Almost as incredible is that this same guy blew an engine on his C6 Z06 at a track day, also in spectacular fashion. One day people will figure out that they’re not race car drivers lol. This is his 2nd RS4. Wonder if he’ll chance it on a 3rd.
and I’m pretty sure he almost crashed his old RS4 too…ended up half a mile off track in a foot of mud or something. It was nuts.
oh, and if history is any indication, you will need to watch the video quickly. It may get taken down
(I think that’s the quattrofail standard move when you wreck your RS4 at a track day, and then decide to attempt to blame and defraud insurance/aftermarket parts companies. Or maybe that’s just Mickf29’s M.O.)
here’s the ‘off’ from the old video he posted. Skip to the 1 minute mark. He seems to be REALLY pushing the car (there are other videos of him spinning out the same day). Then he hits the paint at high speeds…never a good decision. Those old school mizuno batting gloves didn’t help him lololol.
This stuff can happen. I’ve seen rollovers at far slower speeds than even that, like 45 MPH on a caution lap.
First, I don’t like Willow Springs or Streets of Willow because they’re very narrow tracks, with poor tarmac and weird desert runoff (no smooth surface if you go off). Second, we can’t see his hands or the steering wheel but I bet his left hand is on top of the wheel trying to turn it right, instead of holding it straight. Classic error and his instructor should have righted the wheel in this case. It’s rare to have to correct a students driving by stealing control back, but sometimes words aren’t enough (“go off straight…now…ok i’ll help you”). But since everyone who has played Playstation is a driving expert he probably didn’t have an instructor.
That’s why I personally pay for insurance while at the track. Around $300/2 day event. I think most insurance companies are smart enough to know what’s up with these HPDE’s. But some people claim they are covered under their normal policy.
Here’s my “off” video…got very lucky, definitely remember the first thing they told us was to keep the wheels straight when going off.
A lot of people try to “fight” to save the car. I’ve had two close calls with the RS5. Once where I lost brakes at Oregon Raceway Park (same track where I posted my “close call” above). And another in Laguna Seca where I put two tires off track at the exit of Turn 3. For both instances, I straightened the wheel and braced myself.
For ORP, while straightening, I pumped the brakes and I got enough to just make the corner and I limped the car slowly back to the paddocks (lol good thing I built a HUGE lead ahead of the cars I overtook a few laps prior).
For Laguna, I straightened the steering wheel, and the car was surprisingly stable, so I very carefully steered the car back on track (anticipating the change in grip as the tires would come back onto the track surface).
Very important why you keep your hands at the “9” and “3” - so that you’ll always know which way is straight.
If you think about it, a lot of things are also out of your control. Some cars that run on the track are project cars, and tend to dump fluids and oil on the track surface, which is scary to drive on. Not to mention other people, who might lose brakes…who knows. Plus your equipment could fail, worse case being brake system.
Same reason why you wouldn’t drive your car uninsured on public roads. The risks are obviously different, but in that sense, so is the payment ;D
Only thing about the HPDE insurance is the deductible is monstrous (like 10-15%), so you’re only really using it if the car gets totaled.
Got very lucky :o, no I believe the hazards came on due to coding emergency lights in VCDS?
Do you keep any ESC on?
What you say about 9 - 3 is exactly what I was told by test engineers who do limit handling maneuvers. While the HPDE instructors tell you to “spider walk” the wheel so you’re always at 9 - 3 regardless of the steering wheel angle. I figured the first method was better, so when I have to cross, I always keep one hand on the wheel to enforce habit…gets kind of awkward when going around the parking lot ;D
I actually know who this dude is. Haven’t shared the track with him because he does mostly SoCal events like Buttonwillow and Spring Mountain (Nevada). I tend to run with the BMW club when I go to Buttonwillow.
I think most of the forum knows who he is. He made a video for Audi and won a contest 7 yeras ago, the prize being a 2 year lease on an RS4. He posted it on every forum, and the forum votes won him the contest. The video is on his youtube, which is under his full name. He works at GoPro.
Looking at the aftermath pics, just goes to show how well this platform is built in terms of safety. Incredible he was able to just walk away with minor bruising. Not a single panel is salvageable…
On an offtopic, could we get some GoPro groupbuy or discounts LOL
