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More about the Roll at Bridgehampton

Hi Folks:

As a follow up to Steve Musolino's message, which I posted earlier, Walter
Selva, the NY Chief Instructor, had the following comments.  I am posting
this for Walter because he does not have digest access.  You can contact
him at [email protected]:

Anyway, if you could forward this to the digest I would just like to add to
President Musolino's comments made on July 25th:
>Cars tend to roll at Bridgehampton because the track is built on soft sand.
 I have seen >rollovers occur at 20mph, yes 20 mph.  Likewise a minor
incident at Lime Rock or the >Glen appears more spectacular at the Bridge.  

True, the sand surrounding Bridgehampton is both a help and a hindrance to
the individual who, for whatever reason, has decided to engage in an
off-track excursion.  I've been driving the bridge for nine years, and have
been off the track countless times (bruised a fender once at Turn 5's tire
wall due to a failed brake bomb pressure accumulator in 1994) but other than
that have never harmed my vehicle and have NEVER rolled a car.  I've also
logged thousands of track miles as a passenger/Instructor at the Bridge and
have never had a car roll.  

The sand can be your friend in that when you find yourself off-track you'll
find you have plenty of time to "ride out" your off-track excursion or come
safely to a halt *if* you do "the right thing" (both feet in/drive off
straight).  The sand can also be your worst enemy if you do the wrong thing
(i.e., jerk the steering wheel abruptly as the car is leaving track, thereby
having the turned wheel dig itself into the sand, which is the initial cause
of the rollover).  This type of stuff never happens at Watkins Glen because
the track is surrounded by armco and there just isn't enough room for a
rollover to happen no matter how wrong a move you make.  At the Glen, cars
get *dented* much easier than at the Bridge: as a matter of fact, because of
the armco's proximity to the track in most areas, if you venture off track,
you are virtually guaranteed at least a banged fender.  At the Bridge, you
will either come away unscathed if you do the right thing, or you will flip
your car quickly if you do the wrong thing, so with an off-track excursion at
the Bridge it's either NO damage or a ROLL, dependent entirely on what you do
in those precious few seconds upon the imminent off-track excursion.

I realize that what an individual does once the off-track excursion has
become unavoidable is dependent upon the driver's experience level.  Novice
and intermediate types (and experienced drivers who have NEVER had an
off-track excursion) have to REALLY fight the urge to
jerk-the-wheel-and-try-to-keep-the-car-on-the-track-at-all-costs, and I do
hear stories from Instructors that *despite* directions to "drive off
straight!" and "both feet in" (with the Instructor pointing vigorously to a
particular spot saying "drive off HERE!") some students will STILL do "the
wrong thing."  The sand is unforgiving to wrong moves, and the students have
to learn to become OBEDIENT to their Instructors (yes, that's right, OBEDIENT
like a good, nice, loyal dog who doesn't know WHY he's being told to do
something, but knows that if he's not obedient, he'll get a newspaper smacked
across his nose---or his BMW upside down).

Instructors and experienced drivers (who ironically most likely have numerous
OTE's at the Bridge) have the opposite instinct: it is buried deep in their
subconscious that once the car goes off, drive off straight and both feet in,
that's it, no damage. They don't have to *think* about it, it's
instinctual---like pulling up your zipper when you put on your pants. Our
goal as Instructors is to have all drivers---regardless of experience---reach
that instinctual stage.

This past March 29th we had a by-invitation-only Open Practice Day for
Instructors and advanced solo drivers.  The weather conditions were horrible:
it was 20 degrees, we had 40 mph winds, and it was snowing.  Lime Rock had
closed their track that day, but 33 of us decided to venture out on The
World's "Most Dangerous" Track during this blizzard with rear wheel drive
cars, shaved tires, and no traction control.  We drove under open-track
conditions for seven hours during this blizzard, lap after lap, hour after
hour, and by the end of the day we had *not a single incident*!  

Could *your* chapter have pulled that off on *your* track with *your*
Instructors and advanced students?  Be honest.

I often hear candy-asses in paddocks at different tracks in the Northeast say
things like "Oh, I'll never drive the Bridge---I hear that's a real dangerous
place."  I say they should stick to things like conversing about their CD
players and cupholders and leave their "performance driving" to the
arrow-straight New Jersey Turnpike.  Last year I exited the Bridge's Turn 1
in an M5 at approximately 130 mph, drove down a grassy and sandy hill with
the brake pedal pulsating wildly (ABS was on---if it was off I would have
come to a stop instead IF I KEPT THE FRONT WHEELS STRAIGHT, that is) and
re-entered Turns 3 and 4 at approximately 80 mph without a single bit of
damage to my vehicle.  I must tell you, I was quite impressed with my
performance. A flagger at Station 1 later told me he had radioed "We're gonna
need an ambulance" as soon as I OTE'd at Turn 1, and then the flagger at
Station 4 called it off when he saw I re-entered. 

Now, I have to ask you:  at how many tracks can you exit at 130 mph, drive
through sand, grass, and gravel on R1's, and re-enter later at 80 mph without
any damage to your car?  

Answer quickly.

I didn't think so.



Walter Selva
NY Chapter Chief Instructor 
[email protected]

- -- 
Jeff Tarr
[email protected]

http://www.tarr.com/jeff