This is a Ferrari from 1999 in a historic meeting at Laguna Seca. Apparently, the driver crashed in a tire barrier at a very slow speed at the exit of turn 6. The driver was extremely lucky as he was completely unhurt...

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But what was the problem with this tub?? How can it break so cleanly without any part of the tub being crushed?


What do you think? Bad maintenance? Manufacturing problem? It almost looks like they bonded two tub halves together at this point, which is really unlikely.

This crash really puzzles me...

Wow. Thats scarry looking . I'm not a composites expert, but it really looks like the monocoque was made in front and rear pieces and failed at the joint?! Look at the little sliver of carbon left in front of the driver. You would expect that to break first. I bet the owners had modified it or something.

damn!

I was debating whether or not to go to that race too!
I recall a couple months ago a team member describing a similar monocoque-split, in the same fashion as this one.. too lazy to research right now.

My colleague just had the driver on the phone and he said this has scared the shit out of Ferrari as well. Nobody knows yet what has happened, they suspect that ageing of the material is the problem. The car wasn't modified in any way.
That guy is unbelievable lucky, only a bruised leg.....

Igor

I recieved an email dealing with this crash...

"Yes I was at Monterey, I helped load it in a box to send back to Italy, I've never seen a car break so cleanly in that position. Ferrari will be looking at that very closely." - Fred Goddard.
He was amazed at what happened, and pointed out that the Ferrari people covered it up quickly once it was back in the paddock.

Not quickly enough!

I've seen this photo elsewhere and others were saying that its a tall club driver who bought this car 2nd hand, and then had the tub lengthened so he can fit in it.

He was coming out of Turn 6 at Laguna Seca, at a fairly slow speed, got on the throttle too hard & spun to the inside. The break happened when the right front wheel hit the tire wall. Scary stuff!

Here's another couple pics that show how dangerous the crash was:

Jon:
The driver himself (Frits Kroymans) claims he hasn't had the car changed to fit him, I'll take his word over any source on the internet. He spun on some oil on the track at 80mph.
Interesting trivia: this guy is 64 years old, but after the crash he jumped right into his Ferrari 250 GTO to drive the next race. Hmm, it's good to be rich.....

Igor

quote:

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Originally posted by Igor:
Jon:
The driver himself (Frits Kroymans) claims he hasn't had the car changed to fit him, I'll take his word over any source on the internet. He spun on some oil on the track at 80mph.
Interesting trivia: this guy is 64 years old, but after the crash he jumped right into his Ferrari 250 GTO to drive the next race. Hmm, it's good to be rich.....

Igor

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Thanks for the clarification, my info was heard from people who heard from others etc...

Its good to see he is still racing at age 64!