Chris Forsberg – Safety Concerns [SNAPSHOT OVERLOAD]
Posted by Wrecked Magazine on 22 Aug 2009 at 03:25 am | Tagged as: Calvin Wan, Chris Forsberg, Formula D, Wrecks
In our first post about the Calvin Wan Vs. Chris Forsberg drama that I titled Rulebook Vs. Reality I covered the 5 minute rule. My next issue with this tandem battle is how was Chris Forsberg let on track with their “repairs.” Now, the way Kevin Wells and CFR got his car to operate and run on the track was truly amazing and the fact that Chris Forsberg was able to drift with ratchet straps holding his front suspension together is amazing but was it safe. Personally, after reviewing the photos of how his car was held together and the movement of his wheel it seems very clear to me that Nissan 350z should of not been allowed on track period, much less after a One More Time was called. Here is a break down of the Nissan 350z after the unfortunate crash between Calvin Wan and Chris Forsberg. Here is what held the front suspension together and the damage done to the wheel.
So this is how Chris made three passes in his Nissan 350z. It’s amazing he got this car to drift at all. Here now is a shot of the damage done to Calvin Wan’s S15. You can see the front wheel of Forsberg put a hole in the Silvia.
Now you can view the wheel movement on Chris Forsberg’s car as he was continuing to compete. The images below are pretty crazy.
Should Chris Forsberg have been allowed on the track after the collision with Calvin Wan? Please leave comments to let us know your thoughts!
looks like some Renault/Alonso stuff…
It seems like this event has shed light on a bigger issue. On the question of if the car should be let out on the track or not the clear and obvious answer is no. And I feel in a proper situation they would not have let him out on track again.
However this event has revealed a major flaw in the “5-minute rule” it looks as if they give teams time to make a repair but perhaps not enough time for a steward or official to INSPECT the repair made to deem it safe or not.
Obviously I don’t own or run a team so I don’t know this for sure but it seems like 5 minutes isn’t enough to fix something and inspect it.
What is the solution? Maybe certain situations should result in an automatic DNF..if someone breaks a tie rod or arm ..instant DNF..dont give them an opportunity to perform potentially unsafe repairs. That’s just my opinion though..will probably get flamed for it.
why didn’t calvin wan just give him the win? that’s what a cool person would do. that is assuming that calvin wan is at fault for the damage to CF’s car.
CFR should be ashamed of themselves for thinking that a ratchet strap is a suitable means for fixing a damaged suspension component. it’s just drifting dudes.
Wow. Can’t believe the Formula D track marshal allowed that car to run. Big respect to Kevin Wells at LS Auto for getting Chris’s car back together in 5 minutes with basically no parts to work with, but there’s no way that type of ghetto rigged suspension would be allowed in any other forms of racing. Just think… Would that pass tech inspection at an SCCA autocross? How about at an SCCA or FIA rally event? That wouldn’t even pass tech at a JustDrift or a DG Trials event, so I can’t believe the car was allowed to run like that.
So let’s see… they let Chris keep running even though the car looked unsafe (suspension could have come apart and flown out injuring the crowd or one of the drivers or courseworkers), then they awarded the win to Calvin Wan at the end… then after the CFR team protested because the FD safety marshal wouldn’t give them another 5 minutes to work on the car during their “one more time” run….. they called everyone back and reversed the win and said they need to do that top 32 battle again on Saturday?
Wow, I didn’t think anything major was going to happen in Sonoma. Too bad I couldn’t be there to see it all go down for myself.
Good luck tomorrow Chris and Calvin! Thanks for the update, WreckedMagazine!
at least CFR ran the full 4 tandem runs, instead of just refusing to run, then doing burnouts and “spinning” over a courseworkers foot… right Team Orange?
Props to CFR for making due with what they had around them… literally! Kevin “McGuyver” Wells is a genius!
[...] him to run against Wan, even allowing him to run the OMT they called for! Read about it here: Wrecked Magazine – A Drifting Magazine featuring Formula D, D1GP, MSC, D1 Grand Prix, Pro Drift, and… [...]
1.) Forsberg should have taken the win as Eric did in Washington. He would have time to fix the car for top 16, lucky him. That should have no effect on the decision.
2.) Formula D needs to fire their “chief steward” Now is their chance! He has been the source of nearly all FD’s drama and problems since he came on board. The only thing he does consistently is bring drama with his decisions. He brings nothing positive to FD or drifting but does alot to damage FD/drifting’s credibility.
3.) As has already been stated, Forsberg’s vehicle should have been inspected and NEVER allowed on track. (this is yet another failure of FD’s chief steward) The fact that he made 3 runs with a vehicle that should have been not only deemed illegal as per the rulebook, it was downright unsafe! While letting him on track in that condition is FD’s failure, FORSBERG SHOULD BE FINED FOR COMPETING WITH THE VEHICLE IN THAT CONDITION!!! They should have taken the win/loss or whatever they were dealt and then protest it from there. That’s how EVERYONE ELSE does it. Instead, they went about it in a way that put the themselves, fans, media, and their opponent at risk. That is simply not acceptable and is an issue that needs to be addressed.