That "Supercar Experience" Could Be More Dangerous than You Think
#1
AZ Community Team
Thread Starter
That "Supercar Experience" Could Be More Dangerous than You Think
That "Supercar Experience" Could Be More Dangerous than You Think
to the driver and instructor
to the driver and instructor
This past Friday night, as my team was preparing our MX-5 Cup car for Saturday morning's AER race at Road Atlanta, I saw a friendly face walking up to me in the paddock. "You remember me, right?" he asked. "We did that supercar coaching thing together a few years ago. At Hallett."
"Oh yeah," I chuckled, thinking about a weekend where I scared myself silly sitting next to about two hundred different drivers who were experiencing a "supercar" for the first time. "I can't believe we both survived that."
"Me neither," my friend replied.
"You still doing it?" I inquired.
"Hell no," he said, and we had a long, hearty laugh before getting back to the work of our race weekend. I didn't give the conversation any further thought.
About thirty-six hours later, according to news reports, a customer at "SpeedVegas" lost control and crashed the supercar he was driving. In the fire that followed the impact, both the customer and the SpeedVegas instructor in the right seat lost their lives. The name of the customer has not been released. The instructor was Gil Ben-Kely, a double cancer survivor who had made a career and a life coaching supercar renters in Las Vegas.
When I heard about the incident, my first reaction was surprise—not that another instructor had been killed in a rental, but that it had happened at SpeedVegas. Like their competitors at Exotics Racing, SpeedVegas had spent the time and money to create a purpose-built track for the "supercar experiences," one that was specifically optimized to reduce risk for drivers and instructors. I haven't driven the SpeedVegas track, but I've done an endurance race at the EXR facility and I have to say that I was very impressed. It would be hard to have a serious crash there; the track surface is surrounded with deep pea gravel. My race partner (and brother) Mark went off backwards into that gravel at maybe 90mph during our race; he came to a halt thirty feet off the track surface with nothing injured but his pride.
There are plenty of supercar-rental companies out there using traditional racetracks. Some of them are relatively conscientious; others can best be described as "fly-by-night." But all of them have one major problem in common; they're putting inexperienced, often incompetent drivers behind the wheel of 200-mph cars on tracks that weren't designed for the purpose. In many cases, they're using racetracks that were designed fifty years ago for the safety challenges presented by hundred-horsepower British sports cars, not modern mid-engined monsters with five or six times that kind of shove. It's a recipe for major injuries and major lawsuits.
When you move the party to a purpose-built facility, the safety picture becomes a lot better—but that doesn't mean that all the risk is gone. Don Salisbury, the veteran race-flagger and safety worker who is front and center in the growing instructor-safety movement, puts it like this: "With the speeds the latest street cars can achieve... running stock fuel tanks, and without the protection offered by rollcages and other safety equipment... this kind of deadly incident becomes more likely."
Don went on to explain to me how the "supercar experiences" out there are learning the same lessons that the SCCA regions learned thirty years ago, and the same way: through violent, sometimes deadly, crashes. "OSHA has been called in to investigate these deaths," he noted. "Expect some change for in-car instructing .... OSHA is less guided by 'acceptable losses' or 'financial settlements' than the CEOs of the for-profit event providers. I am sure a few track owners will have a higher level of concern, starting today. Insurance underwriters' heads are up too."
THE HEART OF THE PROBLEM IS THIS: STREET CARS, EVEN STREET SUPERCARS, AREN'T REALLY DESIGNED TO CRASH AT 150-PLUS MILES PER HOUR.
I think the heart of the problem is this: Street cars, even street supercars, aren't really designed to crash at 150-plus miles per hour. They're paper tigers of a sort, with performance that can match or exceed the fastest GT-class race cars but safety systems that are optimized for 45-mph crash testing. It's bad enough when a purpose-built racecar crashes at high speed, but at least the chassis and cage and driver environment is designed to mitigate the effects of that crash. Put a street car with three-point belts, a lot of glass, and no cage into that situation, and the results can be deadly.
The only way to fix the situation is to set these rental-supercar places up with the same kind of in-car crash-safety preparation that the best IMSA racers get. But not only is that not an absolute guarantee of safety, it's also a profit-killer for the companies that rent them. Their business model relies on being able to re-sell the cars afterwards at little to no loss. How else can you explain letting people drive a Lamborghini for $59 a lap, knowing that the car will swallow five bucks' worth of gas and wear out $2,000 worth of tires and brakes every day? If the cars had to be modified for safety, they'd be worthless on the Miami used-exotic lots afterwards. And then the prices would start to look like the costs that Lamborghini Super Trofeo teams pay per lap. Trust me, there's no profit in that.
