Chevrolet, title sponsor for the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, suffered a bit of an embarrassment earlier this afternoon when a Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 pace car crashed on the parade lap ahead of today’s IndyCar race. We’ve come to understand that the Corvette was being driven by General Motors executive Mark Reuss at the time of the incident.
The above clip shows the incident in question. The blue 2019 Corvette ZR1 was completing turn 2 of the Belle Isle race course, heading into the straightaway, when the rear tires broke traction and the car rotated swiftly to the left. It crashed head-first into the concrete barrier along the left side of the straight.
Allegedly, the loss of traction shown in the video above was caused by a blown tire, although there’s no visual evidence of that in the clip.
The 14-turn, 2.3-mile course of the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, which is set up and torn down again each year on the scenic island of Belle Isle, is frequently cited by pro drivers as one of the roughest and toughest circuits on the calendar.
Comments
The Corvette was being driven by Mark Reuss.
Nah It was defiantly Melody Lee…… you know how those Asian drivers are XD
Put a proper set of race tires on it, a real racecar driver in it, and let see what it will do!
Would like to know who was behind the wheel though, 755/715 is clearly not mear mortal numbers!
Not the worst a GM leader has done.
Mike Losh at the press intro to the new 88 GP rolled the car over in front of everyone in the media.
The photos of the car on the roof made all the stories.
This is PHENOMENAL free press, the Vette/ZR1 just got more dangerous (in a good way)…
Drivers should drive and executives should exec. Was in way over his head.
This should be why capital punishment should be legal!
Good, one less Douchette to put in a narcissistic museum. Maybe the impact will cause his brain to start development on practical performance Chevys and Buicks we can afford and enjoy ..
What do you mean affordable? Explain what part of the ZR1 is not affordable? It’s the biggest bag for the buck GM has ever produced!
$130k affordable?, a cramped 2 seater is not a car that everyone wants, an awd sport Malibu, a Alpha based Cascada, an mass-produced SS replacement, a large rwd Buick sedan, etc. I get SUV / truck bring the cash in but at least put some effort in mass-produced cars like FCA do.
Lets not forget, Chrysler is for sale. I don’t want GM following there blueprint!
People don’t want a 120k two seater! Are you kidding me? You do realize that GM will sell every ZR1 built!
What you are really saying is you want GM to build cars that you can afford. GM doesn’t build cars for only one person, GM builds cars that have the highest potential of profit! So stop being a cheap person!
Performance cars are not supposed to be cheap or affordable!
Sport Malibu is still a Malibu! Alpha based cascada is just a Camaro clone, a chevy SS was built but cheap people like yourself didn’t buy them,
Trucks, SUVs, cuvs, and performance cars are what brings in the profits. So this is what the focus should be on!
I am glad you don’t run the company because we would be in the same boat a FCA!
“People don’t want a 120k two seater! Are you kidding me? You do realize that GM will sell every ZR1 built!”
Yes!, the D’ette is expected to outsell Silverado this year…. A specialty, limited sports cars shouldn’t be Chevy’s Focus, look at the half-like efforts put into the 19′ Cruze and Malibu and tell me if they put effort in the mainstream models like they did the roadster at least the ROI would had been better.
“What you are really saying is you want GM to build cars that you can afford. ”
Duh, that’s what’s Chevy is/was about making affordable / practical performance cars. BTW where’s your ZR1 Mr. top dollar?
Why should GM spend a faction of the time on the Malibu that it spends on the Corvette? The Malibu makes a few hundred dollars profit on each sold, the Corvette makes several thousand dollars profit on each model of the Corvette made. So given this theory GM is smart to focus on high end performance cars to maximize their profits per vehicle made.
As for me I am just waiting for my kids to graduate high school next year. But in the meantime I do own a 70 chevy c10 that’s worth about 30k! Give or take!
So stop being cheap!
Shades of the 1971 Indy 500 when the Dodge Challenger pace car driven by a local dealer crashed into an elevated viewing platform causing it to crash to the ground injuring several.
This is why training classes for buyers of high performance cars is a real necessity as you hear about people getting into accidents almost as soon as they buy their new car; there was just an article about how driving the 2019 C7 Corvette ZR1 took a bit of practice because stepping on the gas too hard can cause rear wheel slippage.
Ya think, is there ever a race, be it car, motorcycle, ATV or personal waterctaft, snow or water ski’s ect ect. Where they don’t practice or warm up?
The greatest racers ever participated in those.
SHIT HAPPENS! Especially when your not prepared. Only an idiot shows up thinking they are ready to compete or be fast.
Well, that’s one way to make sure it doesn’t overheat on track.
D’ette is still a D’ette, remember GM went completely BK with “Trucks, SUVs, cuvs, and performance cars are what brings in the profits”, don’t sit on a high-horse about how FCA is jacked-up.
You still don’t get it about brand-building and keeping customers for life looking at the basket-case Cruze few young buyers will say ” can’t wait for a Vette”, they’ll get a Civic instead an GM lost another one. From Nova SS to Cobalt SS , even the v8 210 in the 50’s Chevy had budget performance to expensive now I guess GM suppose to have you pay Porsche-prices for a Vette after years of killing brands and models and the GM faithful suppose to clamour for it?, don’t think so.
You say people wont wait on a Corvette! Then explain to me why they sale each and everyone of them? There are no shortage of buyers!
Ok, how come the Challenger Demon sold-out and not only the base Challenger models are affordable but it out-sells the Vette 2-1, there’s never a Vette shortage ( unfortunately…).
Chevy had the SS that uses parts and pieces of the Corvette and nobody purchased it! So why expand on it?
It sounds like you are a FCA fan and if so then go bang on them on that site! I am a GM fan that’s why I am on this site!
And yet the Challenger lesser models had parts from trucks but FCA did “advertise” the car and brand (unlike SS) plus FCA made sure the LXs were their mainstay cars instead of import a loaded car from a zombie brand straying from the original plan of making them in N.A. and make the case of “nobody’s buying” (SS), then crap like the W-body last nearly 30 years of production.
It’s no mistake FCA moved over 10,000 rwd sedans last month imagine GM stayed with Zeta or atleast give us a mainstream Alpha sedan. Sounds like you a Vette fan then a GM fan, don’t cry if GM puts the Vette out-to-pasture in order to save it’s trucks from another financial misstep because of boneheaded “chase the cash only” decisions of now.
If I could a afford a Vette, one or more would be in my garage.
Vettes are in a market to compete with exotics not a Mustang or Malibu’s or challengers.
They are also the standard for other GM cars from auto racing new tech for improvement and reliability that is past downed from them.
I also like the hatch Cruze but it doesnt have the 2.0 liter turbo so I will never own one. Doesn’t make sense but GM is not focused in small/compact performance.
Makes hella sense for GM to spend money in Vette performance. Why let the other countries reap the cash….