I had the most wonderful experience today at Watkins Glen. While
practicing for a race, I saw that marshals were showing a yellow flag
in the Loop, but I could not see anybody - it's not really the place
to concentrate on anything else besides the road.
After my lap, I checked the replay to see what had happened and was
astounded. It appears Clark was trying to pass Brabham on the
straight, but as the cars were both doing a hot lap they came to the
billboard at the same time. Brabham hit the brakes, but Clark tried to
cut ahead of him for some reason. Of course, he ran out of braking
zone and locked his brakes, plowing into Ickx who was lapping just
meters ahead of them.
What was most astounding (apart from a spectacular crash which sent
both cars flying to the hay bales and Ickx neatly balanced on the
rail), was that when the AI-Clark realized he had locked up his brakes
and there was going to be a collision, he lifted his arm to warn the
driver ahead!
So it happens even to the great ones from time to time. Of course my
own race went fine until a crazed BRM slammed me after I had
accidentally spun into him at the ninety.
-
"If the meaning of life was printed in a book, someone
would use it to keep the window open."
