Usefulness of chicanes at LeMans

[MadMatt]

Sadly we just had another fatal accident in Le Mans. It shows that safety isn't on a level that we are used to from F1. This discussion of removing chicanes is going in the totally wrong direction. Le Mans needs to ask other questions. Why did Allan Simonsen have to die? Those are the questions we should ask ourselves.

I am afraid that this has nothing to do with the chicanes. Unfortunately this will as you said put this question on the side probably forever. Shame.

[Pierce89]

Sadly we just had another fatal accident in Le Mans. It shows that safety isn't on a level that we are used to from F1. This discussion of removing chicanes is going in the totally wrong direction. Le Mans needs to ask other questions. Why did Allan Simonsen have to die? Those are the questions we should ask ourselves.

I am afraid that this has nothing to do with the chicanes. Unfortunately this will as you said put this question on the side probably forever. Shame.

Allan Simonsen died because he chose to take that risk. Of course nobody wants to see someone die, but real racing can only be safe to a certain level without removing the basic tenets of racing. Racing is about speed. Speed is dangerous. What else would you do to CDLS to make it safer.

[WhiteBlue]

Sadly we just had another fatal accident in Le Mans. It shows that safety isn't on a level that we are used to from F1. This discussion of removing chicanes is going in the totally wrong direction. Le Mans needs to ask other questions. Why did Allan Simonsen have to die? Those are the questions we should ask ourselves.

I am afraid that this has nothing to do with the chicanes. Unfortunately this will as you said put this question on the side probably forever. Shame.

I disagree with you. Severe and fatal accidents like Anthony Davidson's last year and Allan Simonsen's this year indicate that there is a need to review safety measures and not a need to increase the speed on the straight - which would be detrimental to safety. Chicanes have been largely introduced after fatal accidents in 1994 to the motor sport and they have been very effective together with other measures. If you see how the prototypes are so much faster than GT cars and LMP1 even much faster than LMP2 you understand that no additional speed is needed to increase the entertainment and the danger. There is no value IMO in absolute speed if it imposes higher risks on the competitors. As others have already pointed out the kinetic energy rises with the square of the speed and so does the risk if a crash like Davidson's happens. He broke two vertebrae and could have easily got killed if the speed at the impact had been higher.

[Pandamasque]

Allan Simonsen died because he chose to take that risk. Of course nobody wants to see someone die, but real racing can only be safe to a certain level without removing the basic tenets of racing. Racing is about speed. Speed is dangerous. What else would you do to CDLS to make it safer.

You have a point. But I don't think that 'certain level' has been reached at Circuit de la Sarthe. It wouldn't even require any changes to the layout. Just using better thought through barriers, placed at more optimal distances (and sometimes that means closer to the track!), at safer angles, made out of safer materials.
This would both improve safety and decrease the potential barrier repair safety car periods.

[strad]

we all know how I feel about such things..
They should never have been added in the first place.

[xpensive]

Like Dan Gurney told the drivers complaining in 1967; "So you think it's dangerous, perhaps you are driving too fast?"

[MuseF1]

One thing that surprised me every time I see Le Mans is that there isn't really much catch-fencing along the Mulsanne straight.

http://www.forgottengent.com/wp-content ... raight.jpg

[MadMatt]

One thing that surprised me every time I see Le Mans is that there isn't really much catch-fencing along the Mulsanne straight.

http://www.forgottengent.com/wp-content ... raight.jpg

And I think it is better like that. The circuit would be even further away from the spectators. Look at the Nürburgring (Nordschleife), some spots to take pictures have been destroyed by the addition of fences. Eventho it is very good both for the marshals and the drivers, it destroys the circuit spirit imo. But this is another debate

[langwadt]

One thing that surprised me every time I see Le Mans is that there isn't really much catch-fencing along the Mulsanne straight.

http://www.forgottengent.com/wp-content ... raight.jpg

catch fencing is for places where you risk hitting a wall head on and have no option but to try and soften the blow.

there's never catch fencing along straights, you don't want to catch and bring a car to a sudden stop when going fast
down a straight, better to slide along the rail and gradually slow down.

[MuseF1]

I don't think they bring the car to a dead stop, they still break and still absorb energy.

Such as in this GP2 incident.



But I think you need that to contain the car within the track. Particularly on the Mulsanne straight and the one after Mulsanne corner, surely it's better to have the car contained rather than allowing it to hit trees and lamp posts as well as people behind the barriers.

For instance, would it not have been better to contain the car in this famous crash?



And it must be harder in some cases to gain access to the crash site when it's behind the barriers and in a load of trees. What if a car, although unlikely, managed to get wedged mid-air in the trees?

[Pandamasque]

Tall catch fencing is mostly to protect spectators from being hit by debris (wheels etc). But the Mulsanne straight is mostly closed for spectators.

[MadMatt]

Tall catch fencing is mostly to protect spectators from being hit by debris (wheels etc). But the Mulsanne straight is mostly closed for spectators.

Don't forget there is a lot of marshals down there, as well as spectators despite what you say, plus trees not far from the road, so unless we have a Mercedes-like crash, I think fences could help. Of course as it was said, they could stop abruptly the car which is not good, but from a historical point of view I would say no fence.

There was few accidents (fatal ones unfortunately) over the years in the Mulsanne straight, but I would say that it doesn't need improvement.