Nils Luehrmann
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2001
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- 3,513
Back in September while attempting to break speed records driving Porsche's latest supercar, the Carrera GT, Jay Leno had the ride of a lifetime when he lost control of the car while entering turn 3 at Talladega Superspeedway.
The Car immediately went into a high speed spin after Leno lost control of the car in turn 3, and continued to spinout beyond the camera crews view which was now obstructed by the pit wall. Sure that Leno was going to crash, the crew and fellow driver David Donohue rushed to the end of pit lane to lend aid. To everyone's surprise Leno and his Carrera GT appeared from behind the pit wall as he drove it back to the pit area without even so much as a scratch on the car. Leno had managed to keep the car on the track and never touched the wall despite doing five full rotations!
Like a seasoned pro, Leno brushed off the incident and went right back to work driving a different Carrera GT and broke three Grand American speed records and David Donohue broke three more.
The entire event was captured on HD cameras by the production team for TLC's Rides and is currently being shown on Discovery's HD Theater channel on cable and satellite. You can also get this on DVD, but it wont be in HD which is really the way to see this as it is shot beautifully!
(Be sure to check out the skid marks Leno left behind on the track from his wild ride through turn 3.)
The show isn't just about Leno's & Donahue's speed record attempts, but also discusses Steve McQueen's LeMans Gulf Porsche 917, and includes a wonderful look at and story behind Legend Automotive's hand built replica of Porsche's 1955 550 Spyder immortalized forever by its association with James Dean. The replica is a true labor of love from Wil Cashen & Russ Rodriguez and if I had room I'd place an order for one myself. It is a truly beautiful car and an amazingly accurate representation of the original.
The Car immediately went into a high speed spin after Leno lost control of the car in turn 3, and continued to spinout beyond the camera crews view which was now obstructed by the pit wall. Sure that Leno was going to crash, the crew and fellow driver David Donohue rushed to the end of pit lane to lend aid. To everyone's surprise Leno and his Carrera GT appeared from behind the pit wall as he drove it back to the pit area without even so much as a scratch on the car. Leno had managed to keep the car on the track and never touched the wall despite doing five full rotations!
Like a seasoned pro, Leno brushed off the incident and went right back to work driving a different Carrera GT and broke three Grand American speed records and David Donohue broke three more.
The entire event was captured on HD cameras by the production team for TLC's Rides and is currently being shown on Discovery's HD Theater channel on cable and satellite. You can also get this on DVD, but it wont be in HD which is really the way to see this as it is shot beautifully!
(Be sure to check out the skid marks Leno left behind on the track from his wild ride through turn 3.)
The show isn't just about Leno's & Donahue's speed record attempts, but also discusses Steve McQueen's LeMans Gulf Porsche 917, and includes a wonderful look at and story behind Legend Automotive's hand built replica of Porsche's 1955 550 Spyder immortalized forever by its association with James Dean. The replica is a true labor of love from Wil Cashen & Russ Rodriguez and if I had room I'd place an order for one myself. It is a truly beautiful car and an amazingly accurate representation of the original.
