MOTIVE VIDEO RELEASES FOOTAGE OF MICK MANSOUR’S SCARY GT-R CRASH AT COOTAMUNDRA AIRPORT
If you don’t subscribe to the chaps at Motive Video, you’re doing yourself a disservice, especially if you’re into all things JDM. The Aussie-based crew are heavily involved in the world of fast GT-Rs, having built and tuned their fair share of monstrous examples. We’ve made mention of them before after being glued to their exploits with the Yaris GR - they were the first tuners in the world to get the little car to run in the 10s on the quarter while producing over 500hp. One event they religiously cover is the GT-R Challenge held at Cootamundra Airport, and for the 2022 instalment, things were going great until GT-R racer Mick Mansour, known for his record runs with an H-pattern transmission, touched the grass on a fast run which saw a loss of control before a tyre blew sending the R33 GT-R into multiple barrel rolls - at 270 km/h!
We know you clicked to watch the footage before reading further, and we don’t blame you. It was a rather horrific accident, and at 270 km/h big damage can occur to both car and driver. Luckily the strip of tarmac used is a runway, which means there are no poles or trees anywhere near, barriers either. We’ve seen some accidents that could have been saved by barriers pushing the car back onto the drag strip, but in this case the barrel roll that ensued wasn’t from hitting an obstacle, the front right tyre pulled off the rim and that was enough downward travel to see the wheel dig in and send the car over. The GT-R rolled 11 and a half times before coming to rest, and while that sounds quite hectic, the video looks worse than it sounds. A barrel roll at a normal speed is scary, but the short amount of time the 11 rolls happened in must have been an absolutely terrifying experience for Mick, the G-forces on his body are unimaginable.
The casual way Mick talks about the experience is amazing, the man knows how lucky he was and that his guardian angels were putting in overtime to keep him safe. He attributes the fact that he’s alive to a properly-built roll cage and a top-quality helmet. The latter definitely saved his life, and it was a strange series of events that saw Mick wearing a better helmet than he’d usually use. When it’s not your time, it’s not your time. The video isn’t short, but it’s well worth watching in full to give you an idea of the mindset needed to do this sport, and how to get back up and do it again after a setback. You’ll never believe it, but most of that R33 GT-R was salvageable, with a new body the car could be up and running in a week or so.
Take a look at the YouTube video where Mick Mansour's run at the 2022 GT-R Challenge at Cootamundra Airport. Motive Video has expertly covered many racing events and incident, and this is the worst crash they've seen, and it's the first proper accident at the venue in 14 years. If anything, this video highlights the necessity of a well-built roll cage and the associated safety devices: The Worst GT-R Crash We've Ever Seen - And he Walked Away - The Full Story | Motive Video
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