Epic Motorsport Crash at Fuji Speedway 1998

GeX · 2 Jun 2009 at 14:27

DreXeL said:
He was alive, but far from 'ok'. He suffered some pretty horrific injuries AFAIK.

did not realise that, i assumed the fire suit etc had done it's job quite well, and he was just dazed from the impact / lack of oxygen.

makes me

now.

Dead Dog · 2 Jun 2009 at 21:06

still as shocking now as it was then

Draeger · 2 Jun 2009 at 21:12

Footage of the Williamson crash still brings a lump to my throat.

Draeger · 2 Jun 2009 at 21:15

And also, it was tragic that David Purley died in an aerobatics crash after he gave up motorsport.

PinkFloyd · 2 Jun 2009 at 21:20

He looks amazing considering how long he was in there for and the state of his helmet :eek:

Skeeter · 2 Jun 2009 at 21:30

As sickening as it may be, the men who have died in the past have not been lost in vein. Without their tragic losses we would not have seen the massive safety improvements that we have in all fields of motorsport. It is sad that people must loose their lives for action to be taken, but I am glad that people have learnt from there loss's and ensured that the chance of loosing people in these sort of accidents is constantly reducing. Without the safety improvements that have come about because of these events Im sure there would be a lot of modern racing drivers today who wouldnt be with us. While I would always wish that they were still with us, that cannot be changed, so I am therefore thankfull that what we have learnt from a few loosing their lives has helped to save so many.

Im sure in 30 years time we will look back at 2009 motorsport and question how shocking our safety was.

Draeger · 2 Jun 2009 at 21:32

Skeeter said:
As sickening as it may be, the men who have died in the past have not been lost in vein. Without their tragic losses we would not have seen the massive safety improvements that we have in all fields of motorsport. It is sad that people must loose their lives for action to be taken, but I am glad that people have learnt from there loss's and ensured that the chance of loosing people in these sort of accidents is constantly reducing. Without the safety improvements that have come about because of these events Im sure there would be a lot of modern racing drivers today who wouldnt be with us. While I would always wish that they were still with us, that cannot be changed, so I am therefore thankfull that what we have learnt from a few loosing their lives has helped to save so many.

Im sure in 30 years time we will look back at 2009 motorsport and question how shocking our safety was.

^^^Totally agree. :cool:

BigglesPiP · 2 Jun 2009 at 21:49

Wasn't the other driver's extinguisher work exceptionally good?

Edit:

1:18 onwards

Mr Jack · 2 Jun 2009 at 22:09

BigglesPiP said:
Wasn't the other driver's extinguisher work exceptionally good?

It's shocking that another driver was left doing that though.

sigma · 2 Jun 2009 at 22:18

That is quite disturbing to watch.

leaskovski · 2 Jun 2009 at 22:51

mental stuff... that vid of the other driver driving through made me think of days of thunder... you can drive through it cole!

Helios1234 · 2 Jun 2009 at 23:13

That's horrible

. I can't begin to imagine what the driver of the Ferrari must have gone through stuck in that burning car, especially for that long! I think the driver who helped him deserves some applause for actually helping him, while the marshall just seem to be in the background not doing much.

Why did the car explode this violently though?

jimmyt1988 · 3 Jun 2009 at 10:22

Holy crap!

benji182 · 3 Jun 2009 at 19:16

analog said:
Ouch, that was quite shocking, reminds me of the Roger Wiliamson crash

that's really upset me. the fact someone stopped their car mid race to try save someone when there was nothing else being done and the race continued.

will not be watching that again.

glad the Fuji guy survived though.

Fido McNasty · 3 Jun 2009 at 19:56

Helios1234 said:
Why did the car explode this violently though?

Like the Porsches the Ferrari had it's tank in the front. They don't always rupture and the ATL bag tanks are generally thought of as being the industry best. The best they can do ultimately is minimise risk. Fuel being what it is, is just impossible to render absolutely safe and inert during a violent smash like that.

Here is a shot of the ATL tank in the tail of Moseleys e36 M3 and roughly what it looks like.

In the case of the Ferrari, I think the tearing off of the nose would have swiped the tank and lines to it across the hot discs and fuse board. The latter probably caused ignition.

I'm not a big fan of tanks outside the axles tbh.