by Brad Anderson
- Two GT-Rs were rear-ended during a Laguna Seca track event.
- Both cars were stopped on the straight under red flag rules.
- A tire-loaded telehandler struck the parked cars from behind.
Two classic Nissan Skyline GT-Rs were badly damaged in a recent track day mishap at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and now the owners are suing the circuit.
The incident took place earlier this month when both cars were reportedly struck by a circuit employee operating a telehandler, a large, forklift-style vehicle used to move equipment and materials around the track. The entire episode was caught on camera.
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The red R34 Skyline GT-R and the purple R32 GT-R, owned by Artin Nazaryan and Akihiro Fuchigami respectively, sustained extensive damage in the collision. According to The Autopian, the two drivers had pulled over to the side of the main straight in compliance with a red flag that had been waved on the track.
Footage from a rear-facing dashcam mounted on a car in the pitlane captures what happened next. While the two Nissans remained parked on the straight, a telehandler loaded with dozens of tires drove down the same stretch of track, presumably en route to an earlier incident.
However, the driver appears to have failed to notice the two parked Nissans in front, slamming directly into the rear of both of them.
The force of the impact shattered the rear window of the rear car, ripped off its rear wing, ruined the rear bumper, and destroyed the driver’s side rear quarter panel, taillights, and wheel.
No doubt, it’ll be very expensive to fix, if it’s even repairable at all. The purple R32 GT-R also took a hefty hit, also sustaining rear bumper, taillight, and quarter panel damage.
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Legal Claims Follow
According to The Drive, the lawsuit filed by the owners claims the telehandler operator “proceeded without maintaining a safe and clear line of sight ahead and without taking adequate measures to ensure the path of travel was clear.” The suit further describes the vehicle’s operation as “grossly negligent.”
Not only were the two Nissans badly damaged, but the lawsuit says that Nazaryan and Fuchigami were also injured. They are also seeking damages for “pain and suffering, emotional distress, mental anguish, inconvenience, and such other non-economic losses as will be proven at trial.”
While the circuit has yet to comment publicly on the lawsuit itself, a representative did confirm that “an incident involving a track support vehicle and a racecar occurred at the facility during a privately operated on-track event earlier this month,” and noted that the circuit “continues to work through the process with diligence and timeliness.”
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