What does all of this mean for you, the car enthusiast with a boarding pass to Vegas on your phone? Simple. You need to understand, and accept, that you are taking serious risks when you drive a rental car on the track. You'll have an instructor, and you might be on a groomed private track, and there might be EMS personnel nearby, but in the final analysis, the only person who can guarantee your own safety is you. Don't make the decision to rent lightly, and make sure you understand your capabilities as a driver before you do.
Speaking honestly, I think you'd be safer renting a Spec Miata or something similar and hiring a solid instructor to work with you on a safe, modern track. That's still something you can do in Vegas: EXR and a few other companies offer a purpose-built, fully-caged racer that offers you a much better chance if you do make it all the way through the gravel to a concrete wall. It's not nearly as exotic as driving a Ferrari at triple the speed limit, but it's plenty exciting, trust me. Ask my friends who quit supercar coaching but didn't quit racing: the best kind of story, or picture, is one that you're still around to tell.
Born in Brooklyn but banished to Ohio, Jack Baruth has won races on four different kinds of bicycles and in seven different kinds of cars. Everything he writes should probably come with a trigger warning. His column, Avoidable Contact, runs twice a week.
"Oh yeah," I chuckled, thinking about a weekend where I scared myself silly sitting next to about two hundred different drivers who were experiencing a "supercar" for the first time. "I can't believe we both survived that."
"Me neither," my friend replied.
"You still doing it?" I inquired.
"Hell no," he said, and we had a long, hearty laugh before getting back to the work of our race weekend. I didn't give the conversation any further thought.
About thirty-six hours later, according to news reports, a customer at "SpeedVegas" lost control and crashed the supercar he was driving. In the fire that followed the impact, both the customer and the SpeedVegas instructor in the right seat lost their lives. The name of the customer has not been released. The instructor was Gil Ben-Kely, a double cancer survivor who had made a career and a life coaching supercar renters in Las Vegas.
When I heard about the incident, my first reaction was surprise—not that another instructor had been killed in a rental, but that it had happened at SpeedVegas. Like their competitors at Exotics Racing, SpeedVegas had spent the time and money to create a purpose-built track for the "supercar experiences," one that was specifically optimized to reduce risk for drivers and instructors. I haven't driven the SpeedVegas track, but I've done an endurance race at the EXR facility and I have to say that I was very impressed. It would be hard to have a serious crash there; the track surface is surrounded with deep pea gravel. My race partner (and brother) Mark went off backwards into that gravel at maybe 90mph during our race; he came to a halt thirty feet off the track surface with nothing injured but his pride.
There are plenty of supercar-rental companies out there using traditional racetracks. Some of them are relatively conscientious; others can best be described as "fly-by-night." But all of them have one major problem in common; they're putting inexperienced, often incompetent drivers behind the wheel of 200-mph cars on tracks that weren't designed for the purpose. In many cases, they're using racetracks that were designed fifty years ago for the safety challenges presented by hundred-horsepower British sports cars, not modern mid-engined monsters with five or six times that kind of shove. It's a recipe for major injuries and major lawsuits.
When you move the party to a purpose-built facility, the safety picture becomes a lot better—but that doesn't mean that all the risk is gone. Don Salisbury, the veteran race-flagger and safety worker who is front and center in the growing instructor-safety movement, puts it like this: "With the speeds the latest street cars can achieve... running stock fuel tanks, and without the protection offered by rollcages and other safety equipment... this kind of deadly incident becomes more likely."
Don went on to explain to me how the "supercar experiences" out there are learning the same lessons that the SCCA regions learned thirty years ago, and the same way: through violent, sometimes deadly, crashes. "OSHA has been called in to investigate these deaths," he noted. "Expect some change for in-car instructing .... OSHA is less guided by 'acceptable losses' or 'financial settlements' than the CEOs of the for-profit event providers. I am sure a few track owners will have a higher level of concern, starting today. Insurance underwriters' heads are up too."
THE HEART OF THE PROBLEM IS THIS: STREET CARS, EVEN STREET SUPERCARS, AREN'T REALLY DESIGNED TO CRASH AT 150-PLUS MILES PER HOUR.
I think the heart of the problem is this: Street cars, even street supercars, aren't really designed to crash at 150-plus miles per hour. They're paper tigers of a sort, with performance that can match or exceed the fastest GT-class race cars but safety systems that are optimized for 45-mph crash testing. It's bad enough when a purpose-built racecar crashes at high speed, but at least the chassis and cage and driver environment is designed to mitigate the effects of that crash. Put a street car with three-point belts, a lot of glass, and no cage into that situation, and the results can be deadly.
