2017 GTi PP at VIR

[tigeo]

Anyone know specifics of the incident at the Daytona Audi event over the weekend that killed 2?

Some groups are better than others at separating groups by talent and speed.

I wasn't thrilled at the last SCCA event I did there. We had everything from a Mazda 2 to heavily modded ZL1's and GT500's. The closing speeds were hairy. I was hitting 148 mph and they had to be hitting well over 170, with the 2 topping out at maybe 100.

I enjoy Daytona and Sebring, but the speeds you see give my butthole clenching action a workout without a cage, fire system, proper seat and all the other safety gear.

Wow! I'll be at the PC Audi event at VIR this weekend. Always have run a safe event from what I've seen.

 

[GTIfan99]

Wow! I'll be at the PC Audi event at VIR this weekend. Always have run a safe event from what I've seen.

I'm hearing now that it wasn't a DE, but a Qual round for a race. Was the Audi club event. They were full race cars.

Someone may or may not have exited a stopped race car. Very hard to find accurate info.

 

[GTIfan99]

Now hearing 1 dead, 1 injured, but unconfirmed. I saw 2 dead on local Daytona station reporting of the incident.

 

[tigeo]

Yes reading the stuff now seems line a few different stories.

 

[victorofhavoc]

My race mechanic was out there, and I actually just got off the phone with him. Sadly I hear the second person also passed this morning. The guy in the stalled car was way off line in a safe area, but he was unbelted for some reason and the other two then collided hit him. I won't speculate on any details I don't know, but this is why we preach safety, safety, safety.

Stay safe folks, and remember that you always stay in the car and buckled, with all safety gear on, unless there's a fire.

 

[Mini7]

This is sad news.

 

[Mini7]

Road course ovals are unforgiving. After running the Charlotte Motor Speedway as a passenger, I’ve decided that it is not worth the risk. Asphalt surface is really rough.
Vmax is seriously fast. If you get a puncture or hit fluid, there is precious little space before you get to the walls.

Anyways. Unrelated to the post which was sad to hear.

If you feel something is off with the car. Stop and get it checked out before proceeding. I’ve twice picked up a screw in my tire in the VIR paddock. First time I heard the tick tick on my way to the staging lane and stopped to check.
Second time it was on the 3rd lap that the handling started to go off. Decided to come in and found the tire going down in my garage.

Hitting fluid and brake failure would be my two biggest concerns.

 

[GTIfan99]

Road course ovals are unforgiving. After running the Charlotte Motor Speedway as a passenger, I’ve decided that it is not worth the risk. Asphalt surface is really rough.
Vmax is seriously fast. If you get a puncture or hit fluid, there is precious little space before you get to the walls.

Anyways. Unrelated to the post which was sad to hear.

If you feel something is off with the car. Stop and get it checked out before proceeding. I’ve twice picked up a screw in my tire in the VIR paddock. First time I heard the tick tick on my way to the staging lane and stopped to check.
Second time it was on the 3rd lap that the handling started to go off. Decided to come in and found the tire going down in my garage.

Hitting fluid and brake failure would be my two biggest concerns.

Yeah, I've had 2 oh shit moments, both at Daytona. First one, I was doing 140 into Nascar turn 4 and it started to rain, came an inch from hydroplaning into the wall on the exit. Second one, lost brakes at end of back straight and was lucky there was no one outside of me, as some of the really fast cars were passing to the outside heading into the bus stop.

Both times I called it a day and went home. Not worth dying over a few cheap thrills. The speeds at these tracks is big and little to no runoff before you hit immovable objects.

 

[victorofhavoc]

Yeah roval tracks are a blast for the silly gforce you can pull. I've done a few and always hit my pr for top speeds, but past 140mph things start move that often shouldn't, and past 150 everything shakes. Past 160, you better hope you have hood pins and that they work.

The stock aero on the gti leaves the rear end feeling like a feather at 130mph. A wing, cutting out the rear bumper, or a diffuser would definitely help keep things from getting squirly at higher speeds.

 

[GTIfan99]

Maybe my car is just so new and low miles, but at 148, car was smooth as can be, no shakes, rattles and I was super aggressive into turn 1 after the tr oval with no real drama.

Maybe surface dependent? Though I'm sure it's because I'm the world's ok est driver, so you know I've got skills.

 

[tigeo]

My wagon feels stable and smooth past 135....must be that long roof.

 

[GTIfan99]

Yeah, seriously, it feels almost boring, even diving into a slow corner at 148 coming off the banking.

Car is a little loose lately due to some added neg camber in front and not enough out back, but when it was setup right, it felt boring.

 

[scrllock]

I've always had the suspension fairly stiff anytime I've been in the 130-140s but the only "significant" aero mod I've done is the EU spoiler, which VW says adds a whopping 20kg of rear downforce. Have had a Verus diffuser sitting around for about 18 months, never felt the need.

 

[Mini7]

Maybe my car is just so new and low miles, but at 148, car was smooth as can be, no shakes, rattles and I was super aggressive into turn 1 after the tr oval with no real drama.

Maybe surface dependent? Though I'm sure it's because I'm the world's ok est driver, so you know I've got skills.

Charlotte’s oval asphalt is rough and bumpy. I was not expecting that. You can still run up to high speeds. It just rattles your fillings out. The inner Roval asphalt is decent. I’m assuming that Daytona is much smoother.

My Vmax on VIR’s back straight is 147mph. Not a lot of exit strategies if the brake pedal goes to the floor heading into T13. Heading down the front straight into T1 at 143mph you can exit stage left and have decent run-off into the fields. If you have turned in, there’s 150-200ft before you get to the tire wall. See an Audi run close to the tire wall after a front rotor came apart. Heck if the grass is wet, all bets are off as you pick up speed as soon as you go all 4 off the asphalt.

 

[DerHase]

To add insult to injury you're looking at paying about $1500+ out of pocket for each section of tire wall you hit at VIR. The IMSA barriers are even more.

My GTI I've noticed starts to feel REAL funny at speed after maybe 4-6 days on track because of how the tires wear. They all get "crowned" a bit from outside edgewear because struts are the devil, and inside a bit due to wheelspin on corner exit. I'm considering lowering the car a bit to just maybe help add some stability at higher speeds. Definitely don't want to go silly with full aero or anything, but this has happened now both with the RT660s and now with the V730s late in the season. It's manageable/tolerable when new, but could still be improved I think.