CoralDoc

I agree with you, but this was the exact situation with my serious off. I was on the throttle and the steering wheel was completely unwound, pointing straight ahead. The corner workers that were watching me were very surprised to see the car swing around at corner exit. And yes, I was still on the paved portion of the track .

teamking

My quick tally to this point:

246 # of DAYS spent at HPDE events (not racing, not auto-x)
16 # of off-track-excursions with no damage
2 # of off-track-excursions with minor damage (up to $1500)
0 # of off-track-excursions with moderate damage (up to $10,000)
3 # of off-track-excursions with severe damage (more than $10,000)

Plus many spins.

Very interesting stuff. Many thanks for the contributions. I'll continue to update the tally as more people add posts.

-Will

DaveOnLI

3 DAYS
0 OTE
0 SPINS

Saw a 911 go sideways into a wall hard enough to pop out the windshield - Saw a Corvette spin and nick his rear corner on the wall.
It was raining on/off at my last event - lots of spins.

ellisnc

Was there camber in the road??? Usually the only cars I see do this are high torque cars in the wet. Where the torque just overcomes the traction in a straight line and the rear steps out a little.

So you never figured out why the car did that? oil?

CoralDoc

Nope, no off-camber on the road, and no fluids were observed on that section of track. I've been analyzing the incident for almost a year now and there is no satisfactory explanation for the loss of control, but the evidence suggests mechanical failure.

Maybe my car had an unexpected ZO6 moment .

I included mention of this incident because those that choose to participate in HPDE events should be aware that there is the very small chance that something untoward may happen without a clear reason for it. In most situations there is a good reason for loss of control and it can become an excellent learning opportunity.

Triple-H

~ 95 DAYS spent at HPDE events (not racing, not auto-x)
2 off-track-excursions with no damage
- one was braking too late and I tracked out beyond the curb, I just drove straight in the grass, got back on track and kept going, hardly slowed down
- other was a lurid spin into the grass after a 2002 blew its radiator in front of me, anti-freeze is slippery stuff, this could have been an ugly situation
0 off-track-excursions with minor damage (up to $1500)
0 off-track-excursions with moderate damage (up to $10,000)
0 off-track-excursions with severe damage (more than $10,000)
2 cars I have seen roll in 13 years of HPD schools

pantyraider

~ 3 DAYS spent at HPDE events (not racing, not auto-x)
1 off-track-excursions with no damage
-0 off-track-excursions with minor damage (up to $1500)
0 off-track-excursions with moderate damage (up to $10,000)
0 off-track-excursions with severe damage (more than $10,000)

Spun when I lifted in a turn at 90 mph. No damage to car, just got dirty. Overall, from my limited experience on the track, I think you can keep your chances of damaging your car fairly low. Once you really start to push the car, then you'll have to be prepared for the consequences. A lot of it also depends on the track, out here in LA we have it good because Willow Springs has barely any places to crash into walls, and such.

teamking

Well, I'm happy to report:

2 DAYS spent at HPDE events (not racing, not auto-x)
0 off-track-excursions with no damage
0 off-track-excursions with minor damage (up to $1500)
0 off-track-excursions with moderate damage (up to $10,000)
0 off-track-excursions with severe damage (more than $10,000)

Although, during the first Medium session of the first day (before my Slow group had even gotten our cars turned on), an INSTRUCTOR rolled an M3 (had a roll cage, no injuries). Then, in the second Medium run, a guy spun out his Ferrari, damaging the suspension and hitting the tirewall with the entire passenger side. He could probably pick up a new S2K for the same price as getting the Ferrari repaired! There were four more incidents where people spun into tire walls, doing cosmetic damage to bumpers and quarterpanels during the two day event.

Also, during the second day, I was allowed to run in the Medium run group. Passing is restricted to waves only during turns. I had a big 'Y' on my back license plate indicating that I was a 'Slow' driver, and would not be waving anyone by during turns. As I entered the Keyhole (Mid-Ohio turn 5) this car that began life as an M3 came up on me out of nowhere. My line took me a little wide, but just as we getting ready to turn-in for the apex, I checked my passenger mirror and he was right there! So I didn't turn in and he went by me as I wallowed through the marbles. My instructor said 'Did you wave him by???'. When I said no, he said 'Pull into the pits-- we're gonna black flag him'. Turned out he was an INSTRUCTOR! He thought it was a 'Fast' run group, not 'Medium', and also didn't notice the 'Y' on my car! Also, turned out that the guy that was riding as a passenger in that car was my friend who had invited me to the event!

Anyway, the grand totals now stand at:
347 DAYS spent at HPDE events (not racing, not auto-x)
19 off-track-excursions with no damage
2 off-track-excursions with minor damage (up to $1500)
0 off-track-excursions with moderate damage (up to $10,000)
3 off-track-excursions with severe damage (more than $10,000)

mikegarrison

Yeah, well "INSTRUCTORS" are just as susceptible to the laws of physics as anyone else. However, if you find that instructors are routinely crashing and/or screwing up the passing rules at future events, then you may want to find a different group to run with.

Glad you had fun.

cdelena

I hate to screw up the averages but I learned the hard way..

approximately..

25 DAYS spent at HPDE events (not racing, not auto-x)
7 off-track-excursions with no damage
0 off-track-excursions with minor damage (up to $1500)
0 off-track-excursions with moderate damage (up to $10,000)
0 off-track-excursions with severe damage (more than $10,000)

And another four or five spins on track. I am fortunate that other drivers have not nailed me a couple of times. I have reformed and refined so no incidents in the last four outings.