What happened to Rollcentre? - Page 4

Rollcentre · 17 Jun 2004, 14:05 (Ref:1006968)

Thanks for all your views and support. It does give considerable cheer after surveying the wreckage on the car......

As for myself, I can now put weight on my leg, but the whiplash hit yesterday big time. I think its about time I fitted a Hans device.....For the first time yesterday it did occur to me that my thoughts of "Oh No! Oh No!" as the car snapped right prior to contact with the wall could have been my last! My missus assures me I am far to bull necked with a thick skull to worry about issues like that!

I would like to ask anyone reading these posts if they have any video/audio of the events. I have just got the basic ITV coverage. I would be particularly interested in SB's comments on Radio Le Mans and Speed Vision, and full coverage of the accident. I am happy to pay for tapes/postage etc and will dig out souveniers (wrecked Dallara parts anybody?) to those who want them.

I am on broadband so happy to receive big e mail attachments to rollcentre@aol.com.

I know there has been one offer on this list and would be very grateful for whatever you have please.

Regards all.

Martin.

awegrzyn · 17 Jun 2004, 14:08 (Ref:1006973)

How about a Ten-Tenths Found for Rollcentre rebuild? Let the sponsors chip in.

The Badger · 17 Jun 2004, 14:22 (Ref:1006993)

Excellant job at LeMans Martin , ye certainly took the smile off of some other peoples faces . Best of luck with the leg and cant wait to see your car back on the track again soon .

A rear wing would make a nice bar counter !!!

jhansen · 17 Jun 2004, 15:02 (Ref:1007037)

Thanks for the comments Mr. Short. I'm glad to hear that you're recovering. It was an unfortunate and avoidable incident. I do have footage of the incident and the crash from Speed. They showed both numerous times. Having seen the crash I could understand why you'd want to utilize the HANS device. We all hope to see your Dallara Judd at the Nurburgring 1000K. Good luck in your racing efforts and I hope this has not soured you on racing in the LMES. Roll on Rollcentre!

Tim Northcutt · 17 Jun 2004, 15:06 (Ref:1007041)

Quote:

Originally posted by jhansen
Thanks for the comments Mr. Short. I'm glad to hear that you're recovering. It was an unfortunate and avoidable incident. I do have footage of the incident and the crash from Speed. They showed both numerous times. Having seen the crash I could understand why you'd want to utilize the HANS device. We all hope to see your Dallara Judd at the Nurburgring 1000K. Good luck in your racing efforts and I hope this has not soured you on racing in the LMES. Roll on Rollcentre!

I assume that your tape also has Derek Daly's comments after the Bourdais Tv interview about the initial incident, and Seb's words as well....Derek really spelled out why Bourdais was wrong....

jhansen · 17 Jun 2004, 15:12 (Ref:1007052)

Yeah it does Tim. His comments were right on. It's all rather self explanitory.

pirenzo · 17 Jun 2004, 21:27 (Ref:1007410)

Quote:

Originally posted by Rollcentre
I think its about time I fitted a Hans device....

Yes, please do...

I noticed its not really used in sportscars, and the way particularly in the Dallara the sides are quite low.
Good to set an example too...

cybersdorf · 18 Jun 2004, 08:55 (Ref:1007646)

Young Mr. B. seems to have painted himself into a corner with his statements. I don't believe for a second that he intentionally meant to do Martin Short, or any other driver, any harm; but the way he has shrugged the incident off, and his stubborn refusal to reconsider the whole thing, and perhaps admit that it wasn't all somebody else's fault, is sad to see.

PaulSands · 18 Jun 2004, 09:38 (Ref:1007675)

Is there a link to any video of the incident available online?

Fab · 20 Jun 2004, 11:52 (Ref:1009330)

Quote:

Originally posted by PaulSands
Is there a link to any video of the incident available online?

No, not at my knowing ; but as the all thing was recorded by telly, we certainly have it on the DVD... a gruesome wreckage.

The Badger · 20 Jun 2004, 12:40 (Ref:1009421)

Is there a pic of the car after the damage .

cybersdorf · 20 Jun 2004, 13:35 (Ref:1009443)

If anyone has taped the Eurosport coverage, they had it on camera, slow motion an all.

PRF · 20 Jun 2004, 22:19 (Ref:1010174)

I for one was so disappointed when the Rollcentre car went out on Sunday morning. After a fantastic start to the season, two fifth places under their belts I was expecting a podium. This was not to be. Due to a chaotic and the 'devil might car' overtaking passes which was never a goer the car was taken out. Bourdais is pathetic.

