I didn't hear anything about the driver, so I assume he was unhurt, and as I said upthread, the instructor cut his lip or bit his tongue, and the consensus was that he benefited from being shorter than average.
Yeah, I'm lucky nothing like this happened to me in the year I was running with harnesses but without a rollbar. Of course, I wasn't a rank newbie back then, but I'm glad I have that bar.

 

Just out of curiosity do you drive a Le Mans Sunset with Injen Super SES Cat-Back Exhaust System ?

 

No. Bone stock, except for SS brake lines and the rollbar/harnesses.

 

I have an off topic question. How much does it cost to start getting into racing my Z on a track. I'm guessing I need a license which I believe I'v seen for about $3k or so. Does that sound right and are there any other costs.

 

Redman... do a search... many threads about that exact subject... and the answers to your questions will hijack this thread beyond return.

 

i want that car's headlights

 

+2.... Not worth the risk for me. And the random deer and oil spills, yikes.

 

Redman... here's a thread to start reading... https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....ow+to+track+my

This one's not too bad either: https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....ow+to+track+my

I've found that many of the thread I'm thinking of are imbedded in other threads that may not be easily identifiable as answering your questions.

I'm still looking

 

rich150001 and 05-Z, and anyone else: don't let these pictures scare you off. This is extremely rare, and as long as you listen to your instructor and don't do anything stupid, like try to break the track record your first day, you'll be fine.

The vast majority of new students (at least 99%) have no incidents at all, and just have a great time learning advanced driving techniques and about their car and themselves.

In that other one percent, the majority of driving errors new students make are spins or off-course excursions that cause no damage or, at worst, minor scratches. Most of the cars in that one percent drive home. It's rare to see dents, and very rare for cars to be undriveable or totalled.

Rarest of all (in my experience) are multi-car incidents. I can't think of any that I've ever seen at a FATT, and only a very small number at other non-racing track events. What this means is that what happens to you and your car on track is entirely in your control. You are probably safer, from a statistical point of view, on the track than you are out on the street.

So don't let a few scary pictures keep you from coming out and having the most fun you can with your pants on.

 

I realize that the passing restrictions are for safety reasons and I don't have a problem with them. I got pretty good marks from my instructor but I know I still need a lot more instruction. If he hadn't pointed out the flag stands, I wouldn't have seen one all day. I was just venting because I got behind a guy who was going considerably slower but would never give the signal to pass. Incidentally, it was another Z. I know I could have pitted, but I always thought he would let me pass. Oh well, I still had a great time and am looking forward to next year. I am curious as to how differently I would drive without an instructor with me. As far as VIR goes, I just got my Z last year and have not had a chance to get to VIR. I will definitely watch the schedule and try to make it if I can.

BTW, thanks for the pics from BSR. I really didn't expect anyone to know much about the incident. That is really not the way I would want to buy my next sports car.

 

Summit Point, WV. 05/2005

I was just curious because I believe this 350Z also belongs to an instructor.

 

Don't be silly. The dangerous place is the highway with mom in a mini van on the cell phone and scolding the kids. I would much rather be on the track with other drivers who are paying attention to what the hell they are doing.

 

After I did an HPDE, I realized how much more the average Joe sucks at driving. I feel a lot safer on the track than the street.

Seeing a deer cross at the track would make me crap my pants.

 

I have video footage of a deer running out in front of me between turns 2 and 3 at The Point. Although it is from my old CVHS camcorder and I cannot convert to digital to view on PC. Talk about heart in your throat! That same weekend; although I don't know if it was the same deer, a 911 hit a deer on the front straight away on the SP track right before the brake zone at around 150mph! The deer flew 25 or 30 yards into the air and landed in the rocky infield area. The driver kept the car straight, hit the brakes and let the car come to a stop in the kitty litter. The driver was OK. The 911, not so OK. The deer had to be out down. This was Fall 2005 at a Porsche DE event. I think The Point needs to beef up their fencing around the facility. I have been at events where people have hit big turkeys and groundhogs, but you would think that you should be able to keep deer out with a decent fence.