I watched the vid from the x-games rally of McRae rolling his subaru and I can't stop wondering whether he took the turn incorrectly or whether it was some less driver related variable that caused him to roll. Like maybe the 'fake' rally track dirt was too soft (compared to a standard rally course) and the tire dug in too much and caught the body and flipped it. Or maybe the suspension was too soft or something. Was that a proper technique to enter the corner after a jump, or did he just nose the car over way too much on his front left tire and it was purely his fault he rolled? What do you all think?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v ... ;mode=related&search=

There are like 10 different angles of it posted on YouTube if your looking for another view of it.

Driver error - didn't get the car straightened up in time, so hit the yump with a lot of yaw angle still on the car, which mean a corner dug in and caused to roll.

I doubt suspension changes would have stopped it, at least not without making him slower elsewhere.

he took the jump sideways - drivers error (Colin MCRASH strikes again )

Yeah, and he still came second!
Usually when you roll a car, then i'd guess you will be a bit shocked, but he keeped on going as soon as car wheel touched ground, I think it was really impressive ride, good job!

It was clearly his fault, he took it sideways. Even I know that that'll flip you over.

edit : @EleanorSpeedGT. It's a 1vs1 race.

Quote from hrtburnout :

It was clearly his fault, he took it sideways. Even I know that that'll flip you over.

edit : @EleanorSpeedGT. It's a 1vs1 race.

Really? Interesting, somehow i have a picture in my mind where a scoretable with quite people with their times.....but I may be wrong.

Oh. That way. I thought you meant that McRae got second in this race, not second in the final standings

yeh i agree, he took it sideways, tried to straighten up and then when he landed the car he still held it locked to one side which made the roll over possible

@HRT; that was not a 1vs1 race. It was a timed stage, just multiple laps. McRae was second overall in the event, lost by half a second IIRC.

I think he just got carried away with the whole X-Games thing and for a moment thought he had to impress the judges.

lol he lost by .61 here's the full run

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ci_p6ulyTRg

That commentator was funny. He said the car was completely destroyed, even though all i saw was a loose bumper, a flat tire an a smashed window. He's not to used to the build-quality of the Subaru now is he :P

If you look at the video, you clearly see his left front tire is just barely attached to his car, his suspension is completely smashed up... I'd call that destroyed...

Was his error, if he had pointed the wheels left then they might not have dug in the dust/dirt/sand as much! Might have not rolled then.

Well, yeah this is driver error, but from what I saw not to the same extent some people seem to think. The car was sideways yes, but the problem was that when he landed the front wheels were not straight, the front left digs in and causes the car to roll, if the front wheels had landed straight (and level would have avoided further damage) he'd have been fine IMHO. Still, it is evident that he saw the roll coming a mile off otherwise it's unlikely he'd have recovered as fast as he did.

Quote from jamesrowe :

Was his error, if he had pointed the wheels left then they might not have dug in the dust/dirt/sand as much! Might have not rolled then.

Not entirely fair for you to comment on driving standards or techniques

It is a driving error but the “right way to do it” is not as easy as you may think while watching from an outside camera…

He could just attack these “bumps” less aggressively but that what matters there is the show

Well the fastest line on that jump was to take it low and turn early, if you watched the whole event most of the drivers were trying to do that. Mcrae just took it a little too tight, but in doing so is now a total and utter legend in America...basically made a name for himself with one crash lol (the 2 highlights of that X-Games, Travis and his stunning double backflip, and McRae's roll)

He is sorely missed in the WRC, he pulls in more fans and for me still has enough to be in the top 3. Hopefully he will get his car going and enter, and beat the manufacturers...which would be awesome.

Ya, I would agree it was driver error however it was not at all a huge(blatant) error IMO. Putting the car slightly sideways like that IS the proper technique to immediately load the front left in order to enter the immediately following hairpin. However, he just entered with a little too much speed for the angle he was trying to turn upon landing.
Look at the first time he hits that jump, it looks almost identical allthough with just a little less speed. You can see him enter it at about the 30 second mark of this vid.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ci_p6ulyTRg

Quote from tristancliffe :

Not entirely fair for you to comment on driving standards or techniques

Thank you Not entirely fair to comment on every comment I make
I was going to say easier said then done at end of it, but I got distracted by something

Quote from ATC Quicksilver :

He is sorely missed in the WRC, he pulls in more fans and for me still has enough to be in the top 3. Hopefully he will get his car going and enter, and beat the manufacturers...which would be awesome.

I think to be honest hes past the WRC now, i was disopointing , his performance in the Xsara a few years back, it was a proven car and he still only managed 7th. Don't get me wrong i love the guy, but i think what hes doing now is alot better, the odd event like this, Le Mans, Dakar and he still does a few national classic rallys everyear that attract alot of attention. But most importantly i think his work with Kris Meeke and projects like the R4, thats where his experience is best placed now.

ultimately it was his fault but then again he only made it because the car isnt suited for that kind of track

Quote from jamesrowe :

Was his error, if he had pointed the wheels left then they might not have dug in the dust/dirt/sand as much! Might have not rolled then.

you can tell this guy knows his stuff when it comes to rally(cross)

I think he was trying to set the car up as far sideways as he could so that he could gain time by not having to turn as much to complete the hairpin. I remember watching that live but I cant remember what he said after his run. Plus, how would he know that he was ahead of Pastrana? If he knew, I am pretty sure he would have taken it a little easier. Just my opinion.

Quote from Shotglass :

Quote:
Originally Posted by jamesrowe
Was his error, if he had pointed the wheels left then they might not have dug in the dust/dirt/sand as much! Might have not rolled then.

you can tell this guy knows his stuff when it comes to rally(cross)

No offense but thats common sense.. If he had turned his wheels left it would have meant he didnt mean to load the front left on landing at all, which is laughable for a pro with such a long run in to the jump. He was committed to the turn, he just misjudged the strength of the suspension to be able to handle the load he threw onto it in my opinion. It was too soft so it sunk down, bottomed out, caught a bit of body, skipped, and then caught more of the body which rolled him.
Turning the wheels left to prevent the roll would've showed that he made an obvious driver error by taking the jump incorrectly. However he entered it correctly and was therefore committed. I think the suspension wasn't able to immediately bounce that massive load back to his right and so it bottomed out and dug in. Him misjudging his suspension's capabilities is obviously driver error as well but I dont think the way he entered the turn was an error in technique which is what I personally was really curious about.

I think it is the car and ramp's fault to be honest. McRae's angle would be fine on most other surfaces... just look at WRC and the angles they land at. The car sagged A LOT on the landing, and that's some pretty weak suspension (or a heavy rally car)... plus, stadium ramps are rather soft and easy to break up, which is another thing that resulted in the car catching the edge more.

I really don't think McRae made a mistake entirely, just the conditions and the cars they used in the X-Games were not that great.