Watch the Renault Clio RS lose control at high speed during trackday

Track days offer enthusiasts the opportunity to gain track experience. Sometimes you learn a lot of lessons in a matter of seconds, as happened to this Renault Clio RS driver. “You have to watch this video to see how quickly things can go wrong.”

In his Renault Clio RS, Englishman Liam Pauling raced over Brands Hatch, a racetrack south-east of London. Although he appears to have some track experience, everything goes horribly wrong in January this year.

Serious accident in the Renault Clio RS during the track day

Pauling is hurtling through a wide corner at high speed when the rear wheels lose traction. He quickly tries to take countermeasures, but Pauling himself later admitted that he had come “a little too late”. The Renault Clio RS skids onto the grass, after which there’s no stopping it. “At that point, all I could do was try to limit the damage,” says Pauling.

That didn’t work out so well. The car bounces over the grass and Pauling wisely takes his hands off the wheel just before impact. The Renault Clio RS hits the tire wall at almost 130 km/h. After this fiery encounter, the hot hatch is launched. “I was expecting a violent blow, but I didn’t see that I would fly backwards in the air.”

The danger is not over yet

The Clio makes a full turn before it comes to a stop on the roof, but the danger is not over yet. Video shows fuel pouring across the ceiling shortly after the crash while Pauling is still hanging upside down in his racing seat. Fortunately, he manages to climb out of the wreck unharmed within seconds.

This video proves once again why a proper roll cage is highly recommended for many track days. “Sitting upside down in the grass with your Renault Clio RS puts things into perspective. “It goes without saying that I have no regrets about the money I’ve spent on safety equipment,” says Liam Pauling. “Thanks to my helmet, the FHR system and the roll cage, I escaped unscathed.”