Being English I was supporting the underdog. A pretty fine underdog too.

Martin, I think you'll find most of the fan based enthusiasts of Le Mans as well as Sportscar Racing in general have no doubt of who was inocent and who was guilty. It isn't the man from St Ives.

PRF

Rollcentre · 21 Jun 2004, 09:07 (Ref:1010477)

Fab, can you get me a DVD copy please?

Martin

simon c · 21 Jun 2004, 11:06 (Ref:1010572)

Quote:

Originally posted by Fab
He started in Le Mans in 2000, and with a reasonable success : best of the rest. But he was not so sure of himself at this moment...

started in 99 with jarier and de thoisy in larbre 911 gt2

nobster · 21 Jun 2004, 14:05 (Ref:1010776)

Well I can confirm that young mr. Bourdais is crazy.
I watched him win the German 500 Champcar race last year and in that race he made some overtaking moves that could easily resulted in very bad crashes.
What about overtaking at full speed with two wheels on the grass and a bit of waving with a fellow competitor on the backstretch just to held position , all at full speed.
At that time i thougt him brave but after seeing what he did at le Mans I think there is something missing in his head, he needs to be punished for those crashes.

Martin Short congratulations on a job well done this year.
You won yourself a lot of fans and I hope to see your team at the LMES race in nurburgring next month.

Fab · 22 Jun 2004, 08:52 (Ref:1011737)

Quote:

Originally posted by simon c
started in 99 with jarier and de thoisy in larbre 911 gt2

My my my, you're right ! Sorry for this new mischtake !

Let's say that his fame started in 2000 !

Fab · 22 Jun 2004, 09:00 (Ref:1011744)

Quote:

Originally posted by Rollcentre
Fab, can you get me a DVD copy please?

Martin

Martin, you've got a pm...

R59 · 25 Jun 2004, 22:32 (Ref:1016413)

Martin,

According to a sign in the White Hart in Biggleswade, you need some of "Baldwins Nervous Pills" a cure-all remedy for all aches and ills.
(wonder if he sells them at the garage at Wimpole?)!!!

Didn't see the race on the box, was in the wrong part of the world at the wrong time, and the hotel/motel didn't have Speed, or anything else with coverage (other than NASCAR) at the time I was able to watch. Read it all when I got home and was shocked to see the way you went out, and then heartened to see the support that the users of this forum have offered, together with the condemnation of that eejot's actions. 7 laps down and did that, reminds me of Martin Clunes on "Have I got news for you" with Geoffrey Archer, 'coughing' T*SSER.

For those that said "Don't give up Martin". I know Martin, and that phrase is certainly not in his vocabulary.

As you say, what goes around comes around.

Now, back to putting that engine back together. I got a few hundred horsepower to play with! (When are you testing at Silverstone next? If it's ready, I might test too, and you can tell me what you think!)

Rob.

Fab · 7 Jul 2004, 15:31 (Ref:1029328)

Justice !

I got the last Le Mans Racing issue today : despite the fact that the paper is french, it is clearly said that Sebastien Bourdais pushed Martin out of the track (and earlier in the night, the Belmondo Courage.
), causing the gruesome wreckage we all saw on TV five laps later (and the retirement of the C65 in the middle of the night for the Belmondo team).

Jamie Davies is pointed too, to have pushed Jan Magnussen without any reason, in the Ford chicane...

For Martin and the Dallara, Le Mans Racing says clearly that the RollCentre was on its way for the "best of the rest" place, at least...

Not a relief, but just justice given to the team we all cheer for its great performances - not talking about the wonderful car !

Roll on Martin ! Your day will come !

gwyllion · 20 Aug 2004, 09:46 (Ref:1072445)

In an interview on Speed Arena with Bourdais on his Le Mans experience, he talks about the incident.

Quote:

PC: So we come to the other incident, which is the Martin Short incident. I gather that his take on it was that he was going to let you through at the chicane...

SB: But you forget it was the second lap I was behind him, and he hadn't let me through, and he had better top speed than I had and was not inclined to let me by whatsoever.

I mean, as long as he kept his line I would have stayed cool behind him, but we had so much **** going on all race long that I kind of lost a bit my patience. So now it's enough, the guy's nearly kicked me in the grass, 'cause I tried every single corner for a lap and a half, under braking, showing my nose, and he would turn in early, and so it was like "alright, I'm going to try where my car is better," which means in the Porsche esses, so I go outside of him at the Karting corner, and half of my car is side by side with him, and he turns his head toward me and moves left. I saw the grass and backed out, and he was completely outside the line! So I thought "what is this all about?" I never had any problems with him like that before, but if I had crashed his car here, being inside at Karting, he would have been sideways, and he wouldn't have been able to complain.

