slownrusty Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 Read the text then check out the video! http://www.microworks.net/dave/viper.html Yasin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZR8ED Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 OUch is what I Say! Nothing like learning to drive in a $100k sports car... Will people ever learn to drive well first..then move into highpowered cars. You can have just as much fun with a stocko civic on a tight track, and push the car to its limits..then work your way slowly past the cars limits as your skill exceeds the cars. Live and learn... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 Poor defenseless car!!! Kris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denny411 Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 Note to self; DON`T down shift to second while traveling at 100 mph. What was he thinking? He said that this was his second Viper. I`d be willing to bet that he wrecked his first, and the reason he was taking the course was to learn how to handle the car. maybe he should have special ordered it with an automatic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synlubes Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 You`ve got to love being an instructor at times like that! I do HPDE`s, and my hats off to the instructors out there! Would of been cool to have some in car so we could hear the audio! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 We see this all the time with Motorcyclists... Guy I know bought his first bike this year and it was an 87 CBR600. It was old and tired and he quickly lost his love for it... Two months later he "Graduated" to a 996 superhawk. What Made him think he was ready is beyond me... Some idiots feel that the fact that they have money is all it takes... Unfortunately you can't buy brains or skill. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VRJoe Posted January 10, 2003 Share Posted January 10, 2003 Skipping a gear while up-shifter : OK, keep it in the low range Skipping a gear while down-shifting: PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 10, 2003 Share Posted January 10, 2003 LOL. He crashed going in a straight away. I would never admit that I deliberately shifted into second gear at 100 mph... maybe an admission of a mishift due to the transmission malfunction. Maybe he can special order an automatic transmission in the third Viper at least there will be reverse "lock out" and some kind of low gear lock out could be installed with some training wheels attached to the sides with total wrap around energy absorbing bumpers.There goes the fantasy:"... champagne with the half naked girl in the winner's circle" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinCA Posted January 10, 2003 Share Posted January 10, 2003 LOL, an auto viper... Yeah... you do kinda have to wonder what the thought process involved was... "Hmm, i'm doing 100 MPH, i am in 4th gear, lets shift down to 2nd gear, which i shifted out of at hmmm...35-40 tops.... yeah, that sounds like a great idea!" What's even more amazing is that morons like this have enough money to buy vipers.... Ive shifted from fourth(at 2000 RPM) to second before in my Z(rev it up and drop the clutch!), But in between that i slammed on the brakes and threw it sideways, fully intending to lose traction in the back end... heh, still ended in an accident though "DOH". I'll tell you what though, i learned my lesson the first time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 240hybrid Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 Damn I didnt think driving a stick was that difficult for some people to understand. 4 to 2 is a pretty drastic transition. Maybe he'll take it alittle slower when the comes back after the insurance has paid for the rebuilding,out of fear of a even higher insure. rate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denny411 Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 Many Ins, companies would refuse to pay because the car was being operated on a race track. I know my policy says specifically that they will not cover any damages as a result of racing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimZ Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 Man - you guys are a tough audience. The guy screwed up for sure, but he only had a little over a second between the start of the slide and contact with the wall. Things happen pretty quickly at 100mph. Normal human reaction times are rarely better than 1 second for an unexpected event. It's pretty easy to say he's a moron from the saftey of your keyboard. At least he was trying to learn, and was doing this at a track under somewhat controlled conditions. Ive shifted from fourth(at 2000 RPM) to second before in my Z(rev it up and drop the clutch!), But in between that i slammed on the brakes and threw it sideways, fully intending to lose traction in the back end...heh, still ended in an accident though "DOH". I'll tell you what though, i learned my lesson the first time. ...can you say the same? You don't have to look very far at all to find people trying to build a 500hp car with little or no limit handling experience. A hybrid Z might not cost $100k, but it'll kill you just as dead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 Tim, I only somewhat agree with you. Trying to recover from a mistake like that is very difficult, if not impossible except with very very experienced drivers. HOWEVER, I think about what he did (moving the shifter in a "U" pattern) and it just does not make logical sense to me. 4th gear to 3rd gear requires going across the gate, but 4th to 2nd requires one weird freaking shift IMO. I have mis-shifted before, right before a curve, but I did not lose the rear end (of course I was going about 60 mph, not 100 mph). If it was me, I would take the lumps for my own mistake, and not blame it on an instructor. Also, I seriously doubt the insurance company will pay for squat since he was at the track. My $.02. