Road Atlanta National

[Tom Valet]

Congrats to Lew Cooper III on his win yesterday at Road Atlanta, he beat a strong field of 14 FFs. Race 2 is today.

Mylaps: http://www.mylaps.com/results/showru...015&perclass=1

Mike Scanlan is running the Pro Series Hoosiers and with a 29 mm plate is only about a second off the pace, so he is going very well.

[lc3]

So, I got hit from behind going into turn one. Next thing I know Marc Blanc is flying over me and rolling up the hill. When all the dust settles, I notice Marc is upside down and on fire and no one is coming. While spinning I noticed a fire bottle on the wall. So I got out grab the bottle and put the fire out. As the fire was out, the corner workers finally arrived. From there they flip his car back over and got marc out. Everyone was fine but the parts bill will be high for a few of us. Oh yeh Benson won. Congrats John.

[Swift17]

... to lc3, on two fronts:

SUNDAY ..... his efforts were GREAT -- his coolness to get out of the car, get the extinguisher, get the fire out on an upside down car while flag waiving otherwise seemed to be the main priority ......

SATURDAY ..... one of the classic FF races - Cooper and Bagget lap after lap pass, re-pass, draft, late brake, some chess, some checkers, (you get the picture) well worth the price of admission ... and then some --- the Cheshire Cat smile showed how much fun it was

Congrats Lewis -- well done !

EJ

[RussMcB]

I agree. Saturday's race was very entertaining. For the first half of the race it was a 5 car pack at the front. I heard it took a two wheels off pass for the lead, in a big pack of mixed classes. Could have been won by either of those fast guys.

I tested my DB-3 FFit on Thursday. It was productive. We found a few things it needed - nothing major. On Saturday AM Keith Roberts' FB had an engine tighten up, and we worked with Atl Region to swap Keith's entry over to my FF for Saturday's race. He started from the back and made up a few positions before getting punted from behind by an S2 in T3 (stupid). Luckily, only a bent lower wishbone so will be easy to fix. Keith went faster than I did during the test day, so I'm looking forward to comparing our data.

I met and talked with many FF drivers and they were all great, friendly and shared a lot of info. Great group of guys.

[kea]

Congratulations Lou on your F/Ford win. Sounds like it was quite the race.

[Purple Frog]

Going into T1 was the craziest I have seen it in 13 years at Road Atlanta. I know one guy that did not give others racing room. It's called RESPECT. I was forced way up on the inside curb at T1, and was saying "uh oh". I glanced in the mirror and saw Lou 90 degrees sideways and gaining on my diffuser.

On the restart, Benson was in the outside lane. Belay in a FC on the inside had a horrible start. John zoomed by on the outside getting like 3 "other class" cars between him and the rest of the FFs. Then he worked the draft off the winged cars in the first couple of laps to grow that gap. He went on to win with a very sizeable lead. A great piece of driving on his part when the situation was handed to him. The battle for second was as exciting as Saturday's battle for the lead.

[reidhazelton]

Ok, I'll ask the classless questions. Pictures? Video?

Hey, it's still snowing up here and we need to live vicariously.

But really, was Marc really ok? Sounds like a nasty tumble in a very cramped DB-6.

RH

[Purple Frog]

In hi-res one can see the orange in the engine bay as Lou is running up the hill.

[Swift17]

Jason and I specifically sought out Marc after the race to check on him -- his known smile present and he said and I believe this is an accurate quote " ..... well, that's formula ford rac'in ..." His roll bar does now have the Road Atlanta scuff -- the car will need some SIGNIFICANT work .... , Marc doesn't !!

EJ

[reidhazelton]

Glad to hear he was ok and smiling. Or was that a frown? Guess it depends if he was right side up or upside down at the time?

[cooleyjb]

So, I got hit from behind going into turn one. Next thing I know Marc Blanc is flying over me and rolling up the hill. When all the dust settles, I notice Marc is upside down and on fire and no one is coming. While spinning I noticed a fire bottle on the wall. So I got out grab the bottle and put the fire out. As the fire was out, the corner workers finally arrived. From there they flip his car back over and got marc out. Everyone was fine but the parts bill will be high for a few of us. Oh yeh Benson won. Congrats John.

Great awareness on the fire and the firebottle.

[Steve Bamford]

I have some video as Marc started right beside me but got a much better start and had no where to go with the car spinning right in front of him. I will try to post the video later tonight when I finally get back from Atlanta. Glad everyone made out ok in the end.

[Tom Valet]

Glad to hear Marc is OK.

Lew, great job on Saturday, but an even better one on Sunday, that was quick thinking.

