I just participated in my first HPDE event this last weekend. (Drivers Edge at Texas World Speedway). A total blast, learned a ton, and have already developed the addiction.

I have a question, though. I was promoted to the "blue" (intermediate) run group on my second day, so I was out there with some pretty exotic cars. Lambo Diablo, 360 Challenge Stradale, etc. Now, it turned out that I was quite handily passing them , but my question is:

In order to signify my intention to pass, naturally, I had to be quite aggressive coming into a passing zone; i.e. get pretty close to their tail. So, I'm a few feet away from a $200K+ Diablo, coming in about 70-75 MPH into the straight, accelerating to get by... what happens if he decides not to let me by at the last second moves over, brakes hard, I brake hard, but still end up in the back of him anyway?

I know, I know, it's not a race, safety and respect for the metal is highest priority, and I understand all of that. Whose fault it is really is immaterial too; maybe I screwed up by not getting on the brakes quickly enough (because I'm a beginner), maybe he shouldn't have moved over, whatever.

Am I responsible for the (probably quite large) damage to his $200K Lambo? I've read through all of the threads regarding insurance, coverage of your own vehicle, etc., but what I want to know is: my insurance wouldn't cover _his_ car, certainly, correct? Is there some kind of unwritten racer's code that even if someone else hits you, you're responsible for your own car, regardless of fault?

I'm just curious, before I sign up for future track events...

 

You shouldn't have to "be quite aggressive coming into a passing zone; i.e. get pretty close to their tail" in an HPDE. Besides the fact that the other driver should be aware that you've caught up to him/her and courteously let you pass, you can signal your presence by flashing your lights if they don't see you in a timely fashion.

If you did that regularly (aggressively crawl up someones ass) in one of our intermediate sessions then you'd be pulled aside for a little attitude adjustment. It's 100% the responsibility of the passing vehicle to make sure the pass is done in a safe manner. If you hit the other car while passing them in an HPDE group (we're not talking a race here) then it's your fault.

Who pays for what is a gray area though.

 

The general rule is sort of "no fault". You are responsible for damage to your own car. If you don't like that, don't go out there.

Typically, you sign something saying you understand that you will be driving on a racetrack, with other cars and drivers that may or may not be insured. It also says that you accept all responsibility for your car and your person.

In the event that you cause damage to someone else, and it really is your fault, the moral thing to do would be to pay for it. But it would probably be very difficult for them to enforce that if you decided not to.

It could get more complicated if insurance companies get involved, because some insurance companies will cover you on track and others will not.

But in the end, if somebody spins their Lambo right in front of you and you slam into it, probably the Lambo driver will be paying for the Lambo and you will be paying for your car.

 

Yeah, but he's not talking they spun in front of him, he's talking he crawled up their ass and smacked them. Maybe no difference to the no-fault thing but if someone drove like an asshat into me on the track, you can bet your ass I'd have something to say about it.

 

Yes, it is always the responsibility of the passing driver to make the pass safely.

But on many tracks the passing zones are short, and you have to get quite close in order to make the pass. Relative to how you would be driving on the street, you are "crawling up their ass", but relative to how people drive in wheel-to-wheel racing you are hanging back pretty far.

If you have trouble with cars holding you up and not letting you pass, it's time to talk to the people who organize the lapping day (and/or your instructor if that's the way the event is set up).

Good drivers are aware of traffic and manage to both safely pass people and let others by in a timely manner. But not all drivers on the track are good drivers.

 

I think you have to rember this was his first time on the track. What he thinks of as "right up their ass" probably isn't what you would think of.

Regardless, bottom line is always that the passing driver is responsible to make sure it is done safely. But that responsibility generally doesn't extend as far as to force them to pay for damages. There are always exceptional cases, though.

I'm pretty sure if it could be shown that a driver intentionally damaged your car on a lapping day then you could sue for damages.

 

Maybe I'm overreacting to his poor choice of words. Regardless, there should never be contact during HPDE sessions. If someone is worried about smashing into a $200,000 car on the track, maybe they shouldn't get so close next time

 

Having been rear-ended recently, here's my 2c.

First of all, this wasn't a race, it was a lapping day. There was no question as to who's fault it was. The other driver wasn't paying attention to the corner workers and didn't notice the yellow flags they were frantically waving. As a result, he noticed too late that he was going to fast, panicked, lost control, and slammed into me. It was definitely HIS fault. And the event organizers let him know that.

The right thing for him to do was to pay for the damage to my car, but as he was a dick, he didn't. There wasn't much I could do about it.

When you go out on a racetrack, don't expect to get paid for damage others do to your car. If, however, there's an inconsiderate driver in front of you who won't let you pass, it's not right to divebomb him just because you won't have to pay for the damage. While you may not legally have to pay for his damage, an HPDE isn't a race, and the right thing to do is to back off and try to encourage him to let you by safely. (Flash your lights, then maybe your horn, and I've flipped one or two drivers off as well when they insisted on holding me up in the turns, then slam on the gas once they hit the straights.)

Most event organizers will give those folks a good talking to if you'll simply report them, and the corner workers should be blue flagging them as well.

Besides, whether you're "legally" responsible or not for their damage, plowing into a 200k car would probably make you feel pretty rotten. After all, we're out there to have fun.

 

Yes, I think we are in total agreement.

Of course, from time to time shit happens. But I've never seen direct car-to-car contact in an HPDE.

 

I've seen a few pretty good car-to-car incidents over the past few years. They've involved everything from cheap track beaters all the way up to rare sports cars.

When my car was my daily driver I'd never follow really close or try any risky passes and if someone was driving like an idiot or the traffic was really heavy, i'd just hop into the pits and wait for a nice opening and then enter the track again, works out great everytime....