GM Engineers Arrested Street Racing 2020 Corvette C8s Were Doing 100+ MPH: Report
2 fast, 2 furious.
Last week, a Kentucky State Police trooper arrested two GM engineers after spotting them street racing in a pair of new mid-engine C8 Chevrolet Corvette C8 Stingrays. What was missing at the time was perhaps the most important detail of them all. Just how fast were they going in their quest to test these near-production cars in the dumbest way possible? Thanks to local news outlet WNKY News, we have an answer: 120 mph and 100 mph
According to a police report obtained by WNKY, the KSP trooper saw a trio of shiny Corvettes turn onto Lover's Lane in Bowling Green just before 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday night—one red, one white, and one blue. How fitting. In the driver's seat of the red C8 Stingray sat 27-year-old Alexander Thim, a CAE engineer with seven years of history at GM, including involvement with the launch of the powerful C7 Z06. In the white 'Vette was electrical engineer Mark Derkatz, a 30-year-old Canadian national. The blue car was being driven by someone smart enough to stay out of trouble.
The trooper reportedly watched as Thim and Derkatz dropped the hammer, Thim accelerating all the way to 120 mph while Derkatz topped out at 100. Obviously, they both lost.
After being pulled over, the men reportedly informed police that they were GM employees and had just come from a local billiards lounge prior to the incident. Police impounded the fleet vehicles and arrested both Thim and Derkatz for reckless driving, exceeding the speed limit by 26 or more miles per hour, and racing a vehicle on a public highway. Both were later released on a $1,000 bond.
In an earlier statement to The Drive, GM confirmed "an incident involving [its] test vehicles" had occurred and noted that it would be investigating the matter further. According to information available on LinkedIn, both drivers appear to still be employed with GM at the time of publication.
"Safety remains our overriding priority at General Motors," the spokesperson said. "We have no further comment at this time."
GM's next-generation mid-engine Corvette was formally announced last summer and, while still nearly a month away from customer deliveries, pre-production models have already been involved in a number of on-road
incidents. With at least 490 horsepower on tap and a top speed of 194 MPH, it's easy to see how people will get into some speed-related trouble with the C8, especially when it can be had for under $60,000.
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