Grassroots racer owes life to safety equipment after scary VIR flip
A friend of mine was involved in a terrifying crash at Virginia International Raceway last weekend. He’s alive because of the safety equipment that he invested in.
During a qualifying session for the NASA Midatlantic’s Hyperfest Event on Saturday, May 20, the rear trailing arm pocket failed on DJ Fitzpatrick’s Mach V Motorsports 2001 BMW M3 on the run down to Oak Tree at over 100 mph.
The failure sent Fitzpatrick’s BMW skyward and his car was launched into a frightening roll before coming to a rest in the grass.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4zPECASIrs
Fitzpatrick was able to walk out under his own power, but things could have been a lot worse had he not been using the proper safety equipment.
Fitzpatrick was wearing a Stilo helmet with his visor down. He also had his Hans on, a Scroth Harness, and a Sparco Circuit Halo Seat with a proper cage.
Fitzpatrick, who has been racing for 10 years, hopes to get back out on track again, and has started a GoFundMe to hopefully fund replacement of his safety equipment at https://www.gofundme.com/fitzpatrick-fund-for-safety-equip.
“My family and racing is what pushes me and shows me at my best,” said Fitzpatrick in a Facebook post. “This desire to drive can only be safely done on track. If I had been in a street car, the results would have been much different.
DJ Fitzpatrick was able to walk out of the car under his own power. (Image credit: DJ Fitzpatrick)
“One of the first steps this summer and fall is to create a proper E46 RTAB failure kit... The entire RTAB pocket pulled out of the chassis as a whole. Many reinforce their E36s, but not commonly done is to reinforce an E46. As these chassis' age I believe this failure might start cropping up.
“Watching in the car and aftermath photos, I also urge everyone to review your safety. The A-pillar bars on a cage are essential to your safety in a crash like mine. Gusset or use the ‘IMSA’ style bars as I believe without this, my cage could have failed.
“I did some things right, and I did some things wrong (holding onto the wheel). That said, the will to go racing is even stronger than ever and I hope I might be able to get back on the horse shortly!”
