash/

[SBARC]

Very sad news.

From the rear after the accident his car looked very much intact.....this is very tragic news.

My thoughts are with his family.

[Bigasshammm]

Very sad news.

From the rear after the accident his car looked very much intact.....this is very tragic news.

My thoughts are with his family.

The thing I notice about the aftermath was how bent the car was. Between the right side wheels you could see how bent it was an also how slanted the roof was. That shows it was one hell of an impact. The sad part is he was apparently alert and talking to the safety crews but must have ha some hemorrhaging or something. Very sad.

[Jay Chladek]

I saw an in car reply of the accident from a Corvette behind it, it looked like he got clipped in the rear by another car or had the air taken off his spoiler (possibly a Ferarri) going into Tertre Rouge and he spun counter clockwise into the runoff area with the car impacting the barrier on the right side. Since it was an Aston Martin, which has the drivers seat on the right side... you have to figure his head pretty well came to a sudden stop at full speed. The impact was enough to compromise the crew cabin and blow both doors open and it came back onto the track just from the momentum.

While the TV feed never showed the full accident to my knowledge, seeing the car with the roof line as bent as it was and the doors blown open, I knew it was likely a very serious accident and quite likely not survivable. I watched the start of the race live before heading to work and I said an immediate prayer since my gut knew it wasn't going to be good.

BTW, I found the in car footage here. There is nothing disturbing or gory about it and at a glance it just seems like a typical shunt. And it literally happens so quick that it is almost a "blink and you'll miss it" moment. But, when you know somebody didn't survive that, it shows just how quick one can head to the great beyond.

Edited June 24, 2013 by Jay Chladek

[Bigasshammm]

I hadn't seen that yet. Not sure if to touched or he just got loose under power by going over the curb. It was pretty wet at the beginning. Plus looking at that you can see the tree he was heading right at. Terrible tragedy.

I agree about how the car looked. On another forum people were ignorantly saying how it didn't look like a bad accident like the LMP1 accidents of the last few years but in reality it was much worse. The lmp1 cars disintegrated like they were supposed to dissipation the energy. This was a massive blow. Sad for Dayton and Le Mans this weekend.

Edit::

Also I'm watching more of the race now and about 4 hours in Speed made the announcement and had a touching moment. So it wasn't long between the accident and calling it unfortunately.

Edited June 24, 2013 by Bigasshammm

[Jay Chladek]

I just found another dash cam video from the car directly behind Simonsen. It was another Corvette and they did NOT touch at all. It looks like the Aston got squirley coming off the painted area of the curve, whether be it due to the traction difference or something else (tire failure perhaps?). But, it was a one car accident. It reminded me a little of Ayrton Senna's fatal wreck in 1994 for how sudden it was.

[SBARC]

I just found another dash cam video from the car directly behind Simonsen. It was another Corvette and they did NOT touch at all. It looks like the Aston got squirley coming off the painted area of the curve......

Yup....after seeing the video in your post.....it does look exactly as you say. Race cars are usually driving on the edge and it doesn't take much to push them past their limits of traction etc. Very sad.

[Bigasshammm]

This needs changed.

I think I remember reading somewhere that they wanted to remove the trees but weren't allowed due to environmental stuff but there's no reason they can't bring the barriers in another 3 feet.

[Jay Chladek]

They need to come up with something better than Armco, a barrier that most permanent facilities got away from in the 1980s. As I understand it, the Armco at the circuit isn't permanent either, but put up in the month leading up to the race and taken down after. They certainly put in a lot of work to fix the stuff in the middle of the night with cutting and welding torches. There has got to be something better out there. As for the barrier itself, this quote I found explaining the purpose of Armco explains just how dangerous it can be:

"While barriers are normally designed to minimize injury to vehicle occupants, injuries do occur in collisions with traffic barriers. They should only be installed where a collision with the barrier is likely to be less severe than a collision with the hazard behind it. Where possible, it is preferable to remove, relocate or modify a hazard, rather than shield it with a barrier."

Besides, if the town and roads around the circuit is undergoing MAJOR development, why NOT move the tree line back a bit. Plant trees elsewhere (or have them removed and replanted elsewhere perhaps). I suppose the barriers could be brought in a little, but that would cut down some of the runoff areas, making it more likely for cars to hit the barrier rather than skidding to a stop in the sand traps. There are more effective barrier systems out there these days, although something like a SAFER barrier probably would need a permanent concrete wall to go in front of for it to get maximum effectiveness (something which I doubt Le Mans would do). I recall though that when the chicanes were put in at Mulsanne the first time, they used hydro barriers (i.e. water filled barrels, like what one sees in highway medians).