Speed's broadcast picked up the train of three prototypes on the front stretch - Dallara, Pescarolo, Audi - and it appears that the Pescarolo was tucked right up behind the Dallara. Bourdais is immediately behind upon the entrance of the chicane, and upon the passage under the Dunlop bridge, the marshals station driver left is waving blue flags. - PC

But what really ****es me off is that he says I'm responsible for his big crash, which is completely wrong. Once he left the gravel trap after the incident in which I just barely touched his bodywork, and damaged my bodywork, but not the wheel, and not the suspension - there were no rubber marks on my car - he said that a lap later when the suspension collapsed I was responsible.

Again, watching the Speed coverage, it is not obvious that the suspension is in any way contacted. The Dallara rear lifts well before the Pescarolo nose is anywhere near the wheel, and the rear wheel remains neutral relative to the bodywork. If anything, it drops a little, indicating unweighting. But it is impossible to tell with the images available. - PC

First, it's not a lap later, it's like 20 minutes later - he went in the pits, checked the car, went back in the car and did two laps and then crashed the car. How can you say I'm responsible? You checked the car, nothing was wrong with it, I did not touch your wheel and you say I'm responsible for suspension failure?

So I just think there's been a big misunderstanding. I didn't mean to touch him, that would have been bad for me -

PC: He must have been braking at the same time, with his weight shifted forward

SB: So when you touch him and he's turning in, he spins - but incidents like that happen 20, thirty or more times during the 24 hours. I did say I was sorry, and I didn't mean to hit you, but on the other side you also nearly crashed me five corners before and I was not going to complain about it. That's racing, sometimes guys do things they don't mean to do, maybe he slipped, maybe he didn't see me, it's possible. But what really upsets me is that he says I'm responsible for the destruction of his car, which is really unfair.

PC: Sebastien, thank you for your time.

source: speedarena.com

gwyllion · 20 Aug 2004, 09:48 (Ref:1072449)

Okay, some words got replaced by ***

The first one is c r a p and the secon p i s ses

paul-collins · 20 Aug 2004, 14:56 (Ref:1072822)

Hey, thanks for pointing out my article, gwyllion!

It took me forever to find the time to finish the darn thing (primarily to rewatch the tapes), and I thought that by now no one would care... Sebastien was quite gracious, and happy to spend the time. But he was clearly agitated that Shorty had laid the huge shunt at his feet.

I think one lesson in this is that the pitlane interviews have to be taken with a grain of salt, particularly later in the race, as all the participants are dog-tired and have tunnelvision. Belmondo's outburst ("effing c"), in this respect, after the terrifying sideways slide into the Corvette, is a direct result of the time of night, the time already spent in the car, and then the panic and frustration. It's great that we get this access as viewers, but perhaps they should be delayed a bit, at least to allow for editing as necessary.

Also, teams should (while granting full access) have everything directed through their PR person on the ground, so at the very least they can just remind the interviewee to have their "interview face" on. Things said live, and in the heat of the moment, are taken in by the viewing public with the same weight as a well-thought-out story or release, yet may not be meant the same way.

marcush. · 20 Aug 2004, 15:11 (Ref:1072840)

oh yeah,you just can´t take the words of a racing driver for granted immediatelly after coming out of the action,in the heat of the moment.They need an hour or more to come down...and things get back into perspective....so as a journo i would always ask later if the comments are standing.

Rollcentre · 20 Aug 2004, 15:14 (Ref:1072845)

Things that are said live are generally things that are said for real.

SB said some pretty damning things live about hitting me, and is now crying about it. I have seen the full transcript of his interview, and the reason for hitting Paul Belmondo was because 'he braked to hard' when the Corvette was having its shunt at christ knows what speed in front of him...maybe it should be posted here as well as it ties in very nicely with his references to me.

And now he has a whole bunch of reasons as to why he hit me.

None of them are valid. He ruined the race of 2 cars by being too close and having lost sense/patience/whatever else he can think of.

Yours, still nursing a damaged leg, and a quarter million pound wreck.

And he didnt say Sorry. And even if he did it wouldn't make any difference. He did what he did, and he said what he said. Keep your PR men for F1. I can't afford one, and I wouldn't have one if I could.

Martin Short.

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