View Full Version : *Spoilers* Race reports
devilmaster
10-24-04, 04:59 AM
From ten-tenths forum:
Patrick Carpentier has been hospitalised overnight after losing consciousness in the accident, but there was nothing in the CT scan the suggest he won't be discharged tomorrow. There were no other injuries involved.
Good to hear if true.... :thumbup:
Steve
Sean O'Gorman
10-24-04, 11:11 AM
Thanks for the update. I went straight to bed after the race, but I was worried when there was still nothing said about Carpentier's condition.
devilmaster
10-24-04, 12:27 PM
From Fox Sports Aussieland: http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,11173328-23770,00.html
CHAMP CAR driver Patrick Carpentier was knocked unconscious but escaped serious injury in an horrific high-speed crash during today's Lexmark Indy 300 on the Gold Coast.
Medical staff rushed to the scene of the accident to find the Canadian driver out cold after the 250km/h crash.
The 33-year-old Forsythe Racing team pilot regained consciousness on the way to the Gold Coast hospital where he underwent a CT scan. He was admitted for observation but is expected to be released tomorrow morning.
Carpentier was fighting to retain third place in the world series when a loose nose cone fell off the car with five laps to go in the race.
Travelling at close to 250km/h Carpentier lost steering and brakes and was helpless to control his Lola as it crashed into a cement wall.
The million dollar car broke apart as it careered into another wall, sending tyres, carbon fibre and aluminium into the air. The cockpit remained intact but the impact knocked Carpentier unconscious for about 15 seconds.
CART medical officer Dr Chris Pinderski said scans had shown no head injuries or any other serious injuries.
"They did a CT scan of his head and found no problem there, but he will stay hospitalised because of the fact he was briefly unconscious after the accident," he said.
Steve
RaceCat
10-24-04, 12:51 PM
Thanks. I looked for some news about Patrick right after the race but found nothing. I came here now looking for some word. I'm glad he'll be ok. He's one of my favorites for sure.
RaceCat
TravelGal
10-24-04, 01:10 PM
Other sites are reporting that Patreeeek was kept overnight for observation soley because he did pass out but he is cleared for flying home today.
That means he's judged to be fine by the doctors or they would not allow such extended, high altitude travel. :thumbup:
I'd have to say we can add this to list of "good races" this season and offer it up as a case against pit windows. It would have been an exciting finish if Patreeks wing hadn't given up.
Great crowd, good race. If all street races were like this I'd be a lot less concerned about them as a strategy.
And then there's the "should they have black flagged him" question.
I think they should've black flagged him. We've all seen what happens when either wing comes off at speed.
I think they should've black flagged him. We've all seen what happens when either wing comes off at speed.
Agreed, I was thinking that throughout the race...especially on a pretty fast street course with little run off.
RaceCat
10-24-04, 11:36 PM
I think they should've black flagged him. We've all seen what happens when either wing comes off at speed.
I agree! I was wondering about that last night and pretty darn upset when the wing finally failed.
RaceCat
Chiphead_Dave
10-24-04, 11:51 PM
I hate to say it but I called Carp's accident.
Good to hear it wasn't as bad as it looked.
I was sitting there about half way through talking to SWMBO saying "I wonder how bad the accident will be when it goes".
Then sure enough it went.
I don't know if the team new. I guess I would think there would be some feedback in situations like this from the camera crew/production folks. Maybe not in this case as the camera crew wasn't the normal one.
I couldn't believe during the second pit stop when the official just stood there with what looked to me like the wing obviously skewed and did nothing.
Steve99
10-25-04, 01:26 AM
The teams usually have access to all the video feeds, I don't know that this race is any different. The team could have fixed the wing during the pitstop if they wanted to, but chose not to. I don't think the officials should have gotten involved. It is up to the team to make sure the car is safe.
chop456
10-25-04, 01:41 AM
CHAMP CAR driver Patrick Carpentier was knocked unconscious but escaped serious injury in an horrific high-speed crash during today's Lexmark Indy 300 on the Gold Coast.
Medical staff rushed to the scene of the accident to find the Canadian driver out cold after the 250km/h crash.
The 33-year-old Forsythe Racing team pilot regained consciousness on the way to the Gold Coast hospital where he underwent a CT scan. He was admitted for observation but is expected to be released tomorrow morning.
Carpentier was fighting to retain third place in the world series when a loose nose cone fell off the car with five laps to go in the race.
Travelling at close to 250km/h Carpentier lost steering and brakes and was helpless to control his Lola as it crashed into a cement wall.
The million dollar car broke apart as it careered into another wall, sending tyres, carbon fibre and aluminium into the air. The cockpit remained intact but the impact knocked Carpentier unconscious for about 15 seconds.
CART medical officer Dr Chris Pinderski said scans had shown no head injuries or any other serious injuries.
"They did a CT scan of his head and found no problem there, but he will stay hospitalised because of the fact he was briefly unconscious after the accident," he said.
That's one quick safety team.
The teams usually have access to all the video feeds, I don't know that this race is any different. The team could have fixed the wing during the pitstop if they wanted to, but chose not to. I don't think the officials should have gotten involved. It is up to the team to make sure the car is safe.
