Big crash during 1986 IMSA Riverside race

[cakraft24]

was right across from the pits when this happened. my 5 year old daughter had gotten Lynn St.James autograph on her race hat just before the race started. Doc Bundy wasn't being very smart, but i guess that's pretty obvious.

i loved those Ford Mustang/Probe GTP cars.

[Porsche996driver]

Was a wild track. No real safety considerations even in 1986. All those great old tracks.

[105kissy]

imagine being inside the crash helmets of lyn st james and chip robinson

[Creigs9]

Half of the track is a shopping mall ( the freeway side). A housing track in the middle. Mixed businesses on the other end. Wikipedia has a nice section on RIR.

[shironissan]

I miss this track. I grew up here.

[klepetar]

a day at the office

[MRooter]

Killer cars...always loved IMSA. Yeah, 3 cars wide there when the outside starts turning left...not good.

[SamFisherOO]

those spectators were lucky with all that debris flying around everywhere

[SamFisherOO]

those spectators were lucky

[timcomeau]

I was there as "over crew" member of Paul and Margie Smith-Haas in their GTU Innovon Porsche 924 GTR. I heard the noise and looked up to see the GTP Probe of Lynn St. James skittering down the outside guardrail of turn 1. I saw flames immediately afterwards and was hoping like hell that the driver made it out ok. I was very new to road racing then, having just bought my first Porsche, a sportomatic equipped 76 911S targa, in Dec of 1984. Other San Diego PCA members helping were Doug Hanson.

[timcomeau]

@timcomeau ......By the way, I have never seen this event again before this video. That was 25 years ago!

[timcomeau]

@timcomeau ...and another thing...I have pics of the Holbert Special #14 throwing flames on the upshift between turns 1 and 2! Plus other cool pics. Al Holbert is the reason I answer my crew chiefs inputs with a calm and simple, "Thank you." ....Just like Al did...............just like Al did.

[spoolenturbo]

I was standing by this accident!!! I was 8yrs old with my Father, we were standing 3 cars in from the corner where Lyn St James crashed. I was all crying in tears thinking she was going to burn to death. She was one of my favorite drivers at 8yrs old... lmao... THANKS for the memories!!!!

[CRXSI1987]

geeze i wouldve just let that probe burn.....after lynn was out of it of course.

[slotfiend]

I was at this race,I remember sitting farther up the track by the "esses"and trying to run over and see what happened!  Thanks for posting this I had many memeries from Riverside Raceway. I was also there the year before when Rolf Stollimen was killed in turn 9

[0tispunkm3y3r]

these cars like to take off when they go sideways.... and its still a problem i dont think they quite fixed even today.

[douglass31]

We were there (GTO Camaro), pitted near the end.

Amazing thing is it didn't look near as bad in person as it happened.

Guess you can't take it all in in real time.

[artbyval]

I was there, running by the bridge, worked for Andial Porsche and once I saw the smoke, ran for the pits, ran into Lynn a couple of months later and people were still asking her how she survived, Lynn is a totally nice person. They ran the track out by building condos right next to it, noise complaints shut it down, it was a test site for plant chemicals for 10 years, then they built condos on top of it, they should have the soil sampled. Turn 9 was a slow sweeper, banked and got tighter, cool.

[RedWolf50]

ESPN used this in their SpeedWorld intro in the late 80s. I was hunting around Youtube and found it last week as saw this accident. Thanks for posting it, I was wondering what the circumstances were behind it.

[3intimid8or]

@RedWolf50 So was I, I found the 1987 intro to speedworld and it was there so I looked it up and found this.

[mackc6r]

strange how the announcer describes the crash as terrific, and when the car re-ignites he describes it as a terrific fire

[supersevenn]

Yea, that spot is now a neighborhood :(

[Fwibbib19]

why does the commentater keep saying its 'terrific" lol

[playingbass45]

I remember seeing this crash once on Real TV, and as soon as I saw this clip, I remembered it from that show. Amazing that they all walked away. If that occurred on one of today's circuits, I don't think we would have seen the Jaguar flip as violently as it did.

