This was not supposed to happen.
ITV4/YouTubePush anything through the air quickly enough and it will fly. Even a Porsche. Particularly when it’s going backward and hits a tire wall. But the best news here isn’t that this Porsche flew, but how it landed.
Nineteen-year-old Will Martin was behind the wheel of Comline Richardson Racing’s 911 GT3 during the running of the 16th and final round of Britain’s Carrera Cup at Brands Hatch last Sunday when the car caught flight.
“As I was coming towards the exit of the corner I had a touch from behind,” Martin told Britain’s Daily Mail. “Obviously, coming out the corner I was still trying to turn. I was spinning off towards the barrier on the right. I hit the barrier backwards which sort of lifted the car up as I went over.”
The GT3 is built to stay planted to the ground when it’s going forward. But going backward, none of those aero devices function as intended. And hitting the tire barrier sent the GT3 up at least six feet where it then caught the catch fence and started climbing up a tree like a metallic blue squirrel. Meanwhile, under that tree, and inside what looks like a shade shelter, was at least one course marshal who saw the car fly over.
Here’s the good news: Somehow the car was entangled in the fence, structure and tree so securely that it stayed aloft. If it hadn’t, it likely would have squashed the marshal and, at minimum, they would have been severely injured. This isn’t the result of careful planning, but the fortunate fruit of pure luck.
Here’s the video.
John Pearley Huffman Senior Editor John Pearley Huffman has been writing about cars since 1990 and is getting okay at it.
Keyword: Porsche 911 GT3 Race Car Performs Fly Over at Brands Hatch, Lands in Tree