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I don't know about you guys but I honestly feared Katherine dead when watching the Champcar race yesterday. All you guys who spend a lot of time around racecars know how to tell the difference between a bad accident and a bad accident that threatens the driver's life. I gave her little hope. I was absolutely floored and elated when she walked out of the trailer all smiles. Unbelievable.
Katherine was headed into Turn 10 at Elkhart Lake when one of the airfoils came off the rear wing. The car entered the turn and exited the track while doing a 3/4 spin, impacting the wall squarely on the right sidepod before the car flew into the air, broke up and the tub barrel rolled across the grass. I thought she was fine until the tub began rolling, then I got worried. She looked very loose in the cockpit and I was flashing back to when I watched Greg Moore go through much the same thing
Crash looked bad, but not as bad as Moore's. Thats was like a plane crash he hit that wall over 200mph.
She was lucky the catch fence was so high and the drivers tub is so strong . Back in the old days she would have cleared the track and landed up in a tree. Only thing I thought was crazy was the energy and how far the powerplant flew once it sheered off the car. I can only imagine what that would have done if it came back to hit the tub or flew into the croud. She's a lucky Brit
Yea, the announcers got real somber for a while there. I felt the same as you during that time. Glad to see the car did its job during the accident.
Did not find the vid of yesterday but I did find this one from her F3 days. Amazingly both the accidents show just how much DF the wings make, and in the case of the F3 crash how much lift they can generate also.
The engine/gearbox is held on with 6 stainless steel studs. The studs are about 10MM in diameter once they exit the counter bore in the tub. Just the right size to keep it together when needed yet small enough to shear and get that heavy lump away when you want it to. Motorsports engineering kicks but.
-billy
Last edited by Re-Speed.com; 09-25-06 at 10:33 AM.
I've seen worse unfortunately, and tended to lesser ones where we've lost drivers. It is a miracle she came away from that unscathed. Greg Moore's impact registered about 120 g's when we downloaded the data.
Damon, I am serious, I cried when I saw her walk out. I saw greg moore, it really broke me up, really affected me. I thought that there was no way she or her head would survive that crash. Cars are different now, drivers have alot more protecting their head. This is only emotional to somebody who has strapped themselves in the cockpit before a race, or strapped in a good friend or member of their family.
Damon, I am serious, I cried when I saw her walk out.
I had met Katherine in Houston; speaking with her several times over the weekend. She was honestly excited to hear I had a (at the time 5 week old) little girl and giddily autographed a tiny t-shirt for her. Katherine was great; very approachable and friendly.
I nearly cried when I saw the accident. My wife and baby girl happened to be watching tv with me at that moment and I kept telling my wife "it's bad, it's bad, it's bad....." When I heard no news of removing Katherine from the car I was worried. When they red flagged the race I thought that was it; she's gone. When they said she gave a thumbs up in the ambulance I thought "Great. She's not dead but her back is snapped in half." I was stunned when she walked out all smiles. Unbelievable. I hope someone threw her a party that night.
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