[ololi123]

WoW! Big Crash!

[sykondar]

I was at that race, all the drivers walked away. That Probe wouldn't stop burning. I think they closed the track for a condo development, losers.

[sosome57]

@sykondar It was really disappointing when they closed the track. I managed to make a few races there before they did it. It opened in 1957 and closed in 1989. From Wiki: "Fritz Duda turned the "House that Dan Gurney built" into a shopping mall which opened in 1992." Pigs.

[mikethenascarfan]

why did thay close the track

[wildbeemer]

property development, i believe - last NASCAR race in 1988 - last race (not sure of series) was in 1989 on a shorter course because development had begun on the backstretch, taking that part of the track away

[mikethenascarfan]

did he say "just a terrific accident" at 36? wtf???

[seantib]

Jez, looks a war zone! Did they all survive that carnage?

[playingbass45]

Yes, they did. It's in the description.

[deadheat007]

Wow! Thats so bad

[bajamilton]

I worked for RIR at that time were driving by right at that point when the wreck happend . We Stopped for crowed control and we actually had to go over the fence and chase down 3 souvenir seekers that were trying to get at peices of the cars these guy's almost made it to the asphalt when we caught up to them . The race was under yellow but the track was still hot .The guy I grabbed acted all put out I just wanted to smack him upside the head fo putting his ass and mine in a dangerous spot.

[LightningSteed]

I was right by that when it happened, I was riding in my buddy's car going under the tunnel,( I think the gold car) I was trying to pull my Nikon out of my bag but missed any shots.

I miss old Riverside raceway I had lots of great times there,saw allot of the cool IMSA, Nascar and Score races, camping out in the infield.

I suppose it is why I love road course.

The raceway should have been preserved for historical reasons.

thanks for posting this :O)

[jraybay]

Jesus you have to have some serious balls to drive one of those at that track. and the cars disintegrated like they were assembled from cardboard :\ .

[SummonInThunder]

yeah man, its insane, the way they just, fell apart!

[Miskojones]

lol this track was a dessert or what?

look at the tarmac lol i loved that competitions where they raced any track... miss it

[chschapira]

Yes, Riverside International Raceway was in the high dessert outside of Los Angeles. Google - Riverside International Raceway.

[WSBT960]

Funny thing Doc Bundy was driving that Probe the year before this. Before he switched to the Hendrick Corvette

[csampang1]

He also drove for Bob Tullius's Jaguar team in '84 IIRC...

[tallanominal]

they had balls of big steel for making 3 wide like that

[CR250R40]

Riverside is missed by me. An entertaining track. Much like Carlsbad Raceway. Great memories. I was sad to see them go. Still am.

[ziomkris1]

very good video- big crash 5/5

[gtaftw2]

I really think you have to admire drivers such as these. That was a HUGE crash and at about 0:57 it looks like they barely noticed. Thats hardcore.

[schupp78]

I know Doc Bundy personally and he is a great guy. You think that of him just because he caused this wreck? Nobody causes a wreck like that and risks somones life on purpose. It was an accident and that is why they call them accidents.

[phartblossom]

@schupp78

I know Doc, too. And Lyn. He is a fantastic driver and super guy. He used to live across the street from me. He gave my family pit passes for Road Atlanta every year and got us hooked on racing. I learned how to drive when I was 15 on the Road Atlanta track! What a way to learn to drive!!!

[moocowlopasurus]

doc bundy is such a dick... he really is an idiot

[OjaiRoy]

wolves16-This crash was caused by bundy, not the track. I saw many exciting races here.

Deano- I was there and took photos of the accident- go to pbase . com and search for

imsa gtp 1986

[wolves16]

Nothing good ever happened at Riverside.

It ate up many cars.

[DeanoTheLegend87]

I have seen this crash so many times, yet i have never seen the cars close up in the aftermath.

Just to see how badly damaged these cars were, good thing they were strong enough.