Fire may be the biggest worry of most racing drivers, but high-speed accidents are a lot more common. This accident is a testament to the safety of modern race car and track design.
Driving down the fast, slightly curved back straight at Mosport during this weekend's American Le Mans Series race, Drayson-Lola prototype driver Jonny Cocker was passing Luke Hines' ORBIT/Paul Miller Racing GTC Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car. Cocker apparently thought he'd completed the pass and began to move over to pass an LMPC car, but brushed Hines' front end with the rear of his prototype racer. The contact was just enough to break loose the front end and put Hines into the wall head-on at full speed.
The result, as the video shows, was catastrophic. A huge section of the trackside guardrail was completely broken free from its moorings and Hines' race car was mostly demolished. Amazingly, Hines escaped the accident with no injuries.
Check out the video from SpeedTV's coverage of the event below.
