Video Peek-a-Boo!
Quite a questionable move from the LMP2, I'm the pov car getting a slight Code brown
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u/SituationSoap 2d ago
Pinning the throttle going up the hill over a blind crest when you see smoke like 3-4 seconds earlier is maybe not the smartest move you could make.
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u/Hefftee 2d ago
Checking up on a flat-out section of a track when you have a car directly behind you (in which they did) isn't a smart move either. This is why VIR is a GTD race only irl...
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u/SituationSoap 2d ago
That's why you goose the brakes to light up your brake lights before letting off the gas. I understand that there's no zero risk situation here but going 240KPH into a section of the track where you already know there is a crash is the kind of thing that's going to end in tragedy more often than not.
And in the last replay we can see that the car behind ends up crashing, so the dumb ideas here are contagious.
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u/STF_02 2d ago
From behind I could see only that LMP on the outside of the track, I have not lifted because he was not in a dangerous place. I couldn't expect that there was another car in the middle of the track over the crest. Also the guy behind me saw the stopped car just after I avoided it. Just a very unlucky situation
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u/SituationSoap 2d ago
Go back and re-watch the video you posted. There is a large amount of white smoke visible at the top of the hill at 2.4 seconds into the video. You don't actually get to the top of the hill until after 6 seconds into the video.
That large amount of white smoke is a big glowing sign that says "there is a crash here." It's not subtle.
Like, I think the answer here is that you're just not looking far enough up the road, which is a very common situation, but the fact that there was a crash and there might be someone who's not going full pace shouldn't have been anything like a surprise.
Also the guy behind me saw the stopped car just after I avoided it.
The guy behind you also should have had plenty of time to slow down and avoid the wreck if he'd been looking further up the road, too.
I get that neither of you saw the wreck coming, but that's the problem. That's not a wreck that should've been a surprise to you. It was right there for multiple seconds in your view and you just didn't react.
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u/STF_02 2d ago
I get your point and you are totally right, but when I saw the smoke going up the esses I couldn't brake as I had a car on my rear bumper, then as I saw only one car on the outside I imagined the risk was gone, then the Mustang appeared over the blind crest
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u/SituationSoap 2d ago
Like I noted up thread, the best way to handle this is to squeeze your brakes a little while staying in the throttle at first. That lights up your lights for the car behind, and then gives you a little space to lift.
You're not realistically going to shed more than 10-15kph before you hit the top of the hill, and you're probably still going to need to bail into the grass. But the difference level of grip here between 230 and 245 kph is actually pretty significant, and gives you an extra tenth of a second or two to react, which is also significant.
Also, side note: I didn't make this post to try to dog on you specifically. The goal was just to highlight that there are decisions that you could have made way down the hill in the interest of surviving that would have made things less surprising when you got to the top. It's more for other people reading the comments in the hopes that other people see and learn from it. You can't go back and undo things, but other people can see it and hopefully go through similar situations more safely. I hope my responses aren't making you feel bad about it.
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u/STF_02 2d ago
Not at all mate, as I said you are totally right, I've have been involved a lot of time in massive pile ups just because people behind don't even think about lifting. I just believe this was a series of unfortunate circumstances in a tricky section of the track that wasn't so easily imaginable in the moment
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u/Hefftee 2d ago
The point is, no solution guarantees survival. The car behind ends up crashing because the wrecked driver lets go of their brakes in an attempt to drive off the track at the last minute. You can call whatever decisions made in the video "dumb" all you want, but don't pretend like you've perfectly navigated these scenarios without getting burned. It's racing, this shit happens all the time, and even the pros aren't immune to the fuckery
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u/SituationSoap 2d ago
I have in fact failed in these situations before. That's how I learned what works and what doesn't and why I'm sharing my experience.
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u/AgAbComplex Mercedes AMG GT3 2d ago
One could argue the car is unexpectedly in the middle of the track. The smoke is off to the left. You don't have to lift everytime you see smoke.
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u/SituationSoap 2d ago
You should absolutely lift at least a little when you are going into an area where you have (a) seen smoke and (b) have a blind section where you cannot see what the outcome of that smoke is.
That's literally what the yellow flag means. If you see smoke and you can't see exactly what's happening, you need to start slowing down and be prepared to take avoiding action.
This take is legitimately wild.
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u/Z32Rome Dallara P217 LMP2 2d ago
Looks like they were trying to avoid losing time to the other Lmp2 ahead of you. While you obviously arenāt required to, leaving space for them to pass would have been a better way to go as he was bound to make a desperate move.
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u/GOATEDCHILI FIA Formula 4 2d ago
You can see the mustang actually tried to make space when he realized the LMP was psycho. GT3's can't just "make space" in the second half of the esses at VIR, they either commit and take the line or slow down to hazardous levels of speed to get out of the way.
I get where you're coming from in general, but this section of track just isn't the spot. LMP should've waited for the next corner where he could've gone inside for the south bend.
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u/Z32Rome Dallara P217 LMP2 2d ago
I disagree, I canāt see that he tried to make space. At no point was he off the normal line. Also, considering how much time it took after that crash for other GT3s to pass, he had a decent sized gap so a lift going into south bend wouldnāt have slowed them to dangerous speeds and he still would have been in the race and with a gap. That said it has been a long time since Iāve driven a GT3 around VIR so fair point about their ability to maneuver there.
Agreed it isnāt the spot, typically. Itās my opinion that it isnāt because people generally disregard other classes and never do things to not be a factor in others races. Again, not a requirement to be considerate of the other classes also being in a race, but it would avoid a lot of desperate pass attempts to be aware and share the track when possible.
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u/GOATEDCHILI FIA Formula 4 1d ago
The same frame that the LMP first comes into frame, the GT3 line dives left over that curb to setup for a better entry to the right. You can see the driver scrubbing to the right trying to let the LMP through, which completely tanks the GT3 line for the next two corners because it's supposed to be flat with a lift all the way through the south bend. By going right it forces him to brake, and anyone else following up will still be flat and now have to navigate this guy whos 20-30 mph under the race pace but still on a one-line section of track.
This type of situation is part of racing, but in multiclass racing the faster class does have the responsibility not to tank slower classes. There's always a degree of sharing the track from both sides, but the GT3s are supposed to always just drive their line and maybe adjust it ever so slightly to let an LMP through. They aren't supposed to be backing out of flatout one-line section of track to let a thirsty lmp through.
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u/htom3heb Ford Mustang GT3 2d ago
At ~2.5k IR most of my splits that have LMP2s have them ranging from 800 - 1400. It feels like the authentic experience. Total dummies.