Most common track day accidents? Have you had any?
 

With upcoming (first) track days, we've looked around wrt insurance (in Australia)...and there seems to be few options, but mainly two types; cover the biggie, or cover little things (under $10k).

I've heard that most track day accidents are small - but I'd really like to get a feel from those who visit track days often.

What is the most usual sort of accident that can happen? How often chit hits the fan?

Most issues come from offs: broken wheels, suspension parts, and exhausts; lost bumpers, under trays, fender liners; and busted oil pans.

The other things to watch for are from wear: fried brakes (pads, rotors, and fluid); overheating; and transmission issues.

If you drive within your limits, are up to date on your maintenance, and your fluids are fresh you should have a good time without any major incidents.

Most of the minor stuff isn't worth covering (insurance costs are too high for the limited risk), and the major stuff is mostly in your hands.

I got track insurance for my first track day and liked the peace of mind; however, I've never purchased it again because I had enough confidence in my ability to know the limits of my abilities (and the track I frequent has lots of runoff room).

We have only had 1 car to car incident in the last 6 years with NASA in my region. That puts the percentage down in the 0.01% range. Off track incidents and broken parts are much more common. I have seen a couple of cars hit walls, and I nearly put mine into the wall last Sunday, in the rain, on slicks, in the race group warmup session. Overall, the likelihood of damaging your car is extremely low. I would not invest in track day insurance. With that said, some tracks are extremely high risk with little to no runoff, traps, etc... Drive within your limits and don't do anything that will prevent you from driving the car home. Also, whether your organization requires it, have a good race shop perform a tech inspection on your car not only for safety, but to make sure the car is up to par to handle a track day. The most important items for them to check are tires and brakes.

Another really annoying thing that can happen when you go off is getting rocks caught in between your rim and tire. This can cause the tire bead to unseat resulting in either a slow leak or flat tire all together.

If this happens you need to clean out the rocks to continue driving, and if its bad enough you might need to totally remount the tire.

Great to hear these, thanks gents!

Usually see engine issues. Guys dropping fluids stuff like that. maybe every other weekend see someone in the wall. But it's up to you, no one goes to the track expecting to wreck. I seen a totaled BRZ, vette, 370z, GT3, and I can't remember what else.

I wrecked my sport bike at my track years ago, but that is considerably higher risk than being on 4 wheels. There were always multiple offs and usually 2-3 bikes went home unrideable, but able to be fixed. Had I been in a car, I would have easily recovered the situation.

During 4 wheel track days, I've seen 1 car put it in the tire wall? And it was cosmetic damage.

But my local track, Hallett, is a relatively tight, technical track with lots of runoff basically everywhere and when you run out of runoff.........tire barriers, not concrete.

As mentioned, nearly all of the issues I see at the track for vehicles are mechanical issues that come from the cars not being properly prepared. Or at least what I would consider the minimum level of prep necessary to drive the car at 9/10ths+ for a couple hours per day.

Not correctly torquing their oil filters I presume.

^Drain plugs rattle loose, oil cooler lines/fittings leak, have an off and tear up oil and/or coolant lines.

As much as everyone likes to say that you learn the most in the rain, it is also in the rain that I've witnessed and experienced the most serious accidents; usually totaled cars. I saw three cars totaled in one rainy day event!

I totaled an Elise on a day that started rainy and the track got a nice dry line but I stepped off the dry line just a bit, over a bump, in a corner, and it was over in a few seconds; once off the dry line you slide a long ways...

Yea there is definitely no shame in parking it in the wet if one is not comfortable. The dry line of many tracks is like ice in the rain. You can drive the wet line but some spots you will have to cross over the dry line anyway.

Had someone spill their diff fluid in the braking zone of the fastest straight on track once. I was in my Celica with no ABS and went straight off, thankfully there was an unused section of track to bail on to. For sure if that happened at the wrong part of the track I'd be in a wall and sending the car to the junkyard.

Other than that, my worst incident was missing my braking point while passing and short cutting a chicane at 75. No damage, other than to my ego. I have heard of someone who maybe got a rock stuck in a caliper, which slowly machined away at his wheel until it failed.

Worst incident I've seen was an SRT4 which got bent out of shape in a fast sweeper, hooked and shot off track into a steep hill. Apparently flipped but landed upright, car left on its own power I think.

If you owe money on your car I'd say insurance is worth it. Otherwise you shouldn't track the car without being ok with randomly setting the whole thing on fire and walking away.

I paid off my car after I got a taste of the track. Knew I could be writing it off at any event and didn't want to deal with any headaches in that department.

I've bought mine with cash so there's no problems with financing. Still, I'd prefer keeping it intact for a while more.

...Although any spending on another car is tax deductible :D

Go for it. I really like having a DD/"winter car"

more miles for track days, don't have to worry about maintenance as much. Less rust, though there still in quite some!@

Winter? What's that?
I'm just north of Sydney, Australia. If I want to see snow I have to travel to the mountains far south (I know, the wrong way).

There is no winter here, believe me. All the rust comes from sea salt in the air ;)

I've done ~25 track days and have seen a fair number of wrecks. Last year I was following behind someone in his BRZ when he lost the rear end exiting a fast corner. He hit the tire wall and totaled his car. A lot of spins from RWD cars (BRZ, S2000, MR2, NSX, E36 M3, Miata etc.) A couple of offs caused by fluid on the track or issues with brakes/suspension. No car-to-car incidents I can think of though.

