RIP Niki Lauda

[burdell]

Originally Posted by thecoalman

He's going towards the wall because he's in a turn and there was whatever speed the car was able to obtain once it gained traction directly at the wall. Obvuosly the direct forward impact wasn;'t going 200 but it was certainly significant amount. On a corner like that the banking is going to cause that car to gain a considerable amount of traction to shoot it off into the wall and tht's where the car wants to go...

But don't forget that trying to climb the banking it also has to fight the force of gravity. I've always thought there was some validity to Bill Simpson's claim of improperly positioned belts. The reality is there are crashes that look horrible that result in minor injuries and ones that don't look so bad that result in serious injuries or worse.

Originally Posted by thecoalman

On a side note I've been to Talladegga and the TV can never give you any perspective on how steep those corners are, I know Daytona is similar. There was one part of the track I'd swear if you tripped you'd probably fall all the way to the apron because you'd never be able to stop yourself.

Hell, I'd bet $$$ on that happening! I've driven around Pocono and turn one's only banked about half of what Daytona's banked and it really does shorten your field of vision, and I was probably only going about 120-125 in a sedan, it must really get your attention at over 200 and twice the banking. I remember when Talladega first joined the schedule the drivers were having some serious reactions to the Gs they were pulling. I'm not sure but I seem to recall that may have been one of the issues that led to restrictor plates.

[reed067]

Sad to hear this he was one of the best in F1.

[Taiko]

Originally Posted by Quietude

Honestly, I lost interest in F1 after about that era - Lauda, Piquet, Senna, Cosworth engines and the marvelous Tyrell six-wheeler. That was the point when the cars became more and more the focus, with technology replacing so many other elements and reducing drivers (IMHO) to narrowly involved test pilots.

An F1 race now is just about the most boring example of the sport possible.

I guess that I knew about Niki Lauda due to car magazines I got for modeling and slot cars but as I remember about the only F1 race that was easily seen was the Grand Prix of Monaco on ABC's Wild World of Sports until Mario Andretti began his run at the title.

[Vacanegro]

Originally Posted by reed067

Sad to hear this he was one of the best in F1.

This was one of my favorite movie scenes ever.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Kl0UBS4ZaM