Civic Type R FL5 Crashed Hard...Totaled 

Went off in exactly the same way at Turn 9 about 5 years ago, when I was still new to track days. Rear liked to step out at Turn 9 and my hands were too slow. Luckily I just went for a little ride through the grass, but could have rolled just like you. Glad you're okay, and if you're not already, I highly recommend putting a lot of hours on a sim rig at home. It is the #1 thing that improved my car control and has kept me on track over the years. Again, very happy you're okay.

Ex polo cup driver and racetrack instructor here. Never unload like this with FWD cars in high speed corners, and if you run into a situation where you accidentally still do - full throttle. FWD cars are super easy to correct even at massive speeds, as long as you push throttle and countersteer if necessary. You were trying to passively ride it out which got you into the situation. An expensive lesson ;) glad you’re okay.

Hey I was in the white 128 yesterday. My heart just about dropped when I heard. So glad you’re okay. Hang in there.

Wyatt, chief driving instructor of VIR. So glad to see you are okay, I wish you a quick recovery and hope to see you back on the track soon!

Dude I found this because somebody reposted on TikTok, I wanted to come to the source and say thanks for posting -- I know it must be hard to put something like this on the internet. But it means you have a lot of courage, and I think we all should appreciate it. That sequence of turns is nasty, and it looked like an easy mistake to make. I hope you bounce back quick and stronger dude, and I'm subscribing to see when that first upload comes out

I was in the Blue E30 in group 3 with you, wreck looked pretty scary with all the safety vehicles around. Glad your okay, and hope to see you back out when your ready!

Can't tell you how shocked I was when I saw it was your car that all the trucks came out for. Not hesitation to head straight to the tech shed to see if could go to the med room. Huge relief to hear there was laughing in the room and to see you walk out. Video definitely makes it scarier; that is not what I imagined. Thank you Honda safety.

Gotta say that I’m impressed with the community’s reaction to this video. Everyone is thankful you’re alive and for the video so we can all learn. Have a speedy recovery!

Bad wreck and glad you’re ok. It was lift off over steer, not a tail wind. When you lifted off the throttle mid corner the rear wheels lose grip and the fronts become loaded. That’s what did you in, not the wind.

Glad to see you’re ok, man. I was in the white 996 last weekend and you were wheeling that car. Shit happens and that part of the course is so unforgiving. If you look back at my old videos I did same thing in my M3 and went off backwards. Letting off at that point with all the weight transfer can be a scary recipe. Hope to see you out again soon.

wow. that split second where i can assume he tried to reach for a handbrake and realized he was cooked... truly heart stopping, so glad you were able to walk away

So sorry, I'm glad you're ok!! I wrecked my 2004 RX-8, it's scary. Then, there's that moment after you survived where you slowly start to realize that the car did not. I went through all the stages of automotive grief, including buying an RX-8 shell thinking I would Frankenstein her back to life. This FL5 will be missed. I've been really enjoying the channel, got a 2023 Boost Blue and I'm definitely going to follow some of your mods. Thanks for the content!

As someone who has walked away from 2 relatively minor crashes on track, I'm glad you're doing well both physically and mentally. I just picked up an FL5 myself, and will be tracking it this season. Thanks for sharing.

Ben, Hope and I are thankful that you're okay, and we sincerely thank you for posting this video. It speaks volumes about your character. This video is a reminder that this can happen to any of us who participate in this hobby at any time. Regardless, this hobby is still safer than driving on public roads.

Holy shit!!! Noooo!! I’m sorry about your R, glad you’re ok! That was an insane looking crash! I hope you heal up fast and get a new ride soon!

Shit happens man... be thankful you're here to write about it. Good luck on the recovery!

I've done driver coaching and here is a tip. Do some study on hand placement on the wheel. Also optimizing seating position. Factory cars tend to have the steering wheel too far away (fatigue) for best car control. Give up some leg room for a little more arm bend. You looked like you had a death grip with thumbs wrapped. You want a softer grip, (less fatigue) thumbs not wrapped, so you can react quicker & get better feedback from the steering. The car will tell you what it wants to do. Tight grip means you're not listening. You would have been able to feel the car going loose in the wheel and gently give the car what it wanted so it could correct. Remember, it's a relationship between you and the car and like every good relationship, communication is key. React to each other in symphony and you will have the time of your life as a driver.

You were flyin' dude. Hangin' w a 996 Turbo is no joke. Glad you're ok! No one can say sh!t about Civics nowadays :)

A brave man puts his mistakes out there for others to see. A kind man shares these mistakes so thart others are saved by the lessons they teach. Thank you for posting this for the lesson it teaches. Glad you are o.k. and may your next Type R live longer!