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 Tim Z... In the safety of my key board: "the guy is a moron". I mistakenly hit second gear in a 4 speed from from third gear trying to get into 4 th gear (which is easy to do for an idiot) doing about 75 mph in a 65 Corvette. One second I was rushing forward and the next few seconds was spent going reverse in the same direction until contact was made with a rock wall.Blame it all on stupidity,lack of common sense,poor driving skills, alcohol,slick road, etal..Like I was back then, the guy is a moron. I learned that I was not race car material.I wonder if this fellow has a clue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimZ Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 Originally posted by DavyZ:HOWEVER, I think about what he did (moving the shifter in a "U" pattern) and it just does not make logical sense to me. 4th gear to 3rd gear requires going across the gate, but 4th to 2nd requires one weird freaking shift IMO. I never said the guy didn't screw up. Also, the report states that he shifted 4-3-2, and this sequence makes a bit more sense. I did a quick search, and 6000rpm in 2nd gear in a Viper works out to 85-90mph (depending on model year), so it's not as outrageous as it sounds. The report also states that this was the first time down the straight with open track ahead. Before, he had slower cars regulating his speed. My guess is that every other time he went through that turn, he exited in second gear (remember that you downshift coming into the turn so that you'll be in the correct gear for the exit, not for braking), and mistakenly thought that was what he needed. If it was me, I would take the lumps for my own mistake, and not blame it on an instructor. Agreed, but again, the 'nobody told me that' statement was apparently only made once, and just after the incident, when the driver was still shaken. I'm just saying that a lot of people were piling on this guy, when I'll bet maybe 10% of the people on this board have skills that are any better that what was demonstrated in the report and video. At the same time, how many times has the 'Darius' video popped up on this site, and how many people thought that was the coolest thing ever? Let's see, guy makes mistake in expensive car while trying to learn, vs. guy lighting up his tires at 60mph on an undivided public highway with oncoming traffic. Who is the moron, again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MistressMotorsports Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 IMHO, and as an instructor, missing a shift is an accident that happens to all of us. Heck, I missed a couple just last weeked at Phoenix. However, if you believe the writeup, including the "no one told me not to do it" part, that's what's scary. I'm sure he wouldn't have made a 4-2 shift at 100 on the street, so why would a track be any different? It may just have been a heat of the moment defensive remark or even a mis-quote, so I give a little (but not much) slack. It's kinda like saying, "I saw the big oil slick, but drove through it anyway, that's why I crashed, sue the oil company for making oil slippery, sue the car owner, sue the world." I've been an instructor since 1987. I've been scared exactly twice. Both were when students wouldn't listen. Without being there, I can't really judge, but I think I might have been scared by this one. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 You`ve got to love being an instructor at times like that! I do HPDE`s, and my hats off to the instructors out there! Ditto to that! I did my first track event this past weekend and the instructors are awesome. I improved every time I went out and it was only because of my instructors advice. I know this guy made a horrible mistake, but I can see where it would be possible in the heat of the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 Originally posted by TimZ:...At the same time, how many times has the 'Darius' video popped up on this site, and how many people thought that was the coolest thing ever? Let's see, guy makes mistake in expensive car while trying to learn, vs. guy lighting up his tires at 60mph on an undivided public highway with oncoming traffic. Who is the moron, again? LOL! You made your point! Still, it is safer to just bash him from behind my keyboard!! Sorry, I could not resist. Once in a while, you just have to someone. I don't think it is anything personal, it just feels gooooood ROTFL! Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 I believe that if you are driving a Viper, Vette, Ferarri, Lambo etc, you are held to a higher standard of ability purely because most of us peeons who can't afford that type of vehicle are just waiting for the 'wheels to fall' so that we can manifest our jealousy in the inevitable ridicule. I kinda feel sorry for the guy, but it seems somewhat apparent that driving is not in his blood. To a certain degree, car contol cannot be learned, it is instinctual, or natural to some people. Just look at the likes of Juan Manuel Fangio, Ayrton Senna, Nikki Lauda or Michael Schumaker. Those guys could get into anything with wheels and drive circles around anyone. $$$$ + Car + Human = $$$$ + Car + Human + talent = Just ranting 2c worth. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 I agree with Tim 240 Z..gremlin equations... Years ago this young fellow that was given driving experiece opportunity on race tracks by his father gave me a demonstration going up a gravel road on "Red Hill" that was famous for the wrecked cars littering its canyons. He could drive sideways at will in any direction and even do a circle in the middle of the road. I was impressed and inquired at the conclusion why he did not continue racing with his skills. His answer, "I was not good enough to win" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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