I disagree. The officials are responsable for the safety of all participants, and the fact that Patrick's wing was damaged not only represented a danger to himself, but to other competitors was reason enough for them to black flag him. There was an accident about 10 years ago here in Mexico where a driver went off the track and dragged debris into the track, along with sand from the runoff there was a pretty big rock, probably about 3 inches long. The officials decided against a full course yellow to clean this up. Another driver ran over the rock and launched it into the air where it hit driver Marco Magaña in the helmet right above the visor. The impact rendered him unconscious, he crashed and died of the injuries. You don't know what can happen when large pieces of debris make their way to the track, and it was obvious Carpentiers wing was going to fail, it was a matter of when. What happened afterwards was a "lucky" conclusion to this, it could've been worse for Patrick and/or someone else.
The teams usually have access to all the video feeds, I don't know that this race is any different. The team could have fixed the wing during the pitstop if they wanted to, but chose not to. I don't think the officials should have gotten involved. It is up to the team to make sure the car is safe.
it's the series officials' responsibility to ensure that all the cars are safe and in operable condition
oddlycalm
10-25-04, 03:19 AM
Glad he's ok, it was a hard hit. Ironic the car came to rest at the feet of the safety team.
oc
Auto racing is a dangerous sport. They took a chance; they lost. The car was safer with a loose wing than most of the race cars built throughout history.
Glad to hear he is OK.
Dirty Sanchez
10-25-04, 09:25 AM
Its easy to disect this call on Monday. I will say that the first thing that crossed my mind when I saw the wing was that there was no way he would make it to the end. I remember how many wing failures there have been with drivers pounding curbs in Surfers. That was my first impression as a spectator.
If I was in the car and feeling confident about things, I may have made the same call to continue. Competition makes lots of people do stupid stuff though.
The series should have seen what I saw... a safety issue. I think they should have forced a wing change. Although, I'm sure they were influenced by the team to let them continue.
Everyone got lucky... this time.
It was also dangerous for the fans. The wing appeared to go over the fence (I saw it go over but didn't see it come down). It looked to go at least 40-50 feet up. Coming down, that thing could've caused some serious damage.
Steve99
10-25-04, 06:46 PM
it's the series officials' responsibility to ensure that all the cars are safe and in operable condition
Then Champ Car better impound all the cars and only allow Champ Car employed mechanics to work on the cars. That is the only way Champ Car can "ensure" anything about the cars. And it looks like that needs to include changing tires, since there seems to be some difficulity there.
If they had black flagged his car his team would have been furious and there would be a thread here complaining about OWRS screwing PC in the season points race.
solpadeine
10-26-04, 10:46 AM
If they had black flagged his car his team would have been furious and there would be a thread here complaining about OWRS screwing PC in the season points race.
Yeah, but that thread would have been wrong. :)
On a very cynical note, a very good bell ringing could enhance Carp's nascent IRL career.
:p
JLMannin
10-26-04, 12:19 PM
It is very easy to sit back days later and discuss the merits of what should have been done. I'm with several here that it is up to the team to make the decision of what to do. Racing is dangerous. Danger cannot be taken out of the situation. This was a call make by the team and Carpentier. Niel Mickelwright took responsibility for the decision and that was included in the ChampCar press release.
Micheal Andretti used his car as a battering ram for years in CART and finished many races with damaged front wings and bent suspension. He also ended up in the wall when the damaged parts failed. There are likely some on this board who would advocate Champcar monitoring telemetry parameters such as engine tempurature and oil pressure and issuing black flags when the data indicates that engine failure is immenent. Let me repeat: racing is not safe. If you cannot accept that fact, I suggest you find another sport to follow.
I'm just glad that Carp is OK.
Kiwifan
10-27-04, 10:23 PM
The accident happened right in front of our stand. His nose cone had been flapping around quite a bit and we were surprised they didn't fix it during a pit stop. The first thing was the almighty bang and then the next was Carp screaming past at an incredible speed, pieces of car falling and trailing behind him. My most vivid memory will be of the flames and seeing him (I believe) unconcious with that wheel askew.
We knew he was in serious trouble as that short shoot isn't that long and the Safety Team was parked down there. When he hit the tyres pieces flew into the air and the scary thing is there are shops and units there with plenty of people about. It's where a lot of folk stand to catch a free look through the gaps in the fence. The people in the flats above the shops had to scatter.
I CAN"T STRESS ENOUGH how lucky we are to have the guys that are the Safety Team onboard with us. They are fantastic! :thumbup: :thumbup:
So close are the drivers that one and all gave their best wishes to Patrick after the race, no more so than Paul. Mate, you are my favorite driver, bone-headed moves included and I can't thank you enough for supporting Champ Cars especially when we needed you most but the emotion and kind words you showed for your friend and team mate, Sir you are the real deal. Thank you Paul.
Good luck Pat, hope you're ok mate, that was one hell of a fright you gave us. ;)
Rusty.
Robstar
10-28-04, 12:06 AM
So close are the drivers that one and all gave their best wishes to Patrick after the race, no more so than Paul. Mate, you are my favorite driver, bone-headed moves included and I can't thank you enough for supporting Champ Cars especially when we needed you most but the emotion and kind words you showed for your friend and team mate, Sir you are the real deal. Thank you Paul.
Good luck Pat, hope you're ok mate, that was one hell of a fright you gave us. ;)
Rusty.
Couldn't agree more... Paul was the true professional - I'm glad I got your autograph Champ... :thumbup:
Glad you're OK Pat :)
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