Video: Porsche spins out in front of me

[Porsche Monkey]

944s are very easy cars to drive fast. Front engine, rear transmission. Rear engine cars you really need to be on top of your game to drive em fast.  Mid engine cars are great until you spin em, then they spin like a top.  I'm not a big fan of 944s. They drive good but you can definitely feel the weight outside of the axles. If I had a choice it would be mid engine all the way.

[Shifty]

I didn't read all the comments, but seems to be pretty irresponsible driving and riding.  Don't see much cool about it...if anything, gets me a little angry. Isn't that what tracks are for? 

Yeah really. 

[junior varsity]

cry about it

[Raux]

i had a friend years ago. he was rallying an RX7. he also had a 944. (mentioned the rx7 to show he knew how to drive)
He challenged me to a run between flagstaff and sedona az, anyone that's run this, will know the terrain... elevation change with tons of switchbacks.
unfortunately he had a broken tierod so couldnt run, so I offered to let him sit navigator on a run...
when we were down.. he said.. forget it... i would have won.
my car....

a first year miata



light is right

[poseur]

light is right

On one of my first track days, a guy in Miata lapped me (in my 911) twice during a session. Sure, he had full racing slicks on, and was an experienced racer, but still... 

I miss my Miata now and then. Tons of fun.

[kopfjäger]

cry about it

 

[triangleforge]

When I first read this thread, I thought "pretty cool video, good thing nobody & no vehicles got hurt, a nice piece of riding by the OP to avoid a crash, live & let live."

I'm in a bit of a less laissez-faire mood today, having just watched a 911 in LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! yellow blow a downhill left turn badly this morning in my backyard twisties and end up about 2/3 over the double yellow, looking straight at me & my ST2 coming up the hill. Mr. Yellow was in front of two other cars that appeared to be with him -- third in line was a black RX8, not sure about the middle one.

I'd wager that he was driving way over his head because of peer pressure & the cars behind him, on a road that simply doesn't allow mistakes. If it was another car oncoming instead of a bike, a horse trailer, a semi (not legal on that road, but common), or if I'd been pushing MY pace a couple of tenths harder, the cops & EMTs would still be untangling the mess.

For reference, here's the beautiful road in question (Raux might recognize it from Northern AZ); I was headed uphill, in the direction of the bikes, the Porsche-led crew was headed downhill -- I'm guessing we intersected somewhere in the 4:30-4:50 mark in this video:

Hypermotard Leading FZ-1 On White Spars

While this morning's the incident that's fresh in my head, that kind of stuff happens more regularly than not when I ride White Spar on the weekends -- fortunately, I live close & get to ride it mid-week. I'd say 75% of the stupid stuff that happens on this section of road is related to group dynamics -- doesn't matter if we're talking sports cars, sport bikes, Harleys, whatever -- people pushing their limits in groups tend to make really bad choices, and the consequences of those choices tend to affect a whole bunch more people than someone pushing on a track or when they're alone.

Rant off. And that WAS some nice riding by you, Shifty!

[Shifty]

^^^ Those are great points. Oncoming traffic always conerns me, especially on weekends such as this one when Eureka Springs is inundated with sports cars travelling in packs. Also, you're completely right: pack driving on roads like this does amplify the chances of someone making stupid mistakes. It's easy to push harder into that next corner simply because the guy in front of you can, or the guy behind you is breathing down your neck. It can be easy to dismiss variables like tires, brakes, and suspension (let alone driving skill) and that's where things start to go wrong.

Two years ago we had an incident on Hwy 23 involving one of the "better" drivers in our group. He was driving a modified MkV GTI with upgraded brakes (pads, rotors). He had driven 23 several times quite briskly and was very comfortable pushing his cars' boundaries. However, when following a slightly faster group of cars while carrying two extra passengers one day, his car experienced sudden brake fade and he drove right off of a 180 downhill switchback. $18,000 in total damages to the GTI, luckily no one was hurt. Chasing the pack made him completely neglect the added weight in the car, or the fact that his brake lines and fluid were not upgraded.

 

[DoubleEagle]

Pack mentality involving fast cars and motorcycles is VERY dangerous.

I've seen it 1st hand.

Dolph