The only way to fix the situation is to set these rental-supercar places up with the same kind of in-car crash-safety preparation that the best IMSA racers get. But not only is that not an absolute guarantee of safety, it's also a profit-killer for the companies that rent them. Their business model relies on being able to re-sell the cars afterwards at little to no loss. How else can you explain letting people drive a Lamborghini for $59 a lap, knowing that the car will swallow five bucks' worth of gas and wear out $2,000 worth of tires and brakes every day? If the cars had to be modified for safety, they'd be worthless on the Miami used-exotic lots afterwards. And then the prices would start to look like the costs that Lamborghini Super Trofeo teams pay per lap. Trust me, there's no profit in that.
What does all of this mean for you, the car enthusiast with a boarding pass to Vegas on your phone? Simple. You need to understand, and accept, that you are taking serious risks when you drive a rental car on the track. You'll have an instructor, and you might be on a groomed private track, and there might be EMS personnel nearby, but in the final analysis, the only person who can guarantee your own safety is you. Don't make the decision to rent lightly, and make sure you understand your capabilities as a driver before you do.
Speaking honestly, I think you'd be safer renting a Spec Miata or something similar and hiring a solid instructor to work with you on a safe, modern track. That's still something you can do in Vegas: EXR and a few other companies offer a purpose-built, fully-caged racer that offers you a much better chance if you do make it all the way through the gravel to a concrete wall. It's not nearly as exotic as driving a Ferrari at triple the speed limit, but it's plenty exciting, trust me. Ask my friends who quit supercar coaching but didn't quit racing: the best kind of story, or picture, is one that you're still around to tell.
Born in Brooklyn but banished to Ohio, Jack Baruth has won races on four different kinds of bicycles and in seven different kinds of cars. Everything he writes should probably come with a trigger warning. His column, Avoidable Contact, runs twice a week.
The following users liked this post:
neuronbob (02-27-2017)
#2
Senior Moderator
They look like loads of fun but damn I can't imagine the insurance on those things
#3
Honestly, I think this is a lot of over reaction to the incident. Sure, race cars are the safest things around in the automobile world, but that doesn't mean racing deaths don't still occur even today. The sport still lives on & this applies just as much to every professional in a major racing series
This however, is what, the first major incident in supercar-rentals on a track where the details still haven't been released in how many years these types of track-rental experiences have been around?
What does all of this mean for you, the car enthusiast with a boarding pass to Vegas on your phone? Simple. You need to understand, and accept, that you are taking serious risks when you drive a rental car on the track. You'll have an instructor, and you might be on a groomed private track, and there might be EMS personnel nearby, but in the final analysis, the only person who can guarantee your own safety is you. Don't make the decision to rent lightly, and make sure you understand your capabilities as a driver before you do.
The following 2 users liked this post by Rick_TL-S:
00TL-P3.2 (02-22-2017),
juniorbean (02-22-2017)
#4
Trending Topics
#10
Rawr.
Absolutely agree, it was an inevitable disaster waiting to happen...
I participated in a event a couple of years ago at Homestead Speedway. Sat in a classroom close to 3 hrs with an instructor watching a slew of videos & asking questions before I even rode shotgun to get a visual of the track.
Appears a lot of these companies are popping up over night, offering deals to drive exotics for pennies with no real discipline in the business model.
As Knight Rider said, plenty of blame to go around there.
I participated in a event a couple of years ago at Homestead Speedway. Sat in a classroom close to 3 hrs with an instructor watching a slew of videos & asking questions before I even rode shotgun to get a visual of the track.
Appears a lot of these companies are popping up over night, offering deals to drive exotics for pennies with no real discipline in the business model.
As Knight Rider said, plenty of blame to go around there.
#11
Azine Jabroni
Definitely do your research before doing one of these. Think of it as skydiving, bungee jumping, or ziplining. It's an extreme sport and it is dangerous.
#12
Self regulated
These tracks pop up out of nowhere and with little or no regulations. While my sympathies go out to both families, I have a couple of questions.
How does a 59 yr. old from Israel qualify as a driving instructor for exotic cars? There are claims of involvement in racing years ago with sponsorship from Alfa Romeo and Fiat yet no evidence of that can be found. You build a track, lease some cars and you're in business letting very unqualified "clients" drive highly powered sports cars. Who signs off on the track safety equipment, the instructors REAL qualifications, and who approves the "client" as being proficient at the minimum abilities necessary to drive these cars at track speeds. His/hers credit card was approved just doesn't cover it.
