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The Macau Grand Prix weekend begins tomorrow till 18th November. There's a live stream of all the races which I've to find out for this year's schedule & will surely watch through.

Here's the maga circuit layout. For me, this track has to be in the top 5 circuits of the world! Very notorious for injuries / deaths due to it being a street circuit & certain sections just having a thin sheet of barrier for protection.

A small example as to why Macau is so thrilling & unforgiving:

A close shave this one:

Live stream of Macau Grand Prix:

https://www.scmp.com/sport/motorsport/a ... three-race

Looks like a big accident. Car through the catch fence by the look of it. Red flag. Not good

Big horrendous crash!!!!!!!!! Looks like the brakes failed due to the high speed of the car flying! More than the driver, I'm worried for a few marshals there:

Source - www.imgur.com

Sh1t, sh1t, sh1t.

Thats massive.

We'll be very lucky if the worst hasn't happened here. Floersch's name disappeared off the timing so maybe it was her.

Hopeless TV coverage. Red flag for almost 45 mins now & they've mentioned the damaged fence twice & not one mention on how it got damaged. Just saying the race is stopped until they get the fence fixed.

Jezza13 wrote:Sh1t, sh1t, sh1t.

Thats massive.

We'll be very lucky if the worst hasn't happened here. Floersch's name disappeared off the timing so maybe it was her.

Hopeless TV coverage. Red flag for almost 45 mins now & they've mentioned the damaged fence twice & not one mention on how it got damaged. Just saying the race is stopped until they get the fence fixed.

Yeah. The drivers seem oblivious to the horrific crash otherwise they would be kind of concerned for her & not being their chirpyselves!

UnlikeUday wrote:

Jezza13 wrote:Sh1t, sh1t, sh1t.

Thats massive.

We'll be very lucky if the worst hasn't happened here. Floersch's name disappeared off the timing so maybe it was her.

Hopeless TV coverage. Red flag for almost 45 mins now & they've mentioned the damaged fence twice & not one mention on how it got damaged. Just saying the race is stopped until they get the fence fixed.

Yeah. The drivers seem oblivious to the horrific crash otherwise they would be kind of concerned for her & not being their chirpyselves!

One of the drivers just said she's apparently ok.

Absolutely amazing.

Another angle of the accident. It looks as if the cockpit side hit into the metal stand. It's a miracle if she's ok:

Hoping to see some news that she's okay...

So over an hour since the accident. Drivers are getting back in the cars ready to go back out.

Still not one acknowledgement of the accident from the commentators. No word on Floersch's or anyone else's condition. No footage, no replays, no comments. One unbelievably massive accident & not even a word on the fact there was an accident other than recognition that they can't race because were waiting for the fence to be repaired.

Pathetic commentary.

Jezza13 wrote:So over an hour since the accident. Drivers are getting back in the cars ready to go back out.

Still not one acknowledgement of the accident from the commentators. No word on Floersch's or anyone else's condition. No footage, no replays, no comments. One unbelievably massive accident & not even a word on the fact there was an accident other than recognition that they can't race because were waiting for the fence to be repaired.

Pathetic commentary.

Agreed. It almost seems like they're trying to just gloss over the accident and keep all cheerful and everything, but this is a serious accident. I remember in the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix some commentary teams just kept rattling on about the state of the points and what effect canceling the race would have, totally ignoring the severity of the accident. I hope this isn't too similar.

Surely it's (relatively) good news if they're restarting the race. We can only hope so, horrendous looking accident.

Exediron wrote:

Jezza13 wrote:So over an hour since the accident. Drivers are getting back in the cars ready to go back out.

Still not one acknowledgement of the accident from the commentators. No word on Floersch's or anyone else's condition. No footage, no replays, no comments. One unbelievably massive accident & not even a word on the fact there was an accident other than recognition that they can't race because were waiting for the fence to be repaired.

Pathetic commentary.

Agreed. It almost seems like they're trying to just gloss over the accident and keep all cheerful and everything, but this is a serious accident. I remember in the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix some commentary teams just kept rattling on about the state of the points and what effect canceling the race would have, totally ignoring the severity of the accident. I hope this isn't too similar.

Nope they've just mentioned it.

"Turn 3 incident will be investigated after the race".

Huh? What incident??

Statement from FIA.

https://www.fia.com/news/statement-rega ... -cup-macau

"A serious incident has occurred on lap 4 of the 2018 FIA F3 World Cup at Macau involving car #25 Sophia Flörsch (GER).

Following evaluation by medical staff, the driver is conscious and has subsequently been taken to hospital for further evaluation".

Unbelievable

Jezza13 wrote:Following evaluation by medical staff, the driver is conscious and has subsequently been taken to hospital for further evaluation".[/i]

Unbelievable

That's good news, and I'm honestly shocked. I was fully prepared to hear it was the dreaded coma. I can't imagine she'll have walked away without serious injury, but if she's conscious that's the most important thing!

Great new slomo angle.

I'm speachless & truly amazed she survived.

