This Is What a Coolant Spill on an Active Race Track Can Cause
See that Porsche Cayman GT4 flying off the track in reverse? It’s not supposed to do that.
As many of you have apparently already learned, track days aren't always good days. This unfortunate truth was recently discovered by one Porsche driver who had all four wheels leave both the track and the ground while temporarily transforming the mid-engined Cayman GT4 into a front-engined car. Translation: the thing flew off the track backward. And while you might think that he simply "came in too hot," it turns out he actually didn't.
Captured at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course via what appears to be the on-board Performance Data Recorder on a Cadillac CTS-V, the white GT4 in question can be seen coming in out of nowhere, pretty darn fast and backward before launching itself off the edge of Turn 4. Fortunately, the Cadillac and the Porsche did not collide nor did anybody get hurt.
Before you all jump in the comments criticizing this dude's driving, the incident was actually caused by a coolant spill, a hazard which apparently caused that blue Cayman seen earlier in the video to spin-out as well. Like most fluids used in a motor vehicle, any kind of spill on an active race track can cause mayhem. Whether coolant, gasoline, or especially oil, any liquid that alters tire adhesion can cause a minor spin at best, to a huge "oh sh*t moment" at worst, as seen here on Tom Schippel's video.
From the video's description, "Coolant spilled on the track causing a slick track, I had to get out of the 'line' to slow down. The GT4 behind me went into a spin as he pressed the brakes passing me backward on the inside. The blue Porsche we pass on the straight also spun. Luckily no one was hurt!!"
Powered by a 4.0-liter flat-six pumping out 414 hp paired exclusively to a six-speed manual, the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 is Porsche's most extreme and expensive Cayman. Despite this, it does not have a semi-autonomous driving system that detects and avoids spilled coolant nor does it come with tires that are impervious to slippery, unexpected on-track liquids. That technology just hasn't been invented yet.
Be safe out there, folks.
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