Re: rollover protection

[Mike Orth <ORTHM@xxxxxxx>]

Duane and Don, have hit the nail on the head on this issue.  I was
watching some in-car video from when I first started doing track events
and comparing it with what I am doing now (3 years later).  At some of
the tracks, my lap times are 15-20 seconds faster per lap now and I'm
not going much faster in the straights.  The seconds are being made up
in the corners, and thats where the potential for rollovers is the
greatest.

In the advanced and instructor groups, the lap times are indeed very
close to what the club racers are doing.  The main difference is where
we can pass.  At a drivers school, you don't (shouldn't) have to be
watching for someone trying to get the inside line on you when braking
for a turn.

My safety equipment for my first event consisted of only a helmet.  Once
I knew I would be doing more events, more safety gear was added (5 point
belts and rollbar).  I stayed at that level for a year and decided that
it was time to get more serious about safety.  So, in goes the full cage
with door bars, fire bottle, gloves, and neck brace.

It's all physics, the faster you go, the bigger the crash.  Plan
accordingly.  Luck is a nice thing to have, but I want to tilt the odds
in my favor as much as I can.  Like Duane mentioned, wishing you had a
rollbar/cage while your are about to flip over for the second time is
not going to help.  At that point you are relying on being lucky that
the roof doesn't cave in.

Mike Orth
Tarheel Chapter

------------------------------