Spittal, a veteran autocrosser who drives a C4 Corvette, had borrowed his friend Doug Barrett’s Porsche GT3 for the last lap of the event at Portland International Raceway’s parking lot. At the finish line, the right-offset pedals on the Porsche caused him to hit the clutch instead of the brake and he ran through the cones and slammed into a parked Toyota Celica GT. The Celica hit a Subaru WRX, which slid into an Audi A3. Both the WRX and the A3 belonged to spectators; the Celica belonged to a competitor. Since the accident took place in the parking lot at […]
Spittal, a veteran autocrosser who drives a C4 Corvette, had borrowed his friend Doug Barrett’s Porsche GT3 for the last lap of the event at Portland International Raceway’s parking lot.
At the finish line, the right-offset pedals on the Porsche caused him to hit the clutch instead of the brake and he ran through the cones and slammed into a parked Toyota Celica GT. The Celica hit a Subaru WRX, which slid into an Audi A3. Both the WRX and the A3 belonged to spectators; the Celica belonged to a competitor.
Since the accident took place in the parking lot at PIR, insurance coverage is likely to be a contentious issue. Total damage estimates have ranged up to $100,000 – $50,000 to fix the Porsche, and another $50,000 for the three other cars involved.
“An autocross isn’t a race,” said Spittal. “I was driving a street legal car and I had an accident in a parking lot. It was my fault, but that’s what insurance is for, isn’t it?”
