Bad Day at Track: C7 Z06 Erupts Into Flames at Laguna Seca

What caused this fire remains a mystery, but the C7 Z06 is a total loss after it suddenly erupted into flames.

Track days are a whole heck of a lot of fun, and for many of us, are a way we spent many a fair weather weekend. There’s nothing quite like experiencing our cars in a closed, controlled format like that, a place where we can explore our Corvette’s limits safely. Unfortunately, however, driving a car in a spirited manner is also risky, and aside from the typical wreck, there’s also a variety of other disasters that can strike at the track. Unfortunately, that’s precisely what happened to Corvette Forum member dllhg, whose C7 Z06 erupted into flames during a recent track session.

“Quite a sad day when my beloved C7 Z06 caught fire on track and was totaled,” he said. “I’m very lucky to have escaped without injury or worse. 2017 Z, 14k miles, no power mods. Only had cooling mods and suspension mods for track duty. 20 track days over the last 11 months. Just like an ex-girlfriend, it was great while it lasted, but there were clear signs she was a psycho from the beginning.”

“Laguna Seca two weeks ago, first session, 65 degrees, seventh lap, I was coming up on turn two and I noticed smoke in the cabin. It gets bad very quickly. I immediately look for a good place to pull over on the hot track. I get off between T5 and T6 in a nice dirt patch, but the cabin gets so smokey I’m having a hard time breathing. I immediately undo the six point. Door won’t open and I had to use the manual lever. I quickly see small ***** of flames dropping below the car in the right rear. Track tow arrives in minutes. He extinguishes the small fire probably 5-6 times. suddenly the cabin erupts in flames. I yell at him to pull back and that the car was gone at this point. I didn’t want anyone getting hurt.”

“Turned into a healthy ball of fire. Fire department arrived very quickly. Fire started in right rear and moved over to the left rear when it really got going. Very surreal watching my car I had spent so much time and money on just burn to the ground. Grateful to be okay, though my lungs were sore for a few days.”

Some other members suggested that perhaps the OP should have had a fire extinguisher on board, which is always a good idea, but the fact that the fire fighter couldn’t extinguish the small flame with one probably means the owner wouldn’t have been able to, either. Regardless, the C7 Z06 owner isn’t quite sure what started the fire, but at least he had track insurance, so this awful track day won’t result in a total loss, not that it’s much of a consolation in this case.

Photos:Corvette Forum

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