AKA : Takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'.

Well, I went to a HPDE @ Laguna Seca last Friday, and had a pretty rough day.
Things started off pretty well: The track was wet but drying off, the sky was sunny, there were few people so the track was very open. Car felt great, even with VDC on.

But then, at practically the end of the first session, I got a little wide in turn six, hit the rumble strip on the outside edge of the track (which was still slightly wet), causing the back end to come around and shoot me back across the track into the inside wall.

Luckily there was a tire barrier which absorbed much of the impact. I ended up being fine, and the car still runs well, so all-in-all I guess I got pretty lucky.

I ended up breaking my front left TPS/tire valve stem, but put on the spare and drove into Salinas to get a standard stem installed. I then went back and drove two more sessions just to make sure eveything was working well.

I feel totally dumb, but there were many others who went off the track. Also, an instructor went off in a Mazda RX-8 and got some slight damage and someone in a 911 GT-2 went off with more serious damage.

I probably won't be driving at Laguna again, simply because there is so little room for error, and instead I'll stick with Thunderhill which has tons of room for runoff.

I'll be getting some estimates from local collision centers, so if any of you SF Bay Area people know of good shops, let me know.

Here are some pics.

-D'oh!

 

Another:

 

Last one:

 

Oh man, that sucks. That's my greatest fear about going to a track, thus the reason I've never went. I don't think insurance is gonna cover that either, are they?

 

I'll be talking to the insurance company tomorrow, so we'll see what they have to say.

If any of you dealer/shop types have ideas on good options to fix the car, I'm all ears.

I know I'll need at least the following:
Left headlight assembly
Left rearview mirror assembly
Left front quarter panel
Left door panel (actually, this part might be repairable)
A-pillar exterior trim
Left inner fender liner
Front facia

Any advice is appreciated.

Later,
D'oh!

 

PM your list to Jason@Performance . He should be able to save you a bunch of money on the parts anyway.

 

D'oh, sorry about your misfortune. Glad you're OK! Good luck with you're insurance. I'm always afraid of something like this happening to me.......sooooooo, I doubt I'll ever set any track records. I need to leave room for .......... opps.

BUT.....tracking is tooooooo much fun to be afraid!

 

Guys, in case the worst happens, check out this
http://www.americancollectorsins.com/driversed.htm
For about $500 a year, you can rest easy...

 

I was under the impression that if the event was not timed, then your insurance will cover the damages.

 

OUCH bummer dude.. hope your insurances foots the bill and you have no issues with them.

besides the downer as far as a track goes how is Laguna seca fun course and would you recommend it?

 

So sorry man. I guess your forum name is appropriate now.
Club Z seemed to say that instructor lead events are insurance covered. I'm sure there's something in the 4pt font print in your insurance materials stating otherwise.
I'd just say I smacked the highway divider after hydroplaning or similar and not worry

 

Thanks for the support guys.
Jeff, I'll probably be in contact with you guys once I have a shop check the car over.

Yeah, Laguna Seca is a hell of alot of fun. The elevation changes especially are very exciting. Going down the main straight and through turn one under the starter bridge is totally freaky, since at that point you are going around 90 MPH up a slight hill and you have no idea what's on the other side. I think that is the scariest corner even though it's basically straight. The corkscrew and everything after until the main straight is also tons of fun, since you are careening down a steep hill.

The only problem is that there is not much room for run-off, so if you end up making a mistake, then you have a decent chance of hitting something.

-D'oh!

 

ouch

 

Ouch. Good luck on the insurance and estimates--from what I understand, untimed events or DE days are covered, but ya never really know until you read your policy or talk to your agent.

Glad to hear that you're okay, and very glad that those tires were there instead of you hitting the wall.

 

I have worked in the insurance industry for 35+years. I want to address the subject of insurance for physical damage to your car during a track day.

Each insurance company handles it differently. READ YOUR POLICY. Look under "Exclusions". It is very easy to find this section.

Don't let anyone tell you something like "Because it is an untimed evert it is covered." My old Allstate policy did cover it. My new, renewal policy does not cover it.

Most insurance companies have figured out that track days are more dangerous than regular driving and most exclude track day damage.

 

Ouch! Sorry man.

 

that sucks man...

I just checked NASA's HPDE event calendar though... There wasn't a Laguna event listed on their calendar. The next one is Feb. 2004 and I was just at the Laguan event w/ NASA in Nov. 2003 with ImportRiders and AlohaRacing w/ our Z's.

I'm pretty sure HPDE is only with NASA?

 

Most insurance companies should cover it, but you'll likely be dropped from your policy immediately thereafter. But as veeracer said, check your policy, and do it before you even dream of showing the insurance company what happened (in this day in age, even if you don't claim it, they will have record that you had damage and are therefore at "higher risk".).

 

Sorry about your car Doh. Just did a track day at laguna and went off twice in turn 11. Fortunately I didnt hit anything. Very fun track but Doh is right, little room for error. In all the sessions I had at least one person went off the track.

 

ahaha oops. I think you ran with speedventures that day (?) methinks, not HPDE/NASA?

my confusion has been self aleviated. hope you get that car fixed.