Bob Varsha said something rather telling that Sunday night after the race during an interview on Speed's Windtunnel program. The chicanes were put up in the Mulsanne straight to limit the cars' top speeds. These days the cars do not go as fast down the straights, but they tend to be going through the corners MUCH quicker than before due to advances in suspension design, tires and downforce. Granted the wreck was likely down to being just a freak accident where not much could have been done. But, it might be a warning just the same.

Edited June 27, 2013 by Jay Chladek

[Bigasshammm]

I can't remember if it was Le Mans or another track but I remember reading something that the tress couldn't be moved due to environmental and city reasons. I don't see how adding another 3 feet before the tree makes that big of difference. Clearly the run off area there didn't slow the car down to begin with. They could even put a tire wall in front of the armco and that would greatly dissipate the energy. But then a tire barrier would make it really hard for a car that hit it to continue on without help to get back to the pits in a timely fashion. Something the teams would probably fight against.

Sadly this was a wreck that just had to hit at the absolute worst possible spot. Another 3 feet down the armco and he maybe walks away from the accident or at least survives it for sure. Either way I don't see any reason to have a barrier like that right against an unmovable object. Alas.

[x3mperformance]

This was a tragic accident, and i did Loose a good friend. I did know him since he started in national (Danish) Karting at a age of 12/13 years old.We did not drive in same the class.

The reasont to the tragically outcome has nothing to do with trees or barriers.

Allan had a fractured blood line in his neck, due to side impact forces and stress to the neck. The force he hit sideways with was huge. So barrier, tree, tirewall, other vehicle would have spelled disastre here.

Only thing i can't figure out, is whether Aston Martin used HANS or not.

To my belive, Allan would not race anything faster than a bi-cycle without it. But if yes, was it intact? was it mounted correct?

Still just a lot of unanswered questions.

I turned off my TV 30 minutes into the race. My weekend was spoiled enough.

Still an impressive win to the King of Le Mans, Tom K, (yes, he drove in the same Club/track as me...)but the shadows are immence.

Rene'

[vince14]

I thought that the HANS device was mandated by the FIA for use in all International-level races.

Vince

[Bigasshammm]

I thought that the HANS device was mandated by the FIA for use in all International-level races.

Vince

I'm pretty sure it is. The problem with the GT cars is they're mostly modified road cars so they don't have the safety shells that the LMP cars do.

I don't necessarily agree that if he hadnt hit the tree he still would have died. I want to believe the Armco would have absorbed more of the impact and cushioned the blow some. With the tree there the Armco could only bend so far and then it stopped. Regardless they definitely need a different way of doing it along that straight. Outdated Armco is just not the answer anymore.

I still say that I've never seen a car that was "bent" like that one after an accident. At least not in 20+ years. That was a serious impact. Hopefully the organizers have learned something from this tragedy.

[Spongebob]

Awesome analysis by Dr Jim Norman (drives in Grand Am and Continental Tire...) Racing Fatality Analysis

Overall, it's been a bad year especially in Sprint Car nation. Fatality over the weekend and Smoke badly broke a leg last night when he clouted a sickly lapped car.

For most FIA sanctioned events, an FIA certified HANS is required (I don't think it's required in WRC?), when you get to the US, most road racing sanctioning bodies require an FIA or SFI certified HANS (interestingly, my HANS cost just as much as the rest of my gear combined; worth every penny though). Most dirt/local oval series don't require it. National series do. Same story with seats...

HTH

Spongebob

[Spongebob]

This was a tragic accident, and i did Loose a good friend. I did know him since he started in national (Danish) Karting at a age of 12/13 years old.We did not drive in same the class.

The reasont to the tragically outcome has nothing to do with trees or barriers.

Allan had a fractured blood line in his neck, due to side impact forces and stress to the neck. The force he hit sideways with was huge. So barrier, tree, tirewall, other vehicle would have spelled disastre here.

Only thing i can't figure out, is whether Aston Martin used HANS or not.

To my belive, Allan would not race anything faster than a bi-cycle without it. But if yes, was it intact? was it mounted correct?

Based on Dr Norman's analysis (previously linked article)...the HANS wouldn't have mattered with an Aortic Dissection. All about the G's, the seat and the individual's body....which were aggravated by that tree. Had it just been ARMCO Allan likely would be alive.