The Sportscar and Endurance Thread

DOSBoot · Post by **DOSBoot** » 21 Jun 2013, 17:18

Shadaza wrote:

Wat. I....like it.

Post by **mario** » 21 Jun 2013, 20:37

nome66 wrote:
Shadaza wrote:

Wat. I....like it.

reminds me of science fiction films.
are they acting as a separate entity from DeltaWing/AAR?

They are no longer associated with AAR: however, Ben Bowlby, who helped design the original DeltaWing, subsequently moved to Nissan, which would probably explain why this car looks so similar to the original concept. Given how much hype the original car created, I'm not surprised that Nissan have chosen to repeat that design - the wider press adored the original car and pretty much totally ignored Audi, and by the looks of things the announcement of this new concept has already racked up more headlines than Audi are likely to generate this year again.

Shadaza · Post by **Shadaza** » 22 Jun 2013, 12:45

Light rain for the start of the 24 hours. I have a feeling things are going to be crazy!

Post by **Londoner** » 22 Jun 2013, 13:14

One of the Aston Martins has had a massive shunt already. Looks like that's curtains for them after just three laps.

Post by **mario** » 22 Jun 2013, 13:20

Shadaza wrote:Light rain for the start of the 24 hours. I have a feeling things are going to be crazy!

It didn't take long for your prediction to come true - as East Londoner mentioned, one of the Aston Martin entries has already been completely written off by the looks of things and the race is currently under a safety car. I'm also surprised by how aggressive Toyota's drivers have been at the start of the race - I was expecting the Audi's to pull away pretty easily, especially given that their KERS effectively acts in 4WD mode at speed (whereas Toyota's system is purely RWD), but instead it is the Toyota's that look competitive in these damp and cold conditions.

good_Ralf · Post by **good_Ralf** » 22 Jun 2013, 13:33

Imagine if the tag from FullMetalJack's avatar came true! But Quick Nick's group is 6th the grid.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 22 Jun 2013, 14:35

Well, Toyota's challenge didn't last long.

AUDIWINSLOL

Post by **mario** » 22 Jun 2013, 15:18

Stramala wrote:Well, Toyota's challenge didn't last long.

AUDIWINSLOL

It does look that way at the moment right now - Toyota might have a very slim chance if they stretch their stints out a bit further (they seem to have a two lap advantage - 12 laps to Audi's 10 laps - which does not look like it is going to be enough of an advantage), but, even allowing for wet weather slowing the drivers down, I don't think that they can eke it out any longer.

[Edit] Further news has come through on that earlier accident involving the driver of that Aston Martin, Allan Simonsen - Eurosport are reporting that, sadly, Allan was severely injured in that accident and has now passed away in hospital due to his injuries.

Post by **kevinbotz** » 22 Jun 2013, 16:09

Allan Simonsen, the Aston GTE driver, has died following his accident at Tertre Rouge.

Shizuka · Post by **Shizuka** » 22 Jun 2013, 16:14

May he rest in peace

The replay only showed the end of it, but damn, that car broke down hard!

good_Ralf · Post by **good_Ralf** » 22 Jun 2013, 16:17

RIP Allan Simonsen, whoever he is.

When was the last time someone died at the Circuit de la Sarthe?

Shadaza · Post by **Shadaza** » 22 Jun 2013, 16:23

RIP Allan Simonsen
It looked a nasty accident and there were no rubber tires in front of the barrier.

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 22 Jun 2013, 16:31

I'm only following in the background, but that is shocking to hear. I haven't seen the replays of the accident yet.

Post by **tommykl** » 22 Jun 2013, 16:33

It appears he lost control coming out of the corner and went into the barriers driver's side first

RIP Allan Simonsen :cry:

Post by **mario** » 22 Jun 2013, 16:40

Shadaza wrote:RIP Allan Simonsen
It looked a nasty accident and there were no rubber tires in front of the barrier.

It appears that the impact was made worse by the fact that the car went through the barrier and struck a tree behind it, which brought the car to a much more abrupt stop (and would explain why one side of the car was so heavily damaged). It is a bit of a shock, though, to receive that news given that he was initially reported to have been conscious and capable of talking to the circuit doctors.

good_Ralf wrote:RIP Allan Simonsen, whoever he is.

When was the last time someone died at the Circuit de la Sarthe?

It appears that the last fatal accident was in 1997, when Sébastien Enjolras was killed after the bodywork of his car disintegrated at speed and caused the car to flip over the barriers and into the trees at Arnage.

AdrianSutil · Post by **AdrianSutil** » 22 Jun 2013, 16:47

Yeah it's very sad news about Aalen Simonsen. RIP.

