Horror as Speeding Race Car Clotheslines Pit Crew With an Air Hose Sending Them to the Hospital
- Posted on August 27, 2012 at 7:10am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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If you ever were wondering why pit crew members started wearing helmets, here is exhibit A.
During a practice run at Zandvoort in Germany on Friday, Ralf Schumacher was pulling out of pit road when his spoiler caught an air hose, dragged it, and clotheslined members of another pit crew. The video is surreal, as it shows the crew members hitting the ground from an almost ghost-like force.
You can watch it unfold in real time and slow motion below:
“Four members of the [HWA Mercedes] team were taken to hospital following an initial checkover at the medical centre,” Mercedes said in a statement.
“Three have returned to the circuit, but one is still in hospital. The injuries are not major and not life-threatening, but they are still in hospital for further checks.”
The member who stayed in the hospital was released on Saturday.
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dinadp
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 11:12pmRalf is definately not his brother Michael but, in his defense, the pit crew wasn’t holding the hose up high enough. And DTM is a great series and some drivers graduate to F1, while some former F1 drivers participate in DTM (like Ralf, who hasn’t been in F1 since 2007).
Report Post »Larry E
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 4:50pmThe air line (or whatever it was) for the next pit box was left lying where it shouldn’t have been, all the others were up and out of the way. Not the driver‘s fault since he likely couldn’t see something like that lying on the road right in front of him. It’s the fault of that pit crew for leaving the hose lying there. Whoever was in charge of that pit crew needs sorted out.
Report Post »v12tommy
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 3:14pmI don’t see what all the outcry for rules changes and stuff is about. Being a crew member myself, you fear this type of thing for a bit, and you get over it. If you don’t want to worry about getting snagged by an air hose or hit by a car, don’t become a crew member. It is that simple. 2 years ago in the next pit the hose for the air jack didn’t release properly, the driver ran over it, I ducked, and it went flying over my head with force. I didn’t freak out, I finished what I was doing and then looked over to make sure their crewman was ok. No matter what regulations there are, racing will always be a dangerous sport. People need to learn to deal with that. If that isn’t acceptable to them, don‘t watch and don’t participate. Nobody went to watch Evil Kenivel jump over stuff because they thought it was going to be safe. Quick pit stops and fast cars is what makes racing.
Report Post »Tom K
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 2:32pmIf the hose boom was up higher OR the air hose had reeled up tighter / higher, this could have been avoided. You can bet that German Engineers are working on the problem and it will be fixed quickly and efficiently – unlike the Germans’ Muslim Immigrant Problem, which must be handled “delicately”.
Report Post »blair152
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 2:12pmThat musta hurt!
Report Post »dumoudan
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 2:01pmThe pit crew didn’t learn to do that on their own, somewhere sometime ago, someone else showed them how to be careless
Report Post »BlasberryStrat
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 1:08pmCALL HOLDER AND PELOSI!! We as a ‘civilized America’ NEED to ban all race cars, power tools, air hoses, and …uh….AIR! Yes! Let the gavel fall! We need to ban all air to every American!!!
Report Post »Taquoshi
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 1:59pmDon”t look now, but it happened in Germany.
Report Post »chips1
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 1:08pmIt’s the Obama rules. “Hose Everyone”!!!!!
Report Post »szabla
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 11:20amLooks like the pit crew caused their own accident.
Report Post »RoguePO
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 11:37amIt does seem like that since they left their air hose hanging down.
Report Post »LRC
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 1:03pmIt was the next teams air hose. not sure who would be at fault
Report Post »snoopman
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 9:50amBTW. Zandvoort is in Holland, not Germany. Ralf Schumacher is German though.
Report Post »itsmyfirstday
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 9:46amNeed to do away with air powered tools over the wall, battery power followed with a quick torque wrench…yeah longer pit times but much safer.
Report Post »beekeeper
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 10:09amLonger pit times? That’s why it will not go away….
They’d rather add a boom to have the hose up over the car OR add a person to the crew to make sure this never happens again.
Report Post »jtc161
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 12:35pmThose centerlock nuts need ~500 lb/ft of force, good luck getting that from a cordless impact driver, or wielding a torque wrench long enough to produce that force. More crew are hit by cars in nascar pit lanes than are swept off their feet by air lines.
Report Post »Rob in Katy
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 6:05pmBattery -> electric motor -> stator -> contacts -> sparks -> alcohol -> FIRE -> BURNS -> BAD!BAD!BAD!BAD! Which is why they use air tools and brass hammers.
Report Post »I Aint PC
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 9:16amHere is an example where NASCAR is better. The tire changers carry their air guns with them and pull the hoses back to the pit wall. They may sometimes get caught under a wheel, or run over, but it eliminates the “clothesline” effect.
Report Post »GrumpyCat
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 10:07amNot only that but NASCAR doesn’t have wings as shown on the Mercedes-Benz above.
I find NASCAR boring. The cars and engines are pure spec, even the bodies are the same but for the paint. They never turn right, always left. And full course cautions eliminate any advantage one manages to pull on the others. Reminds me of our current tax code.
Report Post »wlc74
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 12:41pm@Grumpycat – The bodies do differ per manufacturer. They do turn left at every road course they run. And, If there were no cautions, could you imagine how awful of a race that would be? If you followed college football, but did not root for anyone, that would be boring….so would NASCAR. If you don’t follow NASCAR week to week, rooting for one of the cars, it will be boring. But, if me, my wife and daughter can get pumped every friday, saturday and sunday to watch it, then it obviously is not boring.
Report Post »Quasimofo
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 9:11am“That’s Racing”. –Dale Earnhardt
Report Post »jtc161
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 8:56amThose are both Mercedes teams. The air lines for the outside wheel guns are strung over the pit stall by those trusses you see, and as a car comes in the teams in the stalls in front of and behind have to hold the hoses out of the way of the incoming car. It looks like the crew member holding the lines let them go a little too early and it got hooked on the rear wing of the Mercedes as it left. Dangerous work!
Report Post »wlc74
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 8:34amI watched this over and over…is it just me? It doesn’t look that bad. They went to the hospital? Maybe the video just doesn’t capture the “horror”
Report Post »ReallySeriouslyNoWay
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 8:45amIt might not capture the horror, but as a pit crew member myself, this is horrifying. I used to think F1 and these type European series with the overhead air hoses would be nice, not as much chance of tangling hose, but seeing this, if a hose gets caught in a car in a NASCAR style pit stop then someone might get tripped, but this hose caught under the helmet if several team members and tried to rip the helmet off their heads, probably causing spinal injuries. Pretty horrifying if you ask me.
Report Post »OLDPAINT
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 7:46amOnly from the minds of Mercedes. Anyone remember the 1955 horrorshow at LeMans when they stayed on the track alone after the race had all been called? My Tribe does.
Report Post »JACKTHETOAD
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 7:52amYou don‘t mean ’horrorshow bolshay groodies’ by any chance, do you? :)
Report Post »CHROME_PLATED_HEART
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 7:56amClockwork Orange much, nitwit? People could have been hurt there.
Report Post »JACKTHETOAD
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 8:00amI DID say it with a smile, didn’t I? …Sorry, nonetheless.
Report Post »502_eagle
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 7:37amTalk about trying to take out your rivals………………….
Report Post »biohazard23
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 7:31amOopsie daisy. “Sorry, my bad….”
Report Post »TIME_THE_AVENGER
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 7:37amDouble Dutch maybe? ;)
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