Subscribed, just for the fortitude it takes to be forthright and put your mistakes out there to try to help people avoid them. The kind of person I’d happily share a track with. Really glad you’re alright.

You're OK man and that's most important! But you should really get some driving lessons with a proper racing instructor, because you'll crash again if you keep on driving like that. You were understeering the car in most corners and overdriving it, jumping curbs without any reason for it, doing way too early apex in many corners, choppy steering wheel movement. And I'm noticing this as a noob. A racing instructor will probably find more. Wish you all the best!

Be thankful you can even type this. The car gave its life to save yours. Lift off oversteer in a FWD car is some scary shit, even *if* you are used to it. While it goes against all instinct, smashing on the accelerator pedal could have (potentially) saved you. Granted I have no idea how much track you had to the right of you to even attempt it, so armchair racing critique is guess work at best.

Holy shit man. Sorry to see this. I am very happy you were able to walk away without major issue. Looking forward to the come back!!

Never driven on track but you were doing a great job and I was surprised when the car lost control. Best of luck going forward and glad you were not seriously injured. That is most important.

It's hard to remember to pin the throttle when fwd cars oversteer like this to pull them back into line. I've been in a similar situation on track, it's very scary. I'm glad you're OK!

Hope you have a quick recovery! Really appreciate you sharing the footage.

omg so sorry and sad to see this, but i am really glad you're ok... this was bad do thankful you're here man

I'm glad you're ok, I hope you're fully recovered! When I first saw the track layout at 1:08, that looked super scary lol. That's probably the scariest part of the track for me. After I saw the unfortunate accident, it appeared to be on that part of the track. That's just scary. I'm glad you made it out ok. I want to do track day one day, but yeah, I'm definitely going to buy track insurance.

That's a bummer that your head came off when the car started to roll, but I'm glad the docs were able to reattach it! That tumble looked nasty!

OMG. I can’t believe it. Your pride and joy. Gone. I’m so sorry, Ben. Great to see that you’ll race another day.

Wow... I was already sketched out by that section of the course. I'm glad you made it out already though. The car can be replaced. You cannot be!

That scream though! 🤣. No faking that emotion. Been in a few crashes myself. It's also crazy how slow it plays in your mind when it happens. I respect your honest responses in chat. Good luck to you!

Aside from the crash, this looks like a hell of a lot of fun. Glad you were able to race another day.

Thanks for posting. There's lots here for us all to learn from.

My friend's ek9 race car also went out the same way, but at different tracks. The rear just didn't want to hold on anymore. He thought it was probably because of multiple laps in a row. Overheating the tires that lessen its effectiveness at gripping. Glad you are fine, though. Does your insurance cover this? Are you getting another FL5?

Glad you are ok bro! The track is the right place for that kind of speed. Sorry about your car, but a very small price to pay to see your family again.

Hey man, takes a lot of balls and courage to post this. It's appreciated and your commitment to the platform that alot of learn from. Most importantly, you're alive & able to learn and recover from this experience. Glad you're alive, looking forward to what's next for you! Take care, -Anthony

Perfect track to example the phrase, " Never lift your foot off the throttle. " I'm glad you made it out in one piece, having learned something about driver error and the importance of driver safety. FL5 : They'll come back, they always do.

Thx for uploading, I think the moment all comes for us one day when we have to correct something like this in real life, on the road. And getting used to the idea and being prepared is so much easier now with these educational contents. So thank you.

Thanks for sharing so hopefully some accidents can be avoided and glad you made it out OK! You should practice some oversteer control so it becomes second nature when you feel the rear moving. Many years ago I had a similar experience in a EP3 Type-R but even worse lift off (and braking) oversteer down a sharp tightening freeway exit at 70+mph, I love drifting cars so was able to quickly go to 100% opposite lock when the rear went and kept the car like 90 degrees completely sideways down the off-ramp just barely and with a 200 bpm pulse, part skill part luck I didn't end up on the roof like you did here. Be safe and have fun!

Speedy recovery for you. I was not expecting the hard crash when you went off the track in a large open grass field.

Good driving my friend, just an unfortunate ending. Back in my day, they called that “stiff arming”. Meaning, based on what I saw, you were a little stiff on your counter steer. But as usual, that’s easy for me to say. It’s always a different situation when you’re the one driving. Nevertheless, I’ve been there my friend (rolled my car 7 times approaching turn 7 at Sebring while passing slower traffic on the outside), hope you get some wheels and get back to it soon! God bless you brother.