Hope the cameraman or marshal that went down and appeared to have the car land on him made it through ok.

Jezza13 wrote:Great new slomo angle.

I'm speachless.

I'm seriously worried for the marshal who got caught under the car, seeing that...

The whole bunker moves backwards at the impact. That's an incredible amuont of energy.

Exediron wrote:

Jezza13 wrote:Great new slomo angle.

I'm speachless.

I'm seriously worried for the marshal who got caught under the car, seeing that...

The whole bunker moves backwards at the impact. That's an incredible amuont of energy.

The pictures I've seen circulating on twitter show the back of the car as being clear, with nothing to suggest anybody was trapped or injured underneath.

It looks like the bunker absorbed the impact, basically doing it's job in the way that it buckled. I can't see any part of the car penetrating the bunker, so I'd hope those inside were okay.

Well, fingers crossed, looks like she dodged a bullet here but for me this raises the question, "Why no Halo in F3?"

Jezza13 wrote:Well, fingers crossed, looks like she dodged a bullet here but for me this raises the question, "Why no Halo in F3?"

I don't know. This looks like a crash where it could have made a difference: obviously her head didn't hit the bunker, but it couldn't have missed by much. If the roll hoop had entered that little viewing slit instead of hitting just above it, we'd have a very different picture.

EDIT: It's not her first time dodging a bullet, either - she's either a very lucky driver, or a very unlucky driver, depending on how you look at it...



Remember this video that she got fined for posting?

Exediron wrote:

Jezza13 wrote:Well, fingers crossed, looks like she dodged a bullet here but for me this raises the question, "Why no Halo in F3?"

I don't know. This looks like a crash where it could have made a difference: obviously her head didn't hit the bunker, but it couldn't have missed by much. If the roll hoop had entered that little viewing slit instead of hitting just above it, we'd have a very different picture.

Indeed and there'd be a lot of serious questions being asked tomorrow.

I can't see what makes F3 so much safer than F1 & F2 that it doesn't necessitate a Halo.

Spinal fracture. Not good news, but better than it could have been...

According to Motorsport.com 2 photographers and a marshal were also involved and taken to hospital.

The marshal, Chan Cha In, suffered a laceration of the face, abrasion of his upper abdomen wall and a fractured jaw.

Photographer Chan Weng Wang sustained a liver laceration and is being observed in hospital, with fellow photographer Minami Hiroyuki suffering a concussion and likewise under observation.

https://www.motorsport.com/f3/news/floe ... t/3216291/

I seem to recall that the introduction of the halo is later in the lower formulas but it has been sanctioned.

Edit: In this link

https://www.pitpass.com/61183/FIA-revea ... ampionship

Extract "The new car will integrate the latest FIA safety technologies, making it the benchmark in safety standards for the F3 category. It will feature increased chassis strength, increased cockpit rim height and strength that will be the same standard as in F1, the Halo frontal impact protection device, and will be the first car to feature a frontal anti-intrusion panel."

As a retired SCCA corner worker I have to say: "Scary as hell!!!"

Exediron wrote:

Spinal fracture. Not good news, but better than it could have been...

Simply astonishing that she survived this at all!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FCeMau0heY

Horrible crash, hope she recovers.

The safety precautions and standards of this race remind me of the 1960's...

Given it's history, this is one race that could disappear tomorrow and I will not miss it at all.

I was watching this as it happened (through the Motorsport TV stream) and we just saw a flash as the car flew incredibly quickly through the back of frame.
As a professional sports photographer I've spent so much time in photo pits at events and when I saw the replays I feared the worst. I'm so glad that the driver, photographers and marshals made it out alive!
I found these photos from one of the photographers, Christiaan Hart, who was in the box when it happened. Jaw dropping the amount of damage to the structures, and an incredible testimony to the strength of the cars that this was a survivable accident!

Unbelievable how luck played a part in this accident.

We've got Sophia Florsch, the cameramen inside the tower, the Marshals at the bottom of the tower and the driver of the car she slid across. Probably what, 10 - 15 people maybe? Maybe more?

Any one of them could so easily have been severely injured or, more than likely worse off, if a range of things had been a few millimetres or a few milliseconds different.

I'm absolutely baffled at the events here and how minor the injuries seem to be considering the gravity of the crash and the amount of people impacted by it.

I'm still shaking my head in disbelief how lucky the sport got yesterday.

So glad that it was not a wall, or it would have been fatal.

SHE WAS VERY LUCKY.

Exediron wrote:

Jezza13 wrote:So over an hour since the accident. Drivers are getting back in the cars ready to go back out.

Still not one acknowledgement of the accident from the commentators. No word on Floersch's or anyone else's condition. No footage, no replays, no comments. One unbelievably massive accident & not even a word on the fact there was an accident other than recognition that they can't race because were waiting for the fence to be repaired.

Pathetic commentary.