Oliver Gavin was behind him when he went off, I've found the video. Apologies if it's in bad taste, but all it shows is the car stepping out of line before going towards the barrier. The aftermath of the crash can be found on YouTube fairly easily.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFpTqwzO ... ata_player

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 22 Jun 2013, 16:48

I'm really shocked it was Simonsen of all people. For me he was one of the best GT drivers. I had been following him since 2006 when he joined Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari. It's still quite hard to believe it's happened.

RIP Allan Simonsen.

Rasmus · Post by **Rasmus** » 22 Jun 2013, 16:49

mario wrote:
Shadaza wrote:RIP Allan Simonsen
It looked a nasty accident and there were no rubber tires in front of the barrier.

It appears that the impact was made worse by the fact that the car went through the barrier and struck a tree behind it, which brought the car to a much more abrupt stop (and would explain why one side of the car was so heavily damaged).

Where have you read/heard that??

I'm totally shocked. I even cried a little when I heard the tragic news. RIP Allan. Sad day for danish motorsport and motorsport in general.

Wallio · Post by **Wallio** » 22 Jun 2013, 16:59

Awful news. RIP Allen. The tree would explain why a realtively harmless shunt turned fatal. Awful day. Has Aston withdrawn?

Now to try to change the subject onto lighter news, does anyone know who the 12-year girl doing the commentary on Lemans Tv feed is? She is without question the worst commentator I have ever heard. Thank God for Radio Le Mans.

AdrianSutil · Post by **AdrianSutil** » 22 Jun 2013, 17:01

I don't have British Eurosport so haven't been able to watch the race. But can someone tell me if the announcement on Simonsen's death has been formally made to everyone? And has the race been stopped? Have Aston Martin pulled out of the race as a mark of respect?

Wallio · Post by **Wallio** » 22 Jun 2013, 17:06

AdrianSutil wrote:I don't have British Eurosport so haven't been able to watch the race. But can someone tell me if the announcement on Simonsen's death has been formally made to everyone? And has the race been stopped? Have Aston Martin pulled out of the race as a mark of respect?

It was formally announced (whenever the announcer says "I'm going to read this just as its written" you know sadly, whats coming), but strangely the ACO has pulled the statement from their website. The race has not been stopped (I doubt it will be) and as of now, Aston is still running (I hope they withdraw personally).

pasta_maldonado · Post by **pasta_maldonado** » 22 Jun 2013, 17:08

Very very sad news indeed :cry:

only just caught the announcement, because I've been watching a recording, but the news was very shocking. When I initially saw the incident I thought that Simonsen would pull through but unfortunately it hasn't been the case. R.i.p.

AdrianSutil wrote:I don't have British Eurosport so haven't been able to watch the race. But can someone tell me if the announcement on Simonsen's death has been formally made to everyone? And has the race been stopped? Have Aston Martin pulled out of the race as a mark of respect?

Yes, Eurosport read out the official announcement from Aston Martin and Simonsen's family has been notified. The race wasn't red flagged, but the incident did cause a 50 minute safety car while they extracted Allan from the car and dealt with the damage to the barriers. The indication is that the remaining 4 Astons will continue to race in an effort to win the race in Simonsen's memory.

Alextrax52 · Post by **Alextrax52** » 22 Jun 2013, 17:11

RIP Allan Simonsen. Another reminder that for all our love of motorsport it is still a dangerous sport.

Post by **Londoner** » 22 Jun 2013, 17:22

So that is the very first fatal accident I have witnessed during a live race. I hope its the last. RIP Allen. :cry:

Hound55 · Post by **Hound55** » 22 Jun 2013, 17:32

Rest in peace, Allan. My thoughts are with his family.

Post by **mario** » 22 Jun 2013, 18:04

Rasmus wrote:
mario wrote:
Shadaza wrote:RIP Allan Simonsen
It looked a nasty accident and there were no rubber tires in front of the barrier.

It appears that the impact was made worse by the fact that the car went through the barrier and struck a tree behind it, which brought the car to a much more abrupt stop (and would explain why one side of the car was so heavily damaged).

Where have you read/heard that??

I'm totally shocked. I even cried a little when I heard the tragic news. RIP Allan. Sad day for danish motorsport and motorsport in general.

It was based on the testimony of one of the Corvette GTE drivers who was following Allan and witnessed the crash - when interviewed by Eurosport, he seemed to think that the car punched through the barrier.

pi314159 · Post by **pi314159** » 22 Jun 2013, 18:10

East Londoner wrote:So that is the very first fatal accident I have witnessed during a live race. I hope its the last. RIP Allen.

