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-   -   One less Carrera GT in the world. (http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-general-discussions/2819-one-less-carrera-gt-world.html)

eslai 06-02-2005 10:07 PM

One less Carrera GT in the world.
 
http://www.nbc4.tv/news/4562562/detail.html

This, folks, is why you really need to take care of yourself if you ever get on a track. California Speedway is pretty fast and if you're not a race car driver, try not to
pretend you are one. Two people dead--completely unnecessary. :(

R.I.P.

phrankandbeanz 06-02-2005 11:15 PM

The guy who crashed his car is Ben. I have talked to him quite a few times and when I heard of his passing today, I was truly stunned. This isn't the time to leave comments of negativity, but lets celebrate his life for the people that knew him. He leaves behind a wife and a newborn daughter. Ben I will miss you.

jiggysubman 06-02-2005 11:56 PM

Ben's family will be in my thoughts....
Guys, our cars are fast and fun, but we've got to remember our limits. Cutting that second off our lap time or testing the top speed is not worth this. Please be careful out there.

PAH 06-03-2005 03:42 AM

Awful news, and I feel terribly for his young family.

The car, although badly damaged around the edges, is not so bad in the passenger compartment. It actually looks to have held up quite well. Surprising therefore that both passengers were killed. I guess you don't know what sort of impact it was, and the level of forces on the occupants. I'm assuming that both were wearing safety belts, but it looks like someone hit the windscreen.

We're all very fragile really, especially in these fast cars.

RandallNeighbour 06-03-2005 05:54 AM

This makes me sad.

Brucelee 06-03-2005 05:57 AM

Rest in Peace!

RandallNeighbour 06-03-2005 08:12 AM

I've thought about this accident a lot more since my previous post. It's impacted me. I can't seem to get it off my mind.

For years I have said that if I had to choose a way to die it would be in my Porsche at a very high rate of speed... I'd be doing something I loved and it would probably be an instantaneous death and not painful for too long of a time if at all.

[I fully realize Ben had no intention of ending his life—he was just enjoying his dream car with a friend along for the ride... so don't read anything into the above statement that isn't there.]

I'm now praying for the two families who are greiving and will go through life without a husband, father, brother or friend, not to mention co-workers and employees. May God grant each of them peace during what is probably the worst days of their lives.

PSP 06-03-2005 08:58 AM

Very Sad

I didn't know Ben personally, but I did "know" him through his posts on other boards (FerrariChat, 6speed). He was a true enthusiast.

We should all take away the lesson that when playing with "big boy" toys, you have to weigh the potentially deadly consequences. A few months ago, we had a rather heated discussion about exhibitions of speed on a public street. A tragedy like this happened on a track under conditions that would be all too common on the local boulevard.

It's just not worth it.

Porschekid 06-03-2005 10:43 AM

Some extra info that I picked up for those who are interested...

Quote:

Originally Posted by .
The passenger was another amazing guy and friend, Cory Rudl. I was with them both. Cory's Murceilago Roadster overheated early in the session. He was interested in buying a GT and Ben graciously offered Cory a seat to show him what the car could do. The entrance to the track was at the absolute worst place in the straight and an F-car was waived on in error as they came down the straight. It was just unthinkable something like this could happen. The driver waived on is by all accounts an excellent driver and was only doing what was instructed. I doubt he ever saw the car in such a blind spot coming on. May they both rest in peace and my heartfelt prayers for their families. Cory leaves behind a wonderful wife of just 30 days.......tragic isn't the word.

Quote:

Originally Posted by .
This was a FOC event:

... Ferrari entered the track near the end of the main straight a way (right before the spot where they place the "K" barriers for the chicane) Carrera GT owner Ben Keaton.."twitched" and flipped the car up on the K barrier. From what we gather: The GT owner took a second lap after the parade lap (he wasnt supposed too)

Rumor: there was no pit marshall letting cars out onto the track at the time of the accident.

We had multiple customers running the Ferrari event. Phone calls to the shop started flooding in.

I *think* I have pics of the car prior to accident.

Sorry to hear about this. We knew the guy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by .
The person driving the vehicle who was behind him (Ferrari Stradale) just called us and told us what happened from his view. He was first on the scene. He said the GT past him at over 150mph as they eased onto the straigh a way and was traveling close to 165mph when he saw the car swerve. He got his car stopped and was first on the scene. One person was DOA and the other (driver) passed away in the helicopter enroute to the hospital.