Oh man, glad you are ok. I practice giving it throttle when in an oversteer situation like that on a fwd along with counter steer on the sim racing setup, sometimes it helps “pull it” back. You had very little time to correct tho and once you ended up in that grass there was nothing to be done at that point. Ooof. You were looking good out there. You only live once, you out there living your best life. That’s what counts.

God Bless you sir, I am happy youre alright

Dam, that was a big hit, you're lucky to walk away from that one and just goes to show how strong modern cars are now days.

Glad your OK. Man you could tell at first he was like oh thank god this is just grass and then saw that dip and was like OH NO

I think this was pretty difficult for him to avoid that one, glad you’re alright

Dang. I was in this session and right by Hog Pen when we got the red flags. Glad to hear you are safe. Hope to see you out there again soon.

Glad to know you survived to post the video dude. That's bad crash. I hop a speedy recovery and lots of good driving miles to you.

I've done this exact same thing in the sim on this turn a bunch of times. The sim crash is nowhere near as dramatic, glad you are OK. And thanks for sharing, will definitely stay humble and respect VIR when I eventually make it out there. Hope you bounce back 👍

I wrecked my B15 Spec-V in a similar fashion a few months ago and I'm glad to hear you're ok and was able to walk away from that, FWD oversteer is extremely scary

Very happy you’re alright. Looks like you froze. I’ve done it too, and it’s absolutely terrifying. Ended up in a ditch 6 feet deep. Everyone has moments like that and it’s all a part of learning how the car reacts. Definitely a knarly accident and I hope you can hit the track ASAP!

Some race driver training will make it a more enjoyable and less expensive experience..but you live and learn..even the best make mistakes As long as you and no-one is hurt!

The prayer when you knew you were in trouble really hits.

Glad you walked away and thank you for sharing 👍🏼

My dad owns a 2019 type R, it would be very scary if it happened his civic. I hope you make a good recovery!

First, I'm glad you're alright. Second, this is something I didn't see too many other people bring up, but it's something I think is very important to dig into as a driving coach/instructor. Everyone keeps mentioning lift off oversteer, while that's definitely true, I think an overlooked cause of the incident here that you may want to learn from is actually your steering inputs. (You may be able to do this better by using the audio, rather than the video, when the tire is screaming it's likely over the limit, and feeding more steering input isn't actually helping you turn) It looks like the cause of the oversteer before the incident was brought on by a sharp steering input at a part of the track where the car was really fully loaded and at the limit of grip. In a spot like that, I always think of "teacups" or having light hands because sharp inputs can really upset the car in an instance like that. Another big thing to think about is listening to the tires. There are a few spots where it sounds like the steering inputs might be a bit too sharp or aggressive and you're just adding more steering angle with understeer. That's something that has helped me find a ton of time in the real car and on the simulator while being safer. I just through I would bring this up, because while yes, powering through the slide, and counter steering quicker and at a greater angle probably saves you in this case. Not throwing the car too sharply into this corner might have avoided the balance issue/oversteer in the first place. Again, really glad you walked away, hope you have a full recovery, and maybe this feedback helps you or someone else avoid a similar incident!

Me during one of my grip races in NFS PROSTREET 😂😅 Ryan Cooper POV… TOTALED! Jokes apart, that was scary, hope you are ok 😢

Damn bro! Glad you're walking away from that one, most wouldnt. Hope to see you in another car soon.

Glad you’re okay man! That was a big one.

Glad you are ok! Total novice here that's been wanting to take a lap around VIR for awhile. I appreciate the video.

OMG! So sorry about this! I hope you came out fine out of this, this is just crazy!

Great driving. Love the manual shifting. You make make the other "beasts" look slow. 👍🏻 But that was a hard hit. Glad you're okay. Keep on racing! 🏁

Sorry about the crash, bud! I did enjoy watching this session though. You were in the zone! Sent me to a happy place hearing that thing zing.

Ouch, sorry to see what happened, glad you are ok. Car can be replaced but a life can't.

Glad you are okay, and despite it all THANK YOU for putting this on YT for people to learn from. Were you wearing a Hybrid S by chance?

Glad you're okay, very sorry to see this happen.. im sorry man

Get well soon! I'm looking to go for some lessons on driving on the track soon and watching your videos has been really helpful! Also, i'm sorry for the loss of your FL5... I hope you'll be able to get back in another one soon! Any photos of what the damage looked like?