The same for me. I'm really shocked.

AdrianSutil · Post by **AdrianSutil** » 22 Jun 2013, 18:13

pi314159 wrote:
East Londoner wrote:So that is the very first fatal accident I have witnessed during a live race. I hope its the last. RIP Allen.

The same for me. I'm really shocked.

I saw live footage of Henry Surtees' fatal accident in F2 a few years back. I knew immediately that he was in serious trouble. It's not a nice feeling, leaves a bad feeling in your stomach.

Mario, the Corvette driver was former F1 tester Oliver Gavin who tweeted about it as soon as his stint in the car was over.

The Dutch Bear · Post by **The Dutch Bear** » 22 Jun 2013, 18:38

pi314159 wrote:
East Londoner wrote:So that is the very first fatal accident I have witnessed during a live race. I hope its the last. RIP Allen.

The same for me. I'm really shocked.

Same here. I hope that I never have to see one again.
As soon as I saw the driver's side of the car I had a bad feeling about this. RIP Allan and my condolences to everybody that was close to him.

Wallio · Post by **Wallio** » 22 Jun 2013, 19:03

East Londoner wrote:So that is the very first fatal accident I have witnessed during a live race.

I wish I could say the same......

FMecha · Post by **FMecha** » 22 Jun 2013, 19:06

^Why I feel that the ZEOD looks like it comes from Ridge Racer?

Oh, and RIP Simsonen. :cry:

Bleu · Post by **Bleu** » 22 Jun 2013, 19:37

Simonsen's family requested the other Aston Martin to stay in the race when David Richards announced bad news for them (before the public announcement)

Shadaza · Post by **Shadaza** » 22 Jun 2013, 19:54

Suddenly the race is turned on it's head.

The Number 3 Audi has had a tire delamination at the start of the Mulsanne straight and worse the Audi 1 has a "major engine problem" and has been wheeled in to the garage.

The number 2 now leads the two Toyota's.

Wallio · Post by **Wallio** » 22 Jun 2013, 19:55

mario wrote:It was based on the testimony of one of the Corvette GTE drivers who was following Allan and witnessed the crash - when interviewed by Eurosport, he seemed to think that the car punched through the barrier.

Speed TV just showed a replay of marshalls fixing the armco, with a clearly damaged tree behind.....

Aerospeed · Post by **Aerospeed** » 22 Jun 2013, 21:39

Just heard the news recently, very sad for this to happen. Always a sad occasion no matter which level of motorsport it's at. RIP

the Masked Lapwing · Post by **the Masked Lapwing** » 22 Jun 2013, 22:29

RIP Allan. He was a brilliant driver, and I always looked forward to his attempts at Bathurst. :cry:

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 22 Jun 2013, 22:32

AdrianSutil wrote:
pi314159 wrote:
East Londoner wrote:So that is the very first fatal accident I have witnessed during a live race. I hope its the last. RIP Allen.

The same for me. I'm really shocked.

I saw live footage of Henry Surtees' fatal accident in F2 a few years back. I knew immediately that he was in serious trouble. It's not a nice feeling, leaves a bad feeling in your stomach.

I was at the track when that accident happened. I had no idea what had happened (other than sussing that it was serious), but it was awful to find out that a participant in the entertainment that you were watching live had died during the event. And I remember the day Senna died. Didn't watch the race live, but remember watching the TV evening news. Sad days. We all hope that it never happens, but this is a reminder never to become complacent, as Kubica reminds us. Here's hoping that Bruno Senna wins the GT class in his Aston Martin. Goodness how he and his mother are feeling right now...

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 22 Jun 2013, 22:41

Gianluca Roda (possible relation to Giovanni?

) has binned it at the exit of the esses and cost himself the GT-Am class lead. :roll:

Onxy Wrecked · Post by **Onxy Wrecked** » 22 Jun 2013, 23:57

East Londoner wrote:So that is the very first fatal accident I have witnessed during a live race. I hope its the last. RIP Allen.

I've seen several myself, but whether it's the first or one's seventh the bad feeling doesn't change.

On second count, this is my fifth death I've seen live with John Nemechek, Dale Sr., Blaise Alexander, Dan Wheldon, and now with Allan.

eytl · Post by **eytl** » 22 Jun 2013, 23:59

This is awful news to wake up to this morning.

Simonsen was, in my mind, one of the best and most underrated tin-top drivers in the world, whether that be in touring cars or GT sports cars. His versatility was a throwback to a bygone era.

RIP Allan - and my condolences to his friends (many of whom will be in the Australian motorsport community) and family.