How does a 59 yr. old from Israel qualify as a driving instructor for exotic cars? There are claims of involvement in racing years ago with sponsorship from Alfa Romeo and Fiat yet no evidence of that can be found. You build a track, lease some cars and you're in business letting very unqualified "clients" drive highly powered sports cars. Who signs off on the track safety equipment, the instructors REAL qualifications, and who approves the "client" as being proficient at the minimum abilities necessary to drive these cars at track speeds. His/hers credit card was approved just doesn't cover it.
#13
Stage 1 Audi S5
I did one of these in Miami and as we were ripping around a make shift track, I was amazed to see the instructor with no helmet on. I was required to wear one, as expected but not him.
#14
RPF1+RS3 FTW
iTrader: (6)
I can see how this would happen and honestly I am surprised nobody has died until now. They just allow anyone to jump in these cars regardless if you are a good driver or not.
That said I am still glad they offer them. I did Exotics racing in Vegas and it was an amazing experience. This was 6 years ago I think it was fairly new at the time, but it still felt very safe and professional. My instructors were great as well, I guess I got lucky.
That said I am still glad they offer them. I did Exotics racing in Vegas and it was an amazing experience. This was 6 years ago I think it was fairly new at the time, but it still felt very safe and professional. My instructors were great as well, I guess I got lucky.
#15
Safety Car
I agree with the comments above that I am surprised something hasn't happened already. But more likely, there have been many situations but low fatalities so we haven't heard about it much.
I did Exotics Racing a few years ago when I was in Vegas for a birthday party. I wasn't too interested in it, but the main person insisted. I found it to be expensive and not particularly rewarding.
Prior to doing that Exotics Racing session, I had some performance driving/track day experience already (plus I am a huge Gran Turismo fiend with steering wheel and everything). To learn the track, I booked 7 laps in the Cayman R, which was their most forgiving car available, and then one session (5 laps) in a Lamborghini Gallardo. I really wasn't pushing it at all because I just couldn't get dialed into a car I barely had any experience with. And in a blink, the experience was over.
I understand the appeal. For many people, this may be their only experience to ever operate one of these exotic cars. But there just really is no time to mentally prepare people for the rigors of driving on the track. Plus there is the desire to push the car to get the most out of the experience. Most people probably would not have even booked the Cayman R at all, choosing to jump straight to the exotics first. They threw in an extra 2 laps for me just because the car hadn't been going out.
I did Exotics Racing a few years ago when I was in Vegas for a birthday party. I wasn't too interested in it, but the main person insisted. I found it to be expensive and not particularly rewarding.
Prior to doing that Exotics Racing session, I had some performance driving/track day experience already (plus I am a huge Gran Turismo fiend with steering wheel and everything). To learn the track, I booked 7 laps in the Cayman R, which was their most forgiving car available, and then one session (5 laps) in a Lamborghini Gallardo. I really wasn't pushing it at all because I just couldn't get dialed into a car I barely had any experience with. And in a blink, the experience was over.
I understand the appeal. For many people, this may be their only experience to ever operate one of these exotic cars. But there just really is no time to mentally prepare people for the rigors of driving on the track. Plus there is the desire to push the car to get the most out of the experience. Most people probably would not have even booked the Cayman R at all, choosing to jump straight to the exotics first. They threw in an extra 2 laps for me just because the car hadn't been going out.
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Costco (03-02-2017)
#16
Safety Car
^^^Exactly.
Average Joe Schmoe will likely have 1 or very few chances in a lifetime to get behind the wheel of a German/Italian supercar...why settle for a 'lowly' Cayman when they have the chance to get behind a more upper-middle tier car like a 488/Aventador/R8/etc. And it's completely understandable. The masses would love to experience a higher level of car.
The onus should be more so on the providers' side to ensure maximum safety while letting the masses enjoy a supercar experience.
Average Joe Schmoe will likely have 1 or very few chances in a lifetime to get behind the wheel of a German/Italian supercar...why settle for a 'lowly' Cayman when they have the chance to get behind a more upper-middle tier car like a 488/Aventador/R8/etc. And it's completely understandable. The masses would love to experience a higher level of car.
The onus should be more so on the providers' side to ensure maximum safety while letting the masses enjoy a supercar experience.
#17
Moderator
^ Funny thing, is that, for me, I'd take the lower car. In my mind, more fun to actually get to push something like a Cayman, rather than dawdling along in a Gallardo.
The group that does COTA in Austin, I'd take their race-prepped NC Miata over some of the others they have.
The group that does COTA in Austin, I'd take their race-prepped NC Miata over some of the others they have.
#18
Senior Moderator
^ Funny thing, is that, for me, I'd take the lower car. In my mind, more fun to actually get to push something like a Cayman, rather than dawdling along in a Gallardo.