[lancer360]

Here is a video that was posted on eformulacarnews taken from one of the FV's. Can't see what happen, but he drives right through the aftermath. What triggered the event?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSPYY...er_profilepage

[Wes Allen]

This was one of those times when I really needed to have a camera. The race started with the pace picking up before the geen flag.( no maintaining pace car speed) might have been the hill or the nervous energy? I was grid fifth in the FF's. We went into turn one, the front runners swerving around. I saw tire smoke and someone sideways then Marc launched over them flipping quite violently. He did a 180 and just fell from the sky on his rollbar right beside me. Big yellow sparks coming off his rollbar. It wasn't till after the race when I talked with Marc that I found out what happened. I was glad to hear Marc was OK. Lewis is the man! The wreck took out 5 FF's out of the lucky 13 that started.
Great weekend with a bad ending.

[PiperFF]

On behalf of my wife and my self ( she was watching it in turn one) You are our Hero.
In a awful situation for you and Marc your response was what make you and your racing family a Winner.

We thank you,

Sincerely, Eileen and John Vlasis[FONT="Verdana"][/FONT]

[stommelen]

So, I got hit from behind going into turn one. Next thing I know Marc Blanc is flying over me and rolling up the hill. When all the dust settles, I notice Marc is upside down and on fire and no one is coming. While spinning I noticed a fire bottle on the wall. So I got out grab the bottle and put the fire out. As the fire was out, the corner workers finally arrived. From there they flip his car back over and got marc out. Everyone was fine but the parts bill will be high for a few of us. Oh yeh Benson won. Congrats John.

It's great to hear that Marc was unscathed. Moreover: You did something really gutsy and dangerous for a fellow driver and deserve to be commended to the extreme.

It is also clear that they will have to review the location of the manned closest flagging/safety station at the track. It must be realized that while at the Runoffs we have tons of people manning the track, during the standard season it is virtually impossible to man both the outside as well as the inside of all corners given the number of workers available. I am sure that the stewards at the track will look into the situation very carefully.

sommelen

[problemchild]

Everybody on pitlane was looking at each other .... "why is nobody doing anything". Very slow response by officials. The fire trucks never moved until after the fire was out. It seemed like minutes ..... but it probably was atleast a minute. This is not the 50s .... other drivers are not supposed to be the heros.

Apparently, Marc's antenna works when imbedded in pavement. He told the crew he was OK.

[Steve Bamford]

Here is the video I had, Marc was lined up right next to me & as I said earlier I didn't get good start however I did get full view of his car flip up into the air. The video catches some of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UMoXcN7aGE

I am just glad everyone was ok. After seeing the accident I was questioning why there was no black or red flags up at the next few flagging stations. It wasn't till turn 6 that I first saw a black flag.

[PiperFF]

Another view of the Flip
Classic wheel tango
Am so surprised how far the Swift flew up hill..

www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3YOjyCg06o[/url]

[GT1Vette]

I am just glad everyone was ok. After seeing the accident I was questioning why there was no black or red flags up at the next few flagging stations. It wasn't till turn 6 that I first saw a black flag.

You really need to spend some time in the Control Tower to understand what happens in such a situation. The decision to throw a red or black flag comes from the Operating Steward, not the corners. Also remember that most of the time the Operating Steward cannot see the situation and has to rely on reports from the corners to make any decisions. I've been there and it's NOT as easy as it looks on TV.

. the incident occurs
. the corner station captain reports the incident and makes the call for emergency equipment
. the Operating Steward, based on information transmitted by the corner station, makes a decision on whether to go with a local yellow, a double yellow, or a black flag all (BFA)
. Race Control relates that call to all corners
. each corner needs to find the correct flag and display it

It is NOT like F-1 where all cars have on-board lights and Race Control can broadcast a command on all team frequencies at once. It's not even like NASCAR where all the yellow lights on the speedway are controlled by one switch.

Given that the leaders were already at Turn 3 when the incident happened and they were no doubt past Turn 5 when the command to go BFA was given, I'd say 30 seconds to accomplish all the steps needed was pretty damn good.

[M.Sauce]

We in SOWDIV have a unwritten rule when a car is upside down.We always go to a black flag all if all the cars are passed the incident or Red flag if they are not.Red flag is my choice as it allows emergency vehicles and rescue workers full access to the accident scene.I am sure very few drivers want to continue racing with a local yellow even waving yellow while one of their fellow competitors is upside down and helpless.This is amateur racing and most all of us have to go to work on Monday.Any Steward who would question this philosophy should not be allowed to Operate or Chief an event in my opinion.And by the way 30 seconds is pretty good to relay all the info and make a decision.

[carnut169]

I 1st noticed the black flags going into T5, and would rather get a black than a red as some of the cars need a jump battery to get going.