Personally I haven't gone 4-wheels off yet (*knock on wood), but have gone 2-wheels off a few times, mostly trying to pass similar speed cars in corners or driving in the rain.

I've noticed that a lot of incidents happen in the first few laps of a session (cold tires), in the last session of the last day, or during open track time when people have been out driving over 30 minutes. Those are probably good times to take things down a notch. As others have said, if you use common sense and push your limits slowly, you should be fine. Just keep in mind the trophy at the end of your track day is the shiny car you get to drive home. ;)

So, it can happen anywhere, I got hit from behind at the air up station by a guy that changed his brake pads and forgot to pump up the pedal. Unfortunately I have been the guy that oiled down the track twice. Once at Blackhawk when the old Mini engine decided to put rod parts out through the radiator, and once at south Carolina motor sports park when the LS1 thought that a hole in the bottom of the engine would improve cooling.
Have had various part left on the track by others come through the radiator and windshield.
Over the years have had too many agricultural excursions bending various parts. A few bumps with others.
Still I do not know what I could have turned in to insurance. Maybe I have been lucky for fifty years playing at the track. (I did take a few years off for children.)

If you can afford to lose the car, no need for insurance. If you cannot afford to lose the car, don't track it. I have only had dirt and rocks unseat my tires. I have seen totaled cars. Fortunately, I have seen no injuries.

Has anyone made a claim on track day insurance? I often wonder how that would go?

I've heard of one or two that have, it went very smoothly and they paid out promptly.

In my opinion situational awareness is likely the biggest factor in helping one avoid multi-car incidents on track. I've had several experiences where another car would have made contact with me even though I had position if I had not been aware of their presence. Use your mirrors. A lot. And look far ahead.

Yeah, buddy of mine put his car into a tire wall at Road America, thankfully not too badly. He had a lockton policy and it seemed like his experience working with them was a pretty positive one.

I've been tracking my daily driver for about 3 years now. (No Space for a second) Knock on wood I've never had an incident. Just remember that it IS NOT A RACE. There has been plenty of times where me an another car "go at it" but always with the respect of not doing anything that could put each other at risk, always leaving space, always using a point by, and knowing where the limit is.

Always drive within your means, use your mirrors, and leave the ego at home.Everyone is there for the same reason. All Are gear heads !!!

Had a very bad accident myself. Driving too hard on a rainy day at Laguna Seca. Lost the car in a very simple slide, but stayed on the throttle too long. Car caught traction after a tank slapper and sent the car head on into the wall around 40-45mph. Hit hard enough that my foot slipped off the clutch pedal and my ankle actually bent the entire pedal assembly and damn near folded my foot in half. Engine was torn off its mounts, trans mount sheared, center support bearing exploded, diff pushed out of the subframe. Happy to still be here.

Insurance covered the car completely. Told them exactly what happened, and where, and they still covered the car(I understand this to be a situational instance i.e no one else involved, no property damage, no reported injuries). They ended up not using my GAP insurance either, and I ended up $150 ahead. I don't think it could have gone better, except not crashing altogether. Currently driving a salvaged title(due to hydrolocked engine, now has 2015 engine with 7k) FRS that was picked up for cash, and I purchase track insurance on rainy days. Know your limits, and stick to them. I track 1-2 times month on average but still don't consider myself an experienced enough driver to drive 10/10th's.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/b...psye2u6miw.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/b...psg3rkinzw.jpg

Ouch. Which corner?

I've never had any problems...

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...pserrextlk.jpg

Ohh! You have a 986!

Damn i thought you had to run 9s to need a parachute

Turn 3

I went off their once! Came in too fast. Started to lose it on the back. Just drove off and then back on. I'm sure I was slower than you.

Well that post brings back memories of NJMP... :thumbsup:

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7100/2...b5d573df_h.jpg


That said, for a period last year, at Lime Rock, Mont Tremblant and NJMP, all three in a row, I had somebody in a twin, either paddocked next to me or a car over that wrecked in every event. Two of them were relatively experienced drivers with at least 20+ events and one of them was an instructor with 15+ years of experience. One went off coming out of big bend (Lime Rock) and hit the inside wall, (not totaled but not drive-able) one went off at MT, in the turn 1-2-3 complex, spun, hit the wall, again, not totaled but, well, not drive-able but he drove it anyway, and one at NJMP Thunderbolt, went in too hot at at T4, understeered, put a tire on the grass and hit the inside tire barrier, not totaled but also not drive-able.

It happens.

I went through the tire wall on the right side of turn 2 at Palmer yesterday. Thankfully I was okay and the only real damage was to the front bumper and my ego.

Haha glad to see you had a good sense of humor about it :thumbsup:

I just recently swapped cars with my buddy with a GTA2 stock car for a session. Having never even been 2 wheels off I made a noob mistake of braking at the last possible second in a car I was relatively unfamiliar with going a metric crap ton faster than the BRZ... Flubbed the downshift and toured the grass, but thankfully that was it. Other corners on the track and I could have easily stuffed it in a tire wall.

The only damage came when the track guys pulled me out of the grass and accidentally ripped the tow hook out of the front bumper tube. Which wouldn't have happened if the starter hadn't heatsoaked, lol.

Was it track day insurance or your regular auto insurance?
Im about to do my first track day at NJMP and contemplating trackday insurance. I think its around $160 for an agreed value of $20k which is not bad at all. My other more expensive option would be to add a roll bar to my daily drive (nb miata) and not add track day insurance.