http://www.nbc4.tv/news/4562562/detail.html



A Porsche Carrera GT crashed into a retaining wall and came to rest on the track's infield. Driver and passenger both died.

 

 

Damn that thing fragged all over the place. I wonder how fast it was going at time of impact.

 

Wow...I saw one in real life. They are beautiful cars. Talk about a bad day...

 

Wow that is very sad. The president at my old job had one of those things

 

Rip.

 

damn...
steven creek porsche had one last weekend, not sure if it's still there

 

Sad... on two fronts

 

That's my dream car Too bad for the driver and passenger

 

edit* damn i didn't realize the driver and passenger both died. that is truely very tragic. may they rip.

 

How sad!

 

Oh man...what a sad news...
May the victims R.I.P.

 

Rip to the passengers. They must not have been wearing helmets or they were ejected because the seats look ok and the front windshield is out on the passenger side.

 

Yeah, I was surprised to hear about the 2 deaths because the car, while definitely totalled, looks relatively intact, particularly the passenger compartment. I'd be curious to hear the details about the crash to find out exactly what happened (not to be morbid, just from an engineering and physics perspective.)

 

the article says they WERE wearing helmets. wow.

 

I read the other thread about this, and the concensus seems to be that it was probably a severe head/neck injury that was the cause. While it's really sad that it happened (and maybe didn't have to if one miniscule factor was different), it's a risk we take in high-speed cars. Unfortunate nonetheless.

 

If they were wearing helmets then yes the only other possiblities would be
Head, neck, and spine trauma and definitely internal trauma maybe even aorta rupture or disection of the aorta. They would have basically bled out internally.

Sad

 

That is the extreme of getting excited on a fast car. Unfortunately, some people learn the hard way. May they rest in peace. MY condolences to their families.

 

This is really tragic. We go to the track for a HPD experience, not to die. 5 people have died at this track since it opened in '97. All of us have lost control one time or another during a track day but did not die. Thunderhill has had at least 2 fatalities that I'm aware of but it seems to be laid out in a much safer way than the track in Fontana. The owners of this track should take a hard look at using concrete retaining walls. I'm sure there must be a safer way to stop an out of control race car.

 

From what I've read in a different forum, a marshall improperly signalled another car to enter the track not realizing the GT was there/approaching. The Ferrari pulled out, and the GT driver swerved to avoid hitting the car. The GT driver, Ben Keaton, was well known and highly regarded on many forums. Most notably 6speedonline.