[Jon Jeffords]

Another view of the Flip
Classic wheel tango
Am so surprised how far the Swift flew up hill..

www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3YOjyCg06o[/url]

If the above link doesn't work for you, try this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3YOjyCg06o

[sbelling]

First of all, I gotta say "I love you guyz". Fords are the best.

I've been watching the posts here and am glad you didnt rip on the workers too bad. But since the convo has turned to the response of the workers, I thought I would add my 2 cents.

You guys are most likely right, you should expect higher from the corner staff. This particular weekend was exceptional because most of the experienced and regular staff for ATL were in Sebring for the weekend. This past Sunday, Corner 1 had three workers; one blue flagger, one far safety, and one radio guy.

The Instant the trouble happened and before Marc flipped, Turn 1 was on the phones telling race control there was trouble. Race control acknowledged 1 had a problem and asked what the situation was. 1 stated there were cars off and that they now had a vehicle upside down on the track.
Seconds later, race control put the word out to stop the race. Corners then went hunting for their black flags and started waving them. Drivers stated they picked this up by turn 6 so I'm guessing maybe 15 seconds passed from reporting an issue to everyone being on the same page that the race was to be stopped. Meanwhile, the two mobile workers at turn 1 responded to the incident. The Blue flagger, over 50 years old, grabbed the 8lb fire bottle and started the 75 yard dash to the end of Pro Pit Out. Far safety, also in the over 50 crowd, grabbed his fire bottle, jumped the concrete jersey, rolled over the two rows of tirewall, and started his 100 yard dash thru the gravel trap and across the track to the incident. Both workers headed directly to car 13 white because the driver was nosed into the wall and waving to get peoples attention. By the way, when workers see this, we think the driver needs MEDICAL attention. Turns out he just wanted a push back so he could get racing again. I cant blame him because he likely couldnt turn his head to see 'the bigger picture'. It didnt hurt that this was also the car closest to them.

So while corner staff were still trying to get to the incident, the driver of 0 Silver, LC3 I would assume, did some quick thinking of his own. His car ended up at the end of Pro Pit out right next to one of the stations fire bottles. The driver got out of his car, grabbed the bottle and headed straight to Marc. Dont think the corner didnt notice. They did and they even sent a big Thank You about him to Race Control over the net after everything got cleared up. Fantastic job LC3. We are all thankful you crashed there (there is probably a better way to say that).

So rewinding a bit. After Race Control told everyone to black flag the race, they turned their attention back to turn 1 and asked what equipment the corner needed. Corner 1, still a bit dumbfounded by what they were witnessing, politely responded that they had several cars off and that they should start with an ambulance but wreckers were going to be needed. Seconds later the fire truck left pit out. Seconds after that, the ambulance. Then wreckers and flatbeds.

It is a sickening sight to have to stare helplessly at an upsidedown race car and not SEE any action being taken. Those first 45 seconds it takes to get to a car are an eternity but you have to know that things were happening. More staff would definitely improved things but you work with what you have. If any followup action needs to take place, it might be ideas on how to get more workers.

And I too am glad Marc was alright, he has been one of my Fav Ford drivers for years.

Steve B, the guy on the radios at turn 1 Sunday

[mblanc]

Thanks to all for the emails, calls, and concerned posts.

Special big big THANK YOU to Mr. Cooper. Fantastic heads up job, seconds after getting out of your car.

Having no idea that there was a fire, I decided to wait for things to be right side up, rather than pull the belts and land in a pile on my head. I was talking to Bruce on the radio, telling him all was ok,... relatively.

I could see somebody running what seemed like a long way uphill with a firebottle.
I thought, what a good idea- theres a car upside down, bring a bottle 'incase' there is an issue. To my big surprise he started using it on arrival. I kept asking if I should get out. Nobody said I should, and I didn't smell any fuel, nor anything. Pretty sure I could be out quick if I decided to, so I waited. I was shocked to see the pictures, looked way worse than from where I was, the strong breeze was in the perfectly correct direction, and I didn't get one whiff of firebottle stuff.
Thanks again, Louis.

As far as timing of a black or red flag, as long as the field didn't come back by under just a local yellow, it was all ok with me.
And further thanks to everybody who avoided me while inverted, the steering doesn't seem to have much input at that point.

About the time the wrecker got there, I mentioned to one of the many feet I saw milling about, that maybe they should turn the master off.
Thought maybe somebody (not a driver) should have done that long before.

