Thread: Mark Porter has died

That's not good news .

It's been a sad time for Australian motorsport lately. It's especially sad to lose someone so young.
Let's hope Paul Radisich is OK after his big hit today.

Yep...the highs and lows of Bathurst.

Very, very sad for the motorsport scene. No-one goes to see these things happen and he was such a promising driver getting into the big game.

Very sad for his family and the support of the motor racing fraternity will guide them through this tough time.

Originally Posted by Scouse

That's not good news .

It's been a sad time for Australian motorsport lately. It's especially sad to lose someone so young.
Let's hope Paul Radisich is OK after his big hit today.

Thats right, they didnt say much about Paul, that was a bloody hard hit that one. Matt

I hope that David can move beyond this though, and continue his racing.

Originally Posted by Slunnie

I hope that David can move beyond this though, and continue his racing.

Yeah, thats it. As they say you just need to get back on the horse so to say and get on with it.

Scouse, i have just remembered that during the telecast they said the Radish was ok but he needed to be cut from the car as they couldnt get him out the windows or doors as the car was 3 feet shorter. Matt

been amazing when you look at some of the accidents lately and to thous in the past there has been some really big hits and they have staggered away some smaller ones!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
when i had a look at the two that were carted away, critical, the cars didnt really look that bad for the amount of damage, or even the rats today, when you look back to Lownesy big roll, and some others from last year you wonder sometimes.

Originally Posted by weiry

been amazing when you look at some of the accidents lately and to thous in the past there has been some really big hits and they have staggered away some smaller ones!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
when i had a look at the two that were carted away, critical, the cars didnt really look that bad for the amount of damage, or even the rats today, when you look back to Lownesy big roll, and some others from last year you wonder sometimes.

To true, Lowndsey took a wheel through his windscreen at speed over Skyline last year, Just rotten luck.
Thoughts to all concerned, a terrible thing.

The roll cages are amazingly stiff in those cars and they stop a lot of the deformation that would normally take place. In many of the crashes the forces are dissipated and so the impact can be a little more endurable. Lowndes roll was a great example of the roll cage maintaining the structural integrity and protecting the driver, while the energy from the vehicle was dissipated as it rolled. Many of the tracks are also designed to give glancing impacts which dissipates a lot of the speed without shattering the car or driver. Sometimes this doesn't work such as in the Senna crash, and also a girl that I once competed against, where fragments can still cause terminal injuries.

Crashes like Porter on on the top of the hill was a blunt impact with no crumple zone - catch 22 there and the force can only be directed into the car and the belted in driver. The head on crash was also blunt and only offered absorbtion by the give in the tyres and soil. These are the ones that really hurt.