Porter death casts shadow over Bathurst.

[charged]

Porter owned his team, Hyundai Construction Equipment was his company.

Porter doesnt own Hyundai constructions as they are a multi billion dollar company .he is there driver and a good one at that. The person I am talking about is Clark as Nota said earlier he was very loose in many parts of the circuit and IMO was driving over his limit. If you looked at his Falcon it has no sponsor singage, he basically funds his own team. Thats the problem he basically payed for his ride at Bathurst, he hasnt got there by outstanding driving ability

[charged]

Yeah, but it coukd've been much much worse if he had've hit him at race pace head on

How could it possibly be worse when someone dies

[nota]

Yeah, but it coukd've been much much worse if he had've hit him at race pace head on

How could the outcome have been any worse?

[edit] sorry, a coincidence as didn't see your post, charged

[motorsportnerd]

Oh my God. That is terrible. When was the last time a driver was fatally injured in V8 supercars. My thoughts go out to his family.

This is the second time a driver has been fatally injured in a V8 Supercar. The last time was in 1994 - also at Bathurst. Don Watson died when his Commodore VP had a major crash (mulitple rollover and ending on a wall from memory..) at the Chase - would've been a 280km/h impact. While not known as V8 Supercars in 1994, the cars were racing under the same regulations as today's V8s. They were still known as Group A or just V8s then. The V8 Supercar name came about in 1997 as a marketing tool, but the V8 catagory itself has been in existence since 1993.
Porter is the third driver to die in a racing crash in during the Bathurst 1000 weekend. The first was Mike Burgmann in 1986 - also in a Commodore. Watson was the second.
Denny Hulme also died while competing at Bathurst - but from a heart attack while at the wheel. He successfully pulled the car to the side of the track, but it was too late to save him.
Its never good when a fatality happens in racing - my condolences go out to Porter's family.

[Daz27]

For all the ifs buts and maybes, in Clarkes shoes, I would have aimed at the tiny gap between the wall and the driver side front wheel on porters car, and driven through it straight ahead, head on. Wouldnt have been a Tbone, Porter would be alive still and Im guessing neither of them would have been severly injured.
From the moment the crash happened you could just tell it was a really bad one.
I dont see it as a bad thing if the cars had a stronger crash structure around the drivers door. I dont think it would be a bad thing if carbon fibre seats were mandated out of the class too. Like they do in Nascar, I think possibly the aluminium seat might have been a better option in a side impact purely, as Ambrose said during his interview, because the seats have alot of give and can absorb an impact. CF's dont give a mm.
Any word on what they intend to do with the footbridge just after the chase??

[fpv_gtho]

Havent heard anything related to either the Clark/Porter incident or Radisich's crash. I dare say they'll move the seats closer to the centre, although regards the crash structure and the seat construction, they really need to start crash testing the cars to see the difference in numbers.

[Daz27]

I dont think they can move the seats further over to the centre. They are basically against the trans tunnel as is, now. And as low as possible too. Basic race car design really.

[Peter PaP]

Skaiffe's race was effectively lunched on the startline with a fried clutch, and for tasty dessert we were served the sight of him struggling for speed past Turn One, then get Liberace'd in the firmest of ways (fittingly by a 'tailender' young Jack Perkins) while only half distance up Mountain Straight, on lap one

Ye i know i watched the whole race. I meant wasnt Skaife in a bad accident a couple of years ago? I think i recall slick saying something about one.

[fpv_gtho]

There was a bad accident where he mustve injured his back, as he gets a pinched nerve in his back as a result. Only a few years ago at Adelaide he lost feeling in one of his legs as a result.

[nota]

Ye i know i watched the whole race. I meant wasnt Skaife in a bad accident a couple of years ago? I think i recall slick saying something about one.

The one I remember was when testing at Eastern Creek early on in his Holden career, sliding rear-first at a great rate of knots into a concrete barrier that was thoughtfully position at the end of the main straight at Turn One. A very big accident

Many of us will recall when the Creek was a new circuit and the ease in which both cars and (even worse) bikes were able to come into contact with its numerous concrete walls, many of which seemed strategically placed to be unavoidable to wayward machinery, so very poor design

Daz was right to comment about the hapless Radisich smash at Bathurst into that dangerous wall at The Chase. It wasn't pretty to watch. IIRC that area was majorly modified after that awful Burgman fatality into the footbridge in 1986, but as Crompton observed it's a real worry to have any solid wall positioned trackside at 90 degrees to the direction of travel

[2ndclasscitizen]

But can they really move that wall anywhere? Correct me if I'm wrong, but IIRC just behind that wall was the pit paddock, it didn't really look like there was anywhere else to put it

[IBrake4Rainbows]

I'd prefer a wall where it is as opposed to cars careening through the pits.

it is bad design however.

Simple solution - avoid the wall

[nota]

Better solution:? Angle the wall

[fpv_gtho]

They could angle the wall back towards the sand trap. If you look at Jason Richard's incident there, the run off towards the right is more important than that on the left so a reduction on the left hand side to change the angle of the wall is unlikely to have any repercussions.

[Daz27]

That wall is only there to protect the bridge over the track. The bridge obviously is there for spectators etc, but 200m up the road theres a tunnel that could be widend to accept vehicles AND speckies. The other reason why the bridge is there is nostalgia, its the old dunlop bridge from decades ago and is kinda iconic. However, I say **** it off, its no longer necesary. Theres nothing stopping them building concrete fences as they have done at the top and all along conrod in that area, to stop wayward car ingression into pit area. The bridge is an archaic relic and should go, if all but for safety sake.
Also, FPV, on the outside of a 170 kph corner, any runoff is good runoff.