04-08-2007, 01:06 PM
A sad day for me, as I look over the carcass of my beloved car. You were a humble servent old friend - 4.5 years of ownership and 9K miles of track weekend fun. I will miss you...
What happened? Well, a combination of things, but ultimately the icing on the cake was my driving. I came to a new track with a new suspension, and I simply pushed the envelope too much with the car without respecting the track enough. Instead of spending time on perfecting the line and learning the nooks and crannies of the track, I focused too much on exploring the limits of my new suspension. Another mistake was that I should have been running a little more conservatively on my rear sway bar setting to learn the car instead of flicking it around.
I came into the esses (Buttonwillow 13CCW) pretty hotat the top of 4th gear, using the curbs pretty aggresively. As I crested the last left curb hard, I got knocked sideways in a blink of an eye and I was sent sideways directly into the raised concrete flag stand, which was protected by a layer of tires. Nothing I could do at that point, and I saw the corner workers there jump out of the nest right before I impacted.
The damage? Well, ground zero was right behind the front right wheel - the entire firewall is shifted over several inches. I almost rolled, and I have to say that I can't say enough for having my roll bar there. I didn't even notice the airbags go off, and the OEM door bars held up wonderfully. I have to admit that these cars really do well in protecting the cabin as I had a VERY hard impact that probably would have seriously injured the passengers in most cars.
All in all, I'm alright, although my ego is bruised and I know that my neck is going to be throbbing tomorrow. I have nobody to blame but myself as I make all the decisions on my car, and as the driver, I made a mistake that I can't take back. There were a lot of preventive measures that could have avoided this accident, but that's all in hindsight... it's unfortunate, but just a friendly reminder that unless you can bite the bullet and write off the car, you probably shouldn't be taking it to the track. While I'm pretty upset that I totalled my car, I think I'm more upset that I did it at the time that I did. This weekend was the culmination of many hours of personal work and energy to get the car back where I wanted it to be, and unfortunately, my enjoyment of that moment was minimal...
I have no idea what's next to be honest, I will just need some time to recoup my thoughts and prepare myself for whatever lies ahead.
And of course a few pictures for your sadistic enjoyment...
![[Image: total2.jpg]](http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t165/jseddon3/total2.jpg)
![[Image: total1.jpg]](http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t165/jseddon3/total1.jpg)
![[Image: total3.jpg]](http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t165/jseddon3/total3.jpg)
What happened? Well, a combination of things, but ultimately the icing on the cake was my driving. I came to a new track with a new suspension, and I simply pushed the envelope too much with the car without respecting the track enough. Instead of spending time on perfecting the line and learning the nooks and crannies of the track, I focused too much on exploring the limits of my new suspension. Another mistake was that I should have been running a little more conservatively on my rear sway bar setting to learn the car instead of flicking it around.
I came into the esses (Buttonwillow 13CCW) pretty hotat the top of 4th gear, using the curbs pretty aggresively. As I crested the last left curb hard, I got knocked sideways in a blink of an eye and I was sent sideways directly into the raised concrete flag stand, which was protected by a layer of tires. Nothing I could do at that point, and I saw the corner workers there jump out of the nest right before I impacted.
The damage? Well, ground zero was right behind the front right wheel - the entire firewall is shifted over several inches. I almost rolled, and I have to say that I can't say enough for having my roll bar there. I didn't even notice the airbags go off, and the OEM door bars held up wonderfully. I have to admit that these cars really do well in protecting the cabin as I had a VERY hard impact that probably would have seriously injured the passengers in most cars.
All in all, I'm alright, although my ego is bruised and I know that my neck is going to be throbbing tomorrow. I have nobody to blame but myself as I make all the decisions on my car, and as the driver, I made a mistake that I can't take back. There were a lot of preventive measures that could have avoided this accident, but that's all in hindsight... it's unfortunate, but just a friendly reminder that unless you can bite the bullet and write off the car, you probably shouldn't be taking it to the track. While I'm pretty upset that I totalled my car, I think I'm more upset that I did it at the time that I did. This weekend was the culmination of many hours of personal work and energy to get the car back where I wanted it to be, and unfortunately, my enjoyment of that moment was minimal...
I have no idea what's next to be honest, I will just need some time to recoup my thoughts and prepare myself for whatever lies ahead.
And of course a few pictures for your sadistic enjoyment...
05 S/C "Elixige"
07 Mazda 3S - commuter car
99 YZF-600R - commuter bike
07 Mazda 3S - commuter car
99 YZF-600R - commuter bike
