First things first; Watch Scott Sharp’s spectacular collision during practice for the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta on Thursday. The crash occurred when Sharp lost sight of a Porsche that was exiting the pits and tagged it. Apparently this is a blind section of track and Sharp was running at 100% throttle in 6th gear.
Obviously the fact that Sharp walked away from this incident is a testament to the design and build quality of these machines, not to mention a healthy dose of luck. Thanks to hard work, preparation and logistical management, the car was back on track for the 9:45 am warm up session on Friday morning! Patron Highcroft have released some details of the Acura, along with the timeline that brought the car to the track. This is nothing short of excellence in action.
PATRÓN HIGHCROFT RACING REPAIR SUMMARY
· An incredible catalogue of work by the PHR crew at Road Atlanta
· Below is a summary list of the work done on the Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a since Scott Sharp’s horrific crash Thursday at Road Atlanta in practice for Petit Le Mans powered by MAZDA6. Thanks to Paul Ryan with Patrón Highcroft Racing.
Prep Statistics:
Pre-Petit work list items: 190
Acura ARX-02a Statistics:
Chassis mechanical parts: 4000
Chassis electrical parts: 250
Engine parts: 100 (excluding internals of engine)
Gearbox parts: 350
Parts with tracked life: 1000 (excluding internals of engine)
Custom hardware (fasteners, o-rings, bearings): 450
Rebuild Statistics:
Parts reused: about 10%
Rebuild Timeline (times are when tasks were completed, unless otherwise noted)
Thursday
3:43 PM – Accident
4:15 PM – Damaged assessment finished
4:45 PM – Spare part serial numbers allocated for car build
5:00 PM – Finalized arrangements to ship spare tub
6:00 PM – Spare tub picked up by freight service in California
6:45 PM – Damaged car stripped, reusable parts identified
11:00 PM – Replacement parts prepared and arranged for assembly
12:00 AM – Team back to hotel
Friday
7:10 AM – Spare tub arrives at Atlanta airport, met by team members
7:30 AM – Breakfast
8:00 AM – Begin preparation for car build, organize and layout assemblies
9:30 AM – Spare, bare tub arrives at track
11:00 AM – Tub preparation finished
12:00 PM – Lunch
11:30 PM – Fresh engine fitted
1:30 PM – Fresh gearbox fitted
6:00 PM – Dinner
8:00 PM – Four corners fitted on car
9:00 PM – Race spare preparation begins
11:45 PM – Hydraulic/fuel/ electronic systems tested
1:00 AM – Engine fired
4:30 AM – Car on ground
5:45 AM – Setup finished
6:45 AM – Race strategy meeting
9:45 AM – Warmup / Practice Session
Crash Statistics:
Just before impact:
Speed: 225 kph (140 mph)
Throttle: 100% (Full)
Lateral acceleration: 1.5g
Gear: 6th (Top gear)
Location: Before turn 2
During collision:
Car did a full rotation every 1.3 seconds
Peak acceleration > 15g
From impact to stop: 6.2 seconds
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
What a great testimony to the sport.
Man this is where the basically unsung heroes of the sport earn more than their keep. The crew. At least 24 hours straight work before the race starts plus long days before. With the rain it will be the 11 hours. Then everything has to be packed up and put away for travel. At times like this it is not fun.
I have been there with the 24 plus hours straight after problems and you do start to wonder why the f— you are doing this. Most crew do burn out and walk away at times. I lasted 9 years in pro and then got into organizing for 2 years and back at it for another 10, although mostly club but not all rather than pro this time.
I retired when the driver did and then married her!
Specializing in long endurance racing some of which are 25 hours and much longer I can say this is one of the parts of the equation I love most. There is so much more than just running or winning the designated hours of the race including the long nights and days building, prepping, testing and loading the car not to mention the nights laying awake worrying about the expense, last minute details, (have I forgotten anything?) logistics, weather, and so far we haven’t even given consideration to the pressure on the driver/s yet. Then when there are situations like the one in this case, this is when a team can shine and either go home a hero or a zero. To do all of the above takes weeks, months and sometimes even years all of which is done in a shop with every tool, piece of equipment, crew and all the materials needed but when this happens everything must be down at the shop without all of the above not to mention it has to be perfect and without testing. It is situations like this one which I LIVE for so much more so than just another win any day. Now THAT is racing at it’s finest.