The group that does COTA in Austin, I'd take their race-prepped NC Miata over some of the others they have.
The group that does COTA in Austin, I'd take their race-prepped NC Miata over some of the others they have.
For a normal street car on the streets on the average day it would be more fun to approach/experience the limits in a BRZ/Miata just due the speeds not having to be so much higher like in a super car, but on a track, ill take the faster more intense experience.
#19
Moderator
^ True, but how close are they going to let you get to 10/10 in a Huracan/488, as compared to something more 'docile' like a Cayman or such?
Agreed, that given the reins to enjoy it, I'll take a 650S or a Ferrari. Never done one of these events, so I have no idea how much they let you really make full use of it's potential.
Agreed, that given the reins to enjoy it, I'll take a 650S or a Ferrari. Never done one of these events, so I have no idea how much they let you really make full use of it's potential.
#20
Safety Car
No me. Id rather be driving at ten/tenths in a Ferrari.
For a normal street car on the streets on the average day it would be more fun to approach/experience the limits in a BRZ/Miata just due the speeds not having to be so much higher like in a super car, but on a track, ill take the faster more intense experience.
For a normal street car on the streets on the average day it would be more fun to approach/experience the limits in a BRZ/Miata just due the speeds not having to be so much higher like in a super car, but on a track, ill take the faster more intense experience.
^ True, but how close are they going to let you get to 10/10 in a Huracan/488, as compared to something more 'docile' like a Cayman or such?
Agreed, that given the reins to enjoy it, I'll take a 650S or a Ferrari. Never done one of these events, so I have no idea how much they let you really make full use of it's potential.
Agreed, that given the reins to enjoy it, I'll take a 650S or a Ferrari. Never done one of these events, so I have no idea how much they let you really make full use of it's potential.
Now I am not saying I am a natural performance driver. Actually I learn tracks pretty slowly and I would still consider myself very green. But that's the experience I approached Exotics Racing with. I find it unbelievable that a completely unprepared person can get anywhere near what I did without just being outright reckless.
Here's the track BTW. The longest straight is 1/3 of a mile. This just isn't anywhere near enough space to push any sports car, much less any exotic:
#21
RPF1+RS3 FTW
iTrader: (6)
That is a different track than the one I drove 6 years ago. Looks fun though.
The main thing I remember was that right when I started feeling like I was getting the hang of things, my session was over!
I was like man I just started to get this track and car down. I need more laps! I did 7 laps in 3 cars, so 21 laps total. Probably more than the average person and it still was nowhere near enough.
The main thing I remember was that right when I started feeling like I was getting the hang of things, my session was over!
I was like man I just started to get this track and car down. I need more laps! I did 7 laps in 3 cars, so 21 laps total. Probably more than the average person and it still was nowhere near enough.
Last edited by AnthraciteAspec; 03-02-2017 at 07:08 PM.
#22
Moderator
Well said & makes a lot of sense. Closest I've gotten was thrashing one of my former cars through a few autocross events at about 12/10s.
Thinking about maybe doing the Longhorn Racing Academy at COTA this year. Looks like they've retired their race-prepped Miata, but they have a good range of cars from a Ferrari 458 to a BMW M2.
Thinking about maybe doing the Longhorn Racing Academy at COTA this year. Looks like they've retired their race-prepped Miata, but they have a good range of cars from a Ferrari 458 to a BMW M2.
#23
Safety Car
Well said & makes a lot of sense. Closest I've gotten was thrashing one of my former cars through a few autocross events at about 12/10s.
Thinking about maybe doing the Longhorn Racing Academy at COTA this year. Looks like they've retired their race-prepped Miata, but they have a good range of cars from a Ferrari 458 to a BMW M2.
Thinking about maybe doing the Longhorn Racing Academy at COTA this year. Looks like they've retired their race-prepped Miata, but they have a good range of cars from a Ferrari 458 to a BMW M2.
The 370Z was decent at first, but then you hit those long straights where you're nailing the throttle full and it feels like a leisurely stroll, that really puts things in perspective. On the other hand, the GTR felt perfect. COTA is definitely a high horsepower track. If you do the trackday at COTA, learn the basics in something modest for sure. But be sure to take something high horsepower out.
Or since you are in Houston, do a track thing at MSR first. That is a technical track and a lot of fun.
#24
Moderator
MSR is a good option for sure. Just need to find one of the reasonable track events there, since an F150 would be no fun on the track
#26
Moderator
COTA, Laguna Seca, Nurburgring are my goal tracks. Likely in that order, due to cost.