What happened with the pit marshall:

Marshall saw the GT coming and gave the Ferrari owner the "GO" Ferrari guy hesitated.. looked back at the track.. passenger was shouting "GO".. then marshall says "STOP" and the Ferrari guy takes off.

Now: If the GT was moving at 165+ and the pit marshall wasnt familiar with cars generating that kind of speed (I'm doubting he was a CA Speedway employee) I could easily see how a split second hesitation on behalf of the driver could really mess things up.

This sucks. The passenger had just jumped into the GT. He was thinking about buying one and wanted a hot lap in it. Several of the FOC members are on their way to his house to "inform" his wife.


Pilot2519j 06-03-2005 10:48 AM

Bummer
 
No joy in reading about the accident. Suffice to say that we all have in our hands powerful cars of the same ilk and that go extremely fast and can have the same catastrophic results. With that said bear in mind when you have a*** holes that want to race with you and at that point you should remember the ones you can leave behind. These two fellows that were at the prime of life and now they are dead. I feel for the families they left behind.
Vayan con Dios Amigos!

Stryke 06-03-2005 10:50 AM

Ben was a good guy. I just spoke to him last week. I feel for his wife and their new daughter. :(

RIP Buddy! :(

eslai 06-03-2005 11:02 AM

Wow. So that sounds like a total f-up at the track. :(

Seeing as how I wasn't there I can't make any comments about this although i have a lot of things I'd love to say. It really really angers me when I see accidents at track days because they almost always were avoidable. Mistakes happen though. :(

Best of luck to all of the families involved. A sad day indeed. :(

Richard EVO 06-03-2005 01:11 PM

Very sad. I drove the California Speedway ROVAL (road course with 2/3 of Nascar Oval) last friday May 27. There were a few times when there was no one at start finish waving cars onto the track.

eslai 06-03-2005 01:17 PM

This is so weird. I just got this piece of spam that talks about this death. Apparently Corey, the passenger, is some big-time "internet marketer", which, of course, means "spammer" no matter how they try to spin it.

I'm still sorry for their families of course, no one deserves to die, i just thought it was a weird occurence.

Date: Fri, 3 Jun 2005 16:17:37 -0400
From: Ron LeGrand <Steve@RonLeGrand.com>
To: Eric Lai
Subject: We have sad 'shocking' news to announce...


Dear Eric,

It's with great sadness that I send you this email. We are postponing Ron LeGrand's newsletter this week in order to inform friends of a great loss we are experiencing.

Internet marketing "legend" Corey Rudl passed away in a tragic car racing accident late last night in California. Corey was only 34 and recently married. I'm posting the Associated Press bulletin concerning this at the end of this email.

We are in total shock. We scheduled Corey as a surprise to teach you his success strategies at our Las Vegas event. Corey has touched many, many lives and has helped countless numbers of people realize their dreams. This is a HUGE loss.

My advice to you is to take action in your lives, mend any broken relationships, make sure you're right with God and please take a moment to make sure your loved ones know how much you care about them. None of us know just how long we have.

A good friend of mine Ernie Kessler, who has also passed, once gave me a book called, "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff". It's times as this that causes me to see just what small stuff we fight over sometimes. It's just not worth our happiness and relationships.

Corey will be missed, forever. All of our love and sympathy goes out to Corey's family, and to all those affected by his passing.

Sincerely,

The entire Global Publishing family!

<news article was right here>

We are proud to be a spam free company. We include an easy opt-out link which
works at the click of your mouse and you'll be auto-matically removed from future emails. If you feel this link has not worked, please let me know and I'll personally remove your email address.

Steve Duce
Steve@RonLeGrand.com



If you no longer wish to receive communication from us:
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To update your contact information:
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Brucelee 06-03-2005 03:04 PM

Turns out I was admiring Cory's car several weeks ago. It was loaned by Cory to Hoen Porsche for a tech session that took place the evening.

The car was magnificent and it was very kind that he was lending a hand to spread the Porsche word.

Sad indeed!

Perhaps we will have no more top speed threads for a while? This is to remind us that no one is immune when human error occurs.

Rest in Peace, Cory!

limoncello 06-04-2005 05:44 PM

This is a true tragedy. My prayers are with the family for their loss, and to the pit marshall and Ferrari driver who will see the accident repeatedly for the remainder of their lives. Spammer or no, I mourn the loss of an fellow human and automotive enthusiast, even though I never knew him.

Brucelee 06-04-2005 07:17 PM

Amen! RIP!

Perfectlap 06-05-2005 08:09 PM

http://www.kozmanautos.com/benlj.htm


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