It was a dark and stormy...

morning?

Well yeah it was morning- 4:45am on this past Sunday morning to be exact- That's what time I got up to get ready for the latest BMWCCA Autocross at Irwindale Speedway.

Sure it was pouring rain- but the track is about an hour away- it might be dry there..

Fast Forward To:

6am:
I'm standing in a 4 inch puddle outside the locked gates of Irwindale speedway- chatting with a few other car nuts- in the dark- oh and it's still raining.

There is a tiny voice in the back of my head saying- "what is wrong with you? you have a cold- you're gonna get really sick-you do realize that you're standing in the dark, in the rain- waiting for someone to come open the gate so that you can drive around an empty parking lot for 5 hours?"

I dunno what it was about that voice- but it was making alot of sense. Only problem was that I had been looking forward to this event for quite some time and the next one is months away.

tough decision-

I decided to compromise- I would wait inside my car and see if the weather cleared up - if it cleared- I'd stay - if not I'd bail. Seemed fair.

7am:
I'm on the 605 headed home -guess what happened with the weather- GOT WORSE!

So there I am skating down the 605, make my way towards the 10 - and the rain is pouring down in buckets- the freeway is starting to flood, but luckily there isn't too much traffic - So I'm taking it easy- be home soon enough.

Then I noticed something strange out of the corner of my eye- at first it didn't make any sense- took what felt like a few seconds to compute-

processing... processing...

Why is that car is coming accross the road sideways?

HOLY SH*T! totally out of control..

There was an 80's style Ford Thunderbird wheels locked & completley out of control -headed directly for my driver-side front quarter- I knew better than to try and turn-so I just SLAMMED on the brakes- I was able to narrowly avoid that collision but the light-duty pickup that had been riding my passenger-side blind spot had no idea what was coming and slammed full speed into the passenger-side front quarter of the t-bird!

The two collided just a few feet infront of me and the force of the impact sent debri and car parts flying in every direction- I was still on the brakes- the t-bird began to pin-wheel around- the truck didnt seem to have any intention of stopping (perhaps the driver was knocked unconcious from the impact)

As both cars started to shift and turn while their collision continued- I knew I needed to get the hell out of there if I was going to keep myself and the MINI intact.

Now approachnig a reasonable speed- and with little traffic coming up behind me I decided to downshift before losing all forward momentum- and hammered the gas- I was able to swerve around the still evolving wreck and get clear before any damage could be done to me or my car.

I surveyed the scene from my rearview- both cars were now stopped and in the wall. The t-bird was badley mangled and had impacts on 3 sides. The Pickup wound up perpendicular to the freeway and was blocking two lanes of traffic.

There was no great place to pull over- So I decided rather than get my self run over trying to play hero- I would call it in to highway patrol. So I did. I have no idea what happened or if anyone was hurt- I would be surprised if both parties escaped unscathed. Highway patrol was quick to get all the info that I had and said that they were dealing with an increased number of collisions due to the rain- but thanked me for my call and said they would send some people out.

So that happened-

Incase my written description didn't do this event justice- I have pieced together an animated reinactment to help you visualize:


(Flash 5 or higher required)


Crazy right? So what can we take away from this little misadventure?

#1- turns out that the MINI has unbelievable stopping power (even with the stock brakes)- I was able to stop quickly and controlled under extreme circumstances and the car felt great the entire time. Two thumbs up for MINI.

#2- I have Jedi reflexes. (Duh)

#3- Whoever was driving that T-bird did a bunch of things wrong to find herself sideways on the freeway- My guess is this: Since she came into my view at great speed from the left- I can only assume that she was travelling in the left lane - going way too fast and hydroplaned- then panicked and locked up her brakes- and maybe tried to steer out of the puddle for good measure- the result was obviously catastrophic. I really hope nobody got hurt.

Ok enough scary talk- Since I did not race this weekend I have no new pictures to show you- but I do have the video from the last race- courtesy of my friend Dave.

Enjoy:
MINI Cooper Autocross :: MiniMechanic.com

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