Around The Web

Autocross is generally a safe sport with the inherent risks of driving a vehicle. But every once in a while, the stars align for something to go awry on-course. Ric Quinonez captured such an incident during his recent event at Crow’s Landing with the American AutoX Series. See for yourself in his video below, ironically named “Why I got a rerun.”

We reached out to Ric to learn more about what happened that day. In his 47 years of Autocross experience, he never experienced a near miss like this. The incident happened during the first runs of the last group of the day.

There was less than 3 seconds to evaluate the situation. Only 3 choices were available. I could turn left away from the errant car and we would both be going the same direction. I could go straight into the dirt. Or, I could turn right and risk possible contact with the other car. Going straight was the best possible choice. Fortunately no damage was done to the car when I drove off course.

Ric Quinonez

In the video, you can see the driver of the F-Mod (FM) car lock their brakes in the sudden realization of heading towards an oncoming car. Ric didn’t get a chance to speak to the other driver, but he heard through the grapevines that they were new to autocross in general. Discussion in the Bay Area Autocross Facebook Group suggests that the other driver was the Father in a Father-Son co-driven car. We were not able to contact either of the driver’s of the F-Mod car for a statement.

I hope the incident doesn’t discourage him in any way.

Ric Quinonez

Other discussion in the Facebook Group raised questions about the safety of the course design and responsibilities of the corner workers. Accounts from attendees who drove the course including Ric, suggest that course design was not a factor whereas others commented that some elements could’ve been added to make the course direction more clear. The corner workers reported the incident happening in a blindspot in a matter of seconds. The corner station where Ric was passing had their back turned to the off-course car as they were watching for Ric heading towards them. The corner station where the F-Mod car had passed before going off-course was now in its rearview mirrors at which point, we can only assume they were now on the lookout for the oncoming car staying aware of what’s happening on-course. The red flags to stop the event went out immediately after the incident. No changes were made to the course after the incident and the possibility of the one seater F-Mod car taking an instructor on their proceeding runs was impossible. We reached out to the American AutoX series for comment, but did not receive a response.

With all of the feedback being in hindsight, one fact remains and that is: there were no other off-course incidents like this one that day. This certainly checks all of the boxes as nearly being a freak-accident. Thankfully, damage was avoided and no one was hurt. You would be glad to know, this did not discourage Ric and he went on to take the Fastest-Time-of-the-Day (FTD)/Top-Time-of-the-Day (TTOD). Right on, Ric!

Ric’s car is a home built A-Mod (AM) car that goes by the nickname “Sharkie,” eloquently chosen by co-driver, Eileen Blando. The car was designed and built by Gerald Storvik with Ric lending a helping hand throughout the process. At approximately 950lbs and with a 1300cc Suzuki Hayabusa motor, the all aluminum custom-built chassis certainly is a rocket!