Sports cars are designed to be driven fast and the Chevrolet Corvette C7 (Z06) is no exception. Packing a 6.2-liter supercharged V8, this 2-seater sports car is capable of hitting speeds of 196 mph. And according to Fastest Laps, it can hit 60 in 3.5 seconds. This car is race ready!
So a track day in one of these cars should be a lot of fun. But not always. As the proud owner of one of these cars found out, to his detriment, when he took his car to the Willow Springs Raceway in California.
A video showcasing the unfortunate event, along with a dreary music soundtrack, appeared on YouTube.
Footage Shows The Corvette Z06 Crash At Willow Springs
The film starts with footage of the owner's gleaming yellow Corvette arriving at the raceway. Then it moves on to show the driver setting up the car’s Performance Data Recorder (PDR) and preparing the car for the run. The mood inside the car already appears quite somber.
Accompanied by two other guys who are helping to film the event, he pulls onto the track and approaches the first corner at about 60 mph. Okay so far. But it’s when he's accelerating on the straight that things go wrong. The car fishtails off the track into a grassy area. As it leaves the tarmac it rolls, possibly twice, and ends up on its roof. You can hear the occupants groaning as the camera captures what’s happening inside the car.
Then we get to see some still shots of the car lying face down with the emergency services in attendance. Luckily they all escape unhurt. But the car looks completely totaled. Surprisingly, the roof is completely collapsed in.
Post Accident: Assessing The Corvette Z06's Damage
We also get to see the group of guys, who all look pretty shaken up, after the accident. “Well it was fun while it lasted, it’s a good war story” says one as race officials return one of the scratched racing helmets, just to rub salt in the wound. The badly damaged car then arrives on the back of a low-loader at the exit enclosure where they're waiting. One of the passengers sums the sad event up quite well “As far as racing goes… we kinda had a boo boo!”.
It’s not a nice thing to gloat over people’s misfortunes, but this video is useful, and in a strange way it's informative. The Vette owner is a brave guy for allowing the whole world to see his mishap. Because it is embarrassing to watch him lose control and total his shiny new ride. But perhaps this short film will serve as a useful warning to other high-performance sports car drivers that think track driving is easy.
One explanation for the crash could be the temperature of the tires. If they hadn’t had a chance to warm up they could have caused a major oversteer, which the driver was unable to correct. Or it could be that there was a problem with the pressure in the tires, or even the track may have been at fault. Oil may have been the cause.
Whether it was driver error, a car fault, or the track that caused this accident, it’s not too clear. But this event should not deter other sports car owners from what is a terrifically fun sport. With the benefit of a small amount of professional tuition, track days can be safe and enjoyable for everyone, even Corvette owners.