hammerwerfer

I would say that driving the CGT at Talladega is probably safer than driving ti at speed on the road. I would guess there are a few CGTs that achieve those speeds on a regular basis on the Autobahn. No big deal really.

All this talk of death wishes and the like is a bit silly. I have driven in excess of 300km/h in a 996 turbo, on the Autobahn, without a helmet or any additional safety devices. I don't think I have a death wish.

Blue S2

If the worst DID happen though, regardless of the headlines, i think the CGT would fare the same legacy as the 550 Spyder after its run with Dean.

Glad to see everything was ok though!

rss997

All this talk of any car being safe at 160-180- or 200mph is ridiculous. If you drive any car(besides a race car) that fast on autobahn or track you are adding serious risk of death no matter how bad *** you think you are as a driver....It is all the other things that can happen that can kill you.....

Lets get real here....

TT Surgeon

Agree, you are aware of the risks when you press the gas pedal. Leno is a good driver, he's learning his limits I think. If he would have bought it, that would have been the end of the CGT.
Speaking of stars and cars, I saw Letterman running his CGT at a 'pvt car club' track day awhile back, he actually does a good job driving the car, I'd say he's at the intermediate/early advanced level at least.

pcar964

I'm sure Jay is quite competent behind the wheel - like I said, obviously something caused the mishap - but saying Leno had a "death wish" is ignorant. Of course high speed comes with a certain level of risk, but in a controlled setting like a racetrack or long stretch of familiar highway (i.e. autobahn), it's not usually a big deal.

I have a hard time believing the C-GT is unstable at any speed, the car was designed to create downforce for God's sake! Our street 911s create LIFT at those speeds, and they're STILL stable!!!

Steve N.

I have no idea how good a driver Jay Leno is. It takes a lot of seat time to be "good". I assume that we would all be hearing about his efforts if he were active in any kind of track events. With his financial resources, he can certainly afford to lease a track and hire private instruction - maybe he has done plenty of this. But a morning of coaching from Donohue and "Porsche officials" isn't much prep for an experience like this. Sounds like he was very lucky.

pcar964

I also haven't heard much about his track credentials, but with his resources and passion for cars, I have to guess he's done many driving/racing schools, and is at the very least a competent and safe track driver. just a guess of course!

If I were Jay, I'd have a full-scale replica of the 'Ring built in my backyard haha

Rennphile

You offer up some strong judgment on this thread.

I'm just curious to hear what level of knowledge and experience you bring to bear.

hammerwerfer

Sure driving at higher speeds involves a slightly higher risk. I'm not sure how you evaluate the risks that you are comfortable with, but I have several years of accident free Autobahn driving under my belt, much of it at speeds which you quite clearly seem to think unacceptable.

I'm not sure that I think I'm a "bad ***" driver, but I'm reasonably competent behind the wheel.

If it were not for real driving enthusiasts and racers, and driving conditions like those found on the Autobahn, European roads, and tracks, Porsche would not be building great cars for poseurs to be seen in, or enthusiasts to use as intended.

wch

How can you disagree with rss997? All he says (I think) is that the risk of death, in any street car. increases over 160mph? How is that controversial? I had a roll bar and proper harnesses put in my Stradale because I track it; I just don't feel that the little 3 point stock belts in any car are enough in a very high speed crash. I track my cars hard, and have had enough bad things happen on track that I have no illusions about the desirabilty of roll cages, HANS devices and the like.

I'd own a CGT in a heartbeat, it's a fantastic car, but I wouldn't try to do any serious track driving in it without beefing up the safety equipment. I respect Leno for driving on track, but from what little I know, he seems to be getting some really bad advice from people who should know better.

hammerwerfer

I stated that I feel that driving the car on the bankings of Talladega was probably safer than driving it on the open road. I said nothing about it being "safe" at those speeds. I will stand by that assertion that it was safer for Jay there than on the open road as he was the only car on the track, in a controlled environment.

I have been cruising along on the Autobahn, more or less on the limiter, on many occasions and been passed by 996s, GT3s, or turbos at very high speed, quite possibly their Vmax, judging by how long it took for them to go out of dight. The occupants were never wearing helmets, race belts or HANS devices.

On the Nordschleife, seatbelts are required.

I compare this with PCA autocrosses that I've attended in the past where it was required to even empty the contents of the glove box to please the safety stewards, and I can appreciate where you lads are coming from.

Of course, the risks of injury are greater without a full cage, belts, helmet and HANS. I'll not argue that. It is just that from my perspective they are acceptable.

Jay Leno is a big boy. I'm sure he can assess the risks involved himself, and his perspective just might differ from yours as well. After all, he does ride a turbine powered motorbike!

wch

"I will stand by that assertion that it was safer for Jay there than on the open road as he was the only car on the track, in a controlled environment."

I agree. I'd imagine they had a safety crew as well.

Look, I'm all for Jay assessing the risks himself - I certainly don't want anyone judging risks for me. I don't want to prohibit anyone from being a fool, because I want that right, too. I couldn't order my Stradale with the factory rollbar becuase our government didn't approve it, still trying to understand that logic.

All I'm saying is that, based on my own experience, good and bad, in a variety of race and street cars, I wouldn't spend too much time in a car at 170MPH unless it had fairly extensive safety equipment. As rss says, too many things can happen, a tire blowout, unexpected debris, someone else's stupid mistake, a deer, etc etc.

The only problem with each doing his or her own risk assessment is that, if something goes wrong, we can't have lawsuits and whining and crying about the consequences. If you're going to be a big boy in taking the risk, you must be a big boy in taking the consequences. Unfortunately, that often does not seem to happen.

hammerwerfer

Sadly enough there is a close connection between what you have just written and the Talladega event. After Mark Donohue's death, his family sued Goodyear eventually settling for an undisclosed sum.

skl

David's dad was one of my all time favourites and when he died it was like I lost of member of my own family. I remember thinking at the time that he probably wouldn't have been too happy with his family suing over his death- I believe there was an article about it in Competition Press (Autoweek now) at the time. David's comments about being at Telledaga they showed on Speed News last Sunday gave me goosebumps...

AJK

This car is a killer! Anyone who has followed the reports of the many incidents involving the CGT must conclude that it is simply too much car for a non professional driver.