Agreed. It almost seems like they're trying to just gloss over the accident and keep all cheerful and everything, but this is a serious accident. I remember in the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix some commentary teams just kept rattling on about the state of the points and what effect canceling the race would have, totally ignoring the severity of the accident. I hope this isn't too similar.

This kind of thing really annoys me. Clearly announcers must be generally instructed to avoid talking about serious accidents in case somebody got seriously hurt as it might upset some viewers, but that's getting beyond preposterous. I don't think we are doing any favors to anyone by pretending that nothing bad could ever happen. It shouldn't be too much to bear for anyone to hear that there has been an accident, there might be injuries, but it's unknown at the given moment.

SmoothRide wrote:

Exediron wrote:

Jezza13 wrote:So over an hour since the accident. Drivers are getting back in the cars ready to go back out.

Still not one acknowledgement of the accident from the commentators. No word on Floersch's or anyone else's condition. No footage, no replays, no comments. One unbelievably massive accident & not even a word on the fact there was an accident other than recognition that they can't race because were waiting for the fence to be repaired.

Pathetic commentary.

Agreed. It almost seems like they're trying to just gloss over the accident and keep all cheerful and everything, but this is a serious accident. I remember in the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix some commentary teams just kept rattling on about the state of the points and what effect canceling the race would have, totally ignoring the severity of the accident. I hope this isn't too similar.

This kind of thing really annoys me. Clearly announcers must be generally instructed to avoid talking about serious accidents in case somebody got seriously hurt as it might upset some viewers, but that's getting beyond preposterous. I don't think we are doing any favors to anyone by pretending that nothing bad could ever happen. It shouldn't be too much to bear for anyone to hear that there has been an accident, there might be injuries, but it's unknown at the given moment.

It reminds me a certain "nothing to see here" scene from Naked Gun...

What a lucky girl she is. What lucky crew behind that bunker. I was shocked at the severity of that impact. Made some other crashes (fatal ones) look like fender benders...

One more person that's lucky is who she clipped when her car started to get airborne. Had the angle been different (similar to Grosjean's car hitting Alonso at Spa), it could've been bad. Overall, this incident has been filled with miracles.

SmoothRide wrote:

Exediron wrote:

Jezza13 wrote:So over an hour since the accident. Drivers are getting back in the cars ready to go back out.

Still not one acknowledgement of the accident from the commentators. No word on Floersch's or anyone else's condition. No footage, no replays, no comments. One unbelievably massive accident & not even a word on the fact there was an accident other than recognition that they can't race because were waiting for the fence to be repaired.

Pathetic commentary.

Agreed. It almost seems like they're trying to just gloss over the accident and keep all cheerful and everything, but this is a serious accident. I remember in the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix some commentary teams just kept rattling on about the state of the points and what effect canceling the race would have, totally ignoring the severity of the accident. I hope this isn't too similar.

This kind of thing really annoys me. Clearly announcers must be generally instructed to avoid talking about serious accidents in case somebody got seriously hurt as it might upset some viewers, but that's getting beyond preposterous. I don't think we are doing any favors to anyone by pretending that nothing bad could ever happen. It shouldn't be too much to bear for anyone to hear that there has been an accident, there might be injuries, but it's unknown at the given moment.

Especially in this day & age where everyone has a video camera in their pocket and twitter & You tube at their finger tips.

I'm not sure what the broadcasters hope to achieve by being ignorant & playing dumb.

Placid wrote:So glad that it was not a wall, or it would have been fatal.

SHE WAS VERY LUCKY.

In a way she was very lucky that bunker was there. If it wasn't, at the speed she was travelling, she probably would have ended up skating along the ground and slamming into a building with no give at a couple of hundred k/hr.

One more observation. Note how long it takes for a Marshal and an emergency team to actually approach her to check on her condition. It may have been shock but they stood around for ages. One went and checked on the condition of the guy that fell under the bunker but no-one really went to see how the driver was.

I think that's another area of the race that needs to be looked at as a result of this accident.

Difficult to tell from the news what her condition is, this is on her twitter feed:
No mention of loss of movement so perhaps it is a spinal break with little nerve damage. However you look at the accident its amazing thee were no serious injuries of deaths. Here's hoping.

Jezza13 wrote:In a way she was very lucky that bunker was there. If it wasn't, at the speed she was travelling, she probably would have ended up skating along the ground and slamming into a building with no give at a couple of hundred k/hr.

One more observation. Note how long it takes for a Marshal and an emergency team to actually approach her to check on her condition. It may have been shock but they stood around for ages. One went and checked on the condition of the guy that fell under the bunker but no-one really went to see how the driver was.

I think that's another area of the race that needs to be looked at as a result of this accident.

She is also lucky that the bunker was was built as lightly as it was. It functioned as somewhat of a resilient tire wall or an American "safer barrier". You can see the bunker noticeably move as she hit it. That absorbed a lot of energy.

I asked my translator friend to translate it:

"Just to quickly inform you, I'm sorry to worry you all but I got a thorough check-up at the hospital and I'm ok. The lady in car 25 is ok too. The helmet got some scratches but I was really lucky."