The Driver is ok, a spectator has been killed. [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXHUxCmdkYY"]Nissan GT-R Nismo Horror Crash Nordschleife - YouTube[/ame] A spectator has died after a crash involving a British driver at the VLN Endurance Championship in Germany. Jann Mardenborough crashed his Nissan GTR Nismo in the first race of the season at the Nurburgring Nordschleife. The 23-year-old driver from Cardiff was taken to hospital for checks while several spectators were also injured. "The team is fully co-operating with the race organisers to conduct an immediate and thorough investigation," a Nissan statement read. Mardenborough's car flipped and left the track at high speed as it negotiated the Flugplatz section of the historic circuit. After crashing through the trackside fencing it landed on its roof in a spectator area. "Several spectators were injured in the incident and despite immediate efforts one of them succumbed to their injuries," added the statement from Nissan. "The others have been taken immediately to hospital for care. "The driver, Jann Mardenborough, got out of the car and, after initial checks in the circuit medical centre, has been taken to hospital for further routine checks." Nissan added: "Today's events have been a tragedy. "We are all deeply shocked and saddened by these events and our immediate thoughts go to the deceased, those injured and their families and friends." Race organisers VLN also issued a statement saying they were "deeply saddened" and "their thoughts were with families and friends of the victims". Mardenborough, whose father Steve played football for Wolves, Coventry, Cardiff and Swansea, had not raced until 2011 when he beat 90,000 entrants to win the GT Academy, a video-gaming competition sponsored by Nissan and based on the Gran Turismo series of PlayStation games. Mardenborough has since competed in the British GT Championship, Le Mans 24-Hours and the 2014 GP3 series. He is on the Red Bull Junior Team driver programme.
I am sorry someone died that sucks but, when will spectators ever learn you do not EVER sit at the entrance or exit of any turn at a race track. :mad2:Especially the out side sections. Race cars are unpredictable and can crash at anytime due to mechanical failure or weather conditions. When things fail at speed physics, gravity and momentum are not anyone's friends.
The Flugplatz section at the green hell is where cars have a propensity to get airborne... A car like the GT-R Nismo with that smooth under pan that creates a huge vacuum and keeps it stuck to the track... Once those dynamics are disturbed, the car can become a frisby.... Not GT-R Nismo...
So why in the hell would anyone sit at the end of that section leading into a turn? That's like giving a load gun with the safety off to Michael J Fox and standing in front of it. Your going to get shot, you may even die but I you get to see a celeberty.
German motor sport association DMSB has announced that it will place a temporary ban on GT3 cars at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Pending the investigation into the accident, cars competing in the SP7, SP8, SP9, SP10, SP-PRO and SP-X classes will not be allowed in DMSB-approved events, including the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Before you get up in arms this is a temporary ban to give the parties involved time to investigate and determine what happened, why, and how to prevent a possible recurrence. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail and they will not grind down the hill. I don't know enough about the situation to armchair quarterback.
Solution let spectator ONLY sit on the inside Apex of the turns and the straights. It's not that hard to figure out.
Even scarier is what you see in the Euro rally videos. I wouldn't be surprised if rally spectators are jumping out to take selfies. Selfies Are Causing Crashes at Tour de France -- NYMag
Take a look at this article. Mid 80's Rally Stuff... PERSPECTIVE> Rally Spectators Risk Their Lives! – MotorMavens | Car Culture and Photography
If those spectators were allowed to be there I see them as doing nothing wrong & not being at fault. Had they been standing & not sitting they'd have stood a chance of escaping harm. I agree it is not a place I would choose to spectate either. This is hardly the craziness that was spectating in the Group B era. RIP Spectator....
You can't blame the spectators OR the race organizers. Unless they put in catch fencing along the entire track, there will always be the possibility that a car or parts of one will get to a place that it was not intended to get to. This section of track has always been a favorite of the fans just because of the "air" time. I don't think anyone could have envisioned that a modern GT3 car could get airborne with the amount of aero they are currently producing.
I can absolutly blame the owners of the track and organizers because NO ONE should be sitting there. I block off the area and if you absolutly want to sit there you would have to pay huge $$$ and sign a "I am an idiot and if I die it's my own fault" contract. You can see cars jump fine from the sides or watch it on the cameras. You do not have to sit right infront of them. No matter what track you are at or on that's where the crashes happen. (Entering a turn or exiting)
Unlike in the US folks on the other side of the pond are not law suit happy. I feel it is someones own call what they do if it doesn't endanger others. Their choice led to a bad outcome. Yes the track should have been able to foresee the possibility of something bad happening there. Cars do crash & sometimes do fly. Trouble with all those fancy down-force aero bits is once they get enough air under them the create lift. Cars are getting faster & now it is not only prototypes that have blow overs. I don't know what the answer is, but I hope they start working on it.
There's good and bad in here... GT3 ban lifted at Nurburgring, new safety measures to be put in place (foxsports.com)