Written by The Cannonball Run comes to Shimonoseki
This fantastic news item comes direct from Japan and deserves a post of it’s own, such are
Crash scene
the various strands connected with this tenuously sport related news item. It’s also hilarious and I can say that knowing that nobody was injured; the only things damaged were the pride and pockets of a bunch of Japanese sports car enthusiasts.
The story begins on Sunday in south west Japan in the Fukuoka prefecture in southern Kyushu and involves the aforementioned group of super-car enthusiasts who were making their way to a sports car event in Kyushu. It was raining, the road was wet and a witness told local reporters that “a group of cars were doing 140-160 kmph (85-100 mph). One of them spun and they all ended up in this great mess.”
Ferraris, Lamborghinis
A great expensive mess is exactly what this was and it appeared to be caused by the driver at the head of a convoy of around 20 cars. In this expensive gang were Ferraris, a Lamborghini Diablo, a Nissan GT-R Skyline, some Mercedes and (a little out of place) a Toyota Prius. Police think that the lead car, driven by a 60 year old man from the region, lost control and hit a crash barrier. Following cars, unable to stop quickly enough due to their speed and the weather conditions, joined in the carnage, resulting in damage to eight Ferraris, the Lamborghini and the Prius.
Crash scene
The road was closed for about six hours while workers cleared wreckage from the site and plenty of witnesses were on hand to take pictures of the scene. There’s a certain sort of schadenfreude involved in finding out that the Japanese rich can’t drive very well and even more in discovering that the damage is estimated at around £2.5 million. We assume that all drivers were adequately insured but imagine that the insurance companies terms and conditions might not include racing in the rain and over the speed limit.
