Chris, perfect user name for that video! "Chrispy"...Chrispy wrote:Tage is a mad man behind the wheel. He is also the guy that caught on fire last year and jumped out of his moving car at 60 mph to escape the flames.
Please tell me that you are talking about the video above, or is it that he did this more than once?
I remember reading about this last year.
I give him credit for honesty, but the comments in his video...really?
..."Due to last minute mechanical repairs the brake bias adjuster was set to max rear braking...."
..."This caused the rear brakes to lock up at the end of the straight, sending me flying off the track!"
..."The bolts holding the transmission / engine were not tightened down and they fell out at this point..."
..."This yanked out a -10AN oil line..."
..."OIL + HOT HEADER = EPIC FAIL!"
Kind of funny that he removed the back window and likely got the exact opposite of what he wanted. All the draft comes into the car through the back windo, which must be a big step backwards for aerodynamics. Oh well, at least the missing back window allowed all of that smoke and fire into the cabin. Had the back window been there, the video would have likely been much less interesting.
Imagine how different the outcome could have been if there was an instructor in the car. Would the driver still have jumped out?!?!
Let this video, among the others here, remind us to:
1. Practice our escapes!
2. Keep the face shield down!
3. Get a better fire system than you think you need!
4. Not rush car prep - sounds like the driver was more focused on having the car together in time for the race than he was on having it put together correctly.
5. Check every car before we get into it. This goes doubly for instructors who are always stepping into the passenger seat of an unknown car/driver. Never go on faith that the car you are getting into is put together right or that the owner/builder put as much thought and prep into safety.
Also a good idea to wear a balaclava. I seem to remember a post from him back when this happened that he was 'rushing' and forgot to put on his balaclava. The back and side of his neck got the worst of it, IIRC. 3rd degree burns across a large portion.
