This wrecked Lexus IS F gave its life so you can read about what it's like to drive an IS-F. Oh, wait. No it wasn't. It was crashed because automakers team up with "professional automotive journalist organizations" for these annual drives that only create any journalism when someone wrecks a car.
How would you drive if there were no real consequences? Short of killing yourself or someone else, there's no consequence I can think of for shunting a press car at a track during a drive. Go wild.
While some track-day crashes are just unfortunate accidents, others are the inevitable result of over-privileged "journalists" given free rein over press cars at a track. The kind of "journalists" who show up to a friendly driving event dressed in a full racing suit with their own helmet in tow (that's not a joke, that happened in Texas).
People who think they're invincible because, if they have enough readers, they are.
Right now, the International Motor Press Association (New York NAMBLA) is in the midst of its Fall Rally at the Monticello Motor Club. It's raining, so of course some journalist (a Canadian non-Canadian, we hear) went full tilt into a corner, crashed, and then walked away. Actually, they probably walked over to the CTS-V to go have a few more laps.
Other regional organizations (California NAMBLA, Texas NAMBLA, Midwestern NAMBLA) run these kind of events on a regular schedule. Yet, you only hear about it when there's a wreck.
And it pisses me off. Not because I'm standing up for journalists or because I think, if I were there, I'd drive any better. Hell, our Senior Editor Mike Spinelli is running the thing.
It pisses me off because these are the same press cars that I'm used to getting on a weekly basis and when someone, say, drives a Viper into a tree, I don't get that car any more.
See? We're all a bunch of over-privileged jerks, but at least I'm willing to be honest about it.
UPDATE: A representative for IMPA contacted us and made it clear that every safety precaution was followed and the cone was speed-limited due to the conditions. He also made it clear the driver who crashed the vehicle was not allowed to drive another vehicle today.
Photo Credit: @mdeslaueriers