Everybody w/ rescue was great, flipped me back over, and had the wrecker boom at just the right height, so when the wheels kicked out,
it just hung on the rollbar, nice smooth, and easy. Popped the belts, and I stepped out as the car lowered to the ground. Medical staff was great for the quick and efficient check in, vitals, and check out. Even the nurse that had to yell at us 4 drivers, while we were getting too loud while friendly and excitedly reliving the event.
"You can talk about that outside !" she barked. Seemed like adolescents getting yelled at in study hall, with only a couple snickers afterwards.

[lc3]

Marc,

Glad your ok. It seemed I had the fire under control, so asking you to drop on your head at that point seemed like a bad idea. Funny you mention the master switch. I woke up last night and was thinking to myself, that was stupid to not turn off your master. I did however think it was better to use the fire bottle supplied by the track, instead of your on board system, as it would eliminate one hassle/expense and not get the stuff all over you.

Your comments about the nurse are classic. We were being scolded.

[Steve Bamford]

Marc, glad to hear you came out in such good spirits, it was scary to watch.

I checked my video and it was 34 seconds from the time of the accident till I ran into the first flag. That means, since i was mid pack at best, that in 30 seconds or less the call had been made and flags were out. Sure seemed like an eternity at the time but I guess time slows down in those type incidences.

[lancer360]

What kind of fire bottle was used to put out the fire? I have heard some horror stories on what Purple K will do to electronics. With the amount of electronics on these F600 and F1000 cars, I think I would rather deploy my FE36 onboard gas based extinguisher than deal with the mess of replacing all the contaminated electronics from using a Purple K based powder extinguisher. This of course assumes it is a small fire and not a raging inferno. Are there hand held extinguishers that are reasonable in cost, reasonably effective and don't wreak havoc on electronics?

[RussMcB]

First of all, I gotta say "I love you guyz". Fords are the best.

Steve, thanks for that perspective. Your help, and all the volunteers', is greatly appreciated.

[swiftdrivr]

Awsome presence of mind on Lewis Cooper's part. I've watched all the videos, still haven't spotted the fire bottle, and I'm not spinning! Especially great to see Marc is okay, and in good spirits.
--So-Now to the next critical question. Are you guys going to be back in running order in time for the VIR pro race?
By the way, when I heard about the Pro race, I figured I'd be in the back, and there would be lots of action up front, so I bought a camera. Figured I'd have a great view of the action, have a good time, and get some classic FF footage at a really great track. That is still the plan, but on the whole, I'd just as soon you guys skip the aerobatics part of the show. Slicin' and dicin', pass -in -the -grass, spin and win, but no sky-diving or wall slamming, if you please.
Kudos to all involved,
Jim

[mblanc]

For Immediate Release

More SCCA Members Honored During Saturday Luncheon On Final Day of Convention

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (March 3, 2012) – A number of individuals were personally recognized for outstanding efforts over the past year in front of their Sports Car Club of America peers during Saturday’s luncheon on the third day of the SCCA National Convention at the South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

The luncheon, hosted by Raleigh Boreen, opened once again by welcoming the club’s partners and moved into the award ceremony.


"edit for brevity"

The luncheon ended with SCCA Chairman of the Board Jerry Wannarka on stage to present the Tom McKean Award, Given to an SCCA member for a single outstanding act of sportsmanship involving self-sacrifice. The award, presented only when a deserving member distinguishes his or her self, was awarded for the first time since 2002.

This year, Lewis Cooper III was selected by the Board of Directors when, during a double national at Road Atlanta, a turn one accident involving multiple cars left one upside down and on fire. Cooper, involved in the incident, unbuckled himself, grabbed a fire extinguisher, and helped his fellow competitor exit his car with no serious injuries.

The SCCA National Convention at the South Point Hotel and Casino continues through Saturday’s SCCA Hall of Fame Banquet, which will be streamed live at 7:00 p.m. PST on SCCA.com.

More information on the SCCA Convention is available at SCCA.com/convention.

[Swift17]

I was there, and ask all to recall, that Lewis saw the extinguisher while spinning to avoid Marc ... and there was a nice 'little fire going ....... ! again lc3

EJ

[John Nesbitt]

Lewis Cooper was unable to attend the Convention to receive the award.

SCCA will present it to him at the Rd. Atlanta Double National coming up.

This will be the first award of the McKean - for a "single outstanding act of sportsmanship involving self-sacrifice" - in almost 10 years.

[Swift17]

The results seem to indicate some interesting stories .................. Group #1

http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=754019

EJ

[problemchild]

Very entertaining racing although only 7 FFs present. All were good cars and drivers. Rain and general first group track conditions spiced things up. Saturday's wet conditions had top-4 cars swapping positions and in touch with each other for most of the race. It was great to see a nice mix of kents and Hondas racing together in SCCA.