Glad you are OK and thanks for your courage in posting; that was pretty violent! A key learning point for anyone who tracks at VIR is that the uphill esses section is very unforgiving. There are only 2 very short sections within where you can adjust the balance or position of the car (before needing to make the next steering input) if you've made a mistake. But that only holds true if you've left some cushion speed-wise. The faster you go, the more margin for correction you remove until there is no room left to make a placement or balance mistake. Drive a simulator, purposely push hard in the esses until you make mistakes (and either fail or succeed at recovery), and you'll start to learn where the safe limits are. When you lost rear end at T9, you were carrying so much speed that had you been able to correct it, you would have been well into the break zone for T10 and most-likely would not have been able to slow in time. Likewise, too much counter-steer could have sent you into the left-side wall which is quite close to the asphalt in that location. All considered, it worked out best that you went off track-right as you were able to scrub 60mph off your speed before encountering an obstacle (the ditch).

Holy cow you were flying! I’m so sorry that happened to your car, glad you’re ok. That spot always looks sketchy to me.

That was sad bro !! And im sorry that happened to you,,i hope you get better after that accident.

Thanks for your sharing bro, glad your ok!!! Wondering what will be next?

This is probably the toughest aspect of really pushing cars on racetracks. Basically anyone who does this enough will have incidents, it is simply just part of racing. It sucks really bad when they happen at higher speeds like this. I'm glad you're okay, that's all that really matters now. The car did everything it needed to, it gave you some good times and protected you enough to walk away from a nasty accident. I'm sure this will stick with you and make you better for it in the long run.

Wow, really glad you’re okay man. Take care!

Glad to see you’re ok. Quick question from a person who hasnt driven Vir (or any track YET), what couldve been done differently? Should you have not turned in so “hard” or should you have lifted? I literally have no clue of how to avoid this other than lifting but that could = more time so idk.

That was some solid driving! Sorry this happened, but glad you walked away from it. Speedy recovery.

Every person should take a rally course day it will give you that car control you never knew you needed in every situation on and off the track Glad your ok cars can be replaced you can not 💪

So glad that you are ok my friend 🙏🏻🙏🏻

I'm happy to hear you're well. I have 2 questions, first, when you back off, do you turn on the gas again? I think it can be saved. But in real life I get scared and I'm not capable. And second question, do you have more tire pressure in the rear than in the front? This makes the lift off oversteer more violent.

Dang man definitely difficult to watch that but glad you made it out alright!

If able, I’d love to see the aftermath of the wreck. It’s remarkable that you walked away. You were pushing that car, awesome driving.

I've never been to this track in real life. But I do race vir in forza a ton, and I use rewind a lot on that turn. All jokes aside, I'm glad you're still with us.

Man, really glad you walked away and hope to see you back in action soon!

😢 im glad you are ok.

Wow! Glad you’re ok!!!

Wow, ouch! You were SO lucky man, take care!

sorry man😢 your reaction after slipping was so slow. You were driving well until a more difficult moment.

Glad you walked away. Those damn red laptimers... they seem to be present at most of the offs.

The instant before the roll he's doing 63 MPH. Think about that as you sail down city streets at 80.

Hi! It was tough to watch, but here are my thoughts on it. You entered the corner too hot, you lifted off the throttle to slow down the car for too long, and you ended up in a lift-off oversteer situation. You could have counter-steered even more and/or quickly apply throttle to straighten the car, and never forget to look where you want to go! The exact same situation happened to me twice last season, and I was able to save my Type R this way. Glad to see you walked away from it. Every experience is a lesson learned. Love your content, keep it coming!

Wow, blessed to be alive. Rip to the fl5. Prayers on your recovery.

So glad you were able to walk away! Scary AF to watch 😮

Glad you’re okay, bud! Holy crap, that was a bad accident.

Wow! Horrible wreck! Glad you’re still hear to drive another day! Heal up quick!

RIP Type R 😢. But the good thing is you are ok.

That is GNARLY! Glad you’re ok. Keep an eye out for any weird behavioral symptoms later on, brain injuries and PTSD can be very insidious.

Bro was looking for the E-Brake lol

Glad you are OK, RIP Type R.😢💔

Did this same exact thing in my 07 Accord Coupe going around a backroad corner unloading and it luckily only spun out in the ditch then drove back out. Only thing bad was i lost my passenger side skirt somehow but other then that no damage. Glad your ok Bro Shit happens youll come back better from it.

holy crap man. glad you're ok. sucks about the car. can you describe what you think happened? were you in R+ mode? just wondering if the stiffness contributed to the rears losing traction after hitting that curbing. Obviously you were driving hard. Any pics of the car? when did this happen? I drive a Integra Type S and I always felt like I had a hard time getting the car back to the right side of the track there, and settled, before starting to brake for turn 10. Always appreciate your content. hang in there and keep us posted on things. Maybe you could do a video talking about the event, when things finally settle down for you.