1987 IMSA GTP Bob Wolleck crash at Sears Point

[slinginguitarman]

quick response vehicle my ass,i most people coulda got there faster on a  bicycle than they did in a porsche

[I8ASUPRAforLUNCH]

Good man, Jochen Mass, most drivers in so high a position wouldnt have stopped, but back the being a teammate meant something.

[CRXSI1987]

that wasnt the "okay" symbol, who is that? is that bob varsha commentating, you fucking idiot. if you dont know what the symbol means dont run your mouth. That is a call for an ambulance.

[teambuildingtv]

I was at Sebring when we got the news about the bicycle accident. All the miles, all the quick decisions and this. We are all just penciled in.

[cattaghia]

"So it looks it was a tyre problem" -- this right under a big tyre manufacturer banner, and having the same manufacturer sponsoring your rear wing. Some marketing executive may have lost his job....

[silverninethirty]

Its crazy that some asshole killed him while he was riding his bike. What a shame.

[CookieDude1178999]

Oh Lynn St. James. I was wondering who the hell this was.

[FoxifiedNutjob]

Alot of people don't know it, but Bob won 3 gold medals for skiing.

[FoxifiedNutjob]

MOliscous, great quality on the video, specially for '87. Keep em coming!

Good job!

[hockeyfour4]

i was there. i was 8 years old standing on the fence in the esses. my dad pulled me away because he thought Bob was dead.

[d4r4h4n]

Obvisously, the 962 has a cfrp body, but it still has a aluminimum monocoque, just like it´s predescessor the 956. If he crashed nose first, he would be dead, just like Stefan Bellof on Spa 1985.

[claryscat]

I was standing in the shade of flag stand. In the slo-mo in car camera shot I can see my self for a blip. The tire exploded right in front of me. My memory is that the car launched and hit the under side of the concrete bridge footing. I thought BW was dead! They never announced his condition on the PA. the life flight chopper came but didn't take back off for hours I thought he was dead, didn't find out 'til the next day he survived. Bob went on the race Le Mans three weeks later. Tough guy!

[AaronApolloCamp]

Forgot about Steven Wallace, didn't I?

[AaronApolloCamp]

No, Scott Goodyear has that locked. Rusty is a close second.

[mrfunbro]

It's safe to say St. James is not the best commentator in the world.

[AaronApolloCamp]

It's safe to say that she isn't the worst commentator, either.

[mrfunbro]

Agreed :)

[funnychiklvsJH]

I was standing right at the turn 1-2 bridge when this accident occured. My dad pulled me away from the fence as the car was above our heads then landed on the dirt hill and rolled towards the track.  Wow!!

[alouistheman]

who better to have in the commentary booth that lynn st. james for a crash like this?

[VooDooRocketry]

Earthen embankments don't make a crash wall......surprise, surprise.

[AaronApolloCamp]

Race circuit designers should have learned that in 1955, when over 80 spectators and one driver were killed when a car literally flew into the stands at Le Mans. The only thing that protected the spectators from the racetrack was an earthen embankment.

[Fekmann]

Cars were so flimsy back then, before carbon fiber...they would just disintegrate in crashes.

[AaronApolloCamp]

That car was made from carbon fiber.

[NewWarriorWolf]

To AaronApolloCamp....the tub was not carbon...it was aluminum honeycomb.

[jws381]

@AaronApolloCamp May as well have been cardboard in that crash.

[Tymemaster2008]

we were there and watched the whole thing, the car went end over end sideways, and while I was sure he'd be ok thanks to the cage, my honey wasn't so sure, she thought he'd be dead.

[canericankev]

RIP BOB :-(

[kingdavid373]

@canericankev what hapen to him

[RocketJoker]

Jochen Maas(Porsche) überholt den Nissan

Jochen Mass(Porsche) overtake the Nissan

[BlueFox284]

Ugh, that was a heavy hit. . . especially that last when it finally came to rest.

[Mr911cerrera]

Wow that was nasty!!!

[janbonesplitter]

much people running and looking,... no help..

[dogboner2001]

1987 corner workers & safety team, jan. Can't judge their reactions by today's standards.

[adrenachrome05]

Agree on Jochen Mass, have to wonder in this modern age if a driver would give up 2nd place to stop & check a team-mates condition. Understand Bob Wolleck was a lovely guy......

[BMWizardofOz]

they have team radio today, that would give information better than watching when passing.

And you wouldn´t loose positions when driving slow there today, too, because a safety car would be out. Safety standards are totally different today, too, because just 2 years before Mass had seen the crashes of Bellof and Winkelhock being fatal, Winkelhocks accident was in a 962 like this, and Bellof´s in a 956.

So it´s a different sport in these aspects today.

[NewWarriorWolf]

Just a slight correction BMWWizardofOz...I was a team member on the car and this was not a standard 962. It was Jim Chapman honeycomb tub we had only used for a few races. If Bob had been in a sheet-aluminum stock 962, he would have been killed; period. As it was, the seat back split apart leaving him loose in the belts after the first impact. He suffered bruising pretty much everywhere and a broken rib. I knew Bob very well and miss him greatly.

[IC2720]

That was when Bob Wolleck was raceing with Jim Busbee's racing team. Bob was a genuine decent guy, he sadly died in a dumb accident when he was struck on his bicycle by a motorist.

[dumbass45601]

Bob Varsha and Lynn St. James on commentary. You have to love how Jochen Mass stopping by to see how Wolleck is doing. Definitely old school there.

[intimidatorno3ca]

@dumbass45601

I thought that was Varsha's voice. Amused he was reassuring the viewers that he was OK (regarding the signal the corner workers made) That "A" they all made with their arms was the signal for needing an Ambulance. LOL