Chaos under the safety car as the leading Toyota #8 of Sebastian Buemi comes to a stop multiple times eventually for, the #71 GTE AM Ferrari hits the wall and Glickenhaus and Alpine also in trouble #WEC #Hypercar #Spa
Indeed, I forgot the race was on a Saturday so I tuned in during the second red flag and I was so confused as to what happened and why there were LMP2 cars in the lead. Apparently, there already had been another red flag lol And since WEC's live timing isn't freely available and my only source being the French-Belgian broadcast (because the Dutch-speaking part doesn't broadcast WEC), I was hella confused and couldn't find any explanations. WEC should really put up a 'blog' like Formula 2 does during their races.
Can anyone explain to me why its dangerous to touch the car while its having Hybrid issues? I thought they would have safety measures put in place to make it safe?
If there is a major electrical failure, as seen with #8, and there is potential for a short circuit in the Hybrid system which therefore electrifies the car, bodywork and all, the rubber tires insulate the car from the ground. The driver is at an equal potential V+ of electrons when in the car if there is a short. Therefore if the driver touched the ground and the car at the same time, he creates a closed circuit to the ground and all of the energy that is in those batteries in the car will flow through the driver to the ground, electrocuting the driver with deadly consequences. Therefore by jumping from the car, Seb does not create that short to the earth and does not face any chance of electrocution. There is a procedure for grounding out the car once the driver is out of the car and it essentially entails of a heavy gauge wire, a large metal contact that it firmly placed against the ground so it cannot move, and a large alligator clamp on the other end. The reason for getting the driver out so quickly is to reduce the risk to the driver of any potential fire or explosion risk that comes from shorted out batteries for the hybrid system.
Additionally, if you've ever stepped out of a car after driving somewhere and then touched any metal part of the car once standing on the ground, you've probably felt a small shock of "static" electricity. That is because the car was at a different electric potential to the ground, however the rubber tires of the car prevented those from equalizing. Now that you are standing on the ground, and touched the car, that difference in electric potential (which can be described as Volts, by definition) is equalized through your body, resulting in a small shock. Not imagine if that small shock, which is likely less than .01 of a volt, was more like 300-400 volts and that ran through your body. In the Hypercar there are plenty of amps available in those batteries to go with that high voltage. It could be deadly if the driver does not jump clear of the car.
