WeatherTech Raceway Laguna SecaThe circuit features a famous downhill corner known as the "Corkscrew," which has now been officially named "The Zanardi Corkscrew."
This name is said to be in honor of the late Alex Zanardi, a driver who won the CART series championship twice.
The event commemorates the 30th anniversary of the legendary moment in 1996 when Zanardi overtook Bryan Herta on the final lap. A commemorative ceremony was held on the morning of the first day of the race weekend (September 4, 2026), which will host the final race of this year's IndyCar Series season.
Incidentally, that last legendary overtake in 1996 is known as "The Pass," and here's the video of it. Amazing! ↓
The day after the commemorative ceremony on September 4th, in which this corner was given a new name,
The following day, there were qualifying rounds for the IndyCar race, as well as the Porsche Sprint Challenge USA, but apparently a major crash occurred during the Porsche race.
And what's more, it happened in a corner that had just been named the Zanardi Corkscrew.
This is the video from that time (Source:MK Steve X). It's truly terrifying just to look at it ↓
Driver was airlifted about 10am local time. pic.twitter.com/7ye1hG9fUF
— Ryan Wevers (@RyanWevers) September 5, 2026
From what I can see in the video, the brakes appear to have failed, and the car went off the track and crashed into the barrier as it approached the corkscrew corner.
Despite the severity of the crash, driver Manuel Gil Del Real remained conscious after the incident and was taken to the hospital for examination and treatment. It's a great relief that he wasn't seriously injured.
It's still unclear whether the brakes were the cause, but I thought it was amazing how safe the car was, allowing the driver to remain unharmed even in such a situation (Spanish reports suggest the driver walked out of the car on their own, but this isn't official information, so we can't be sure).
Apparently, in 1999, a car also crashed on the same Corkscrew corner, flying off the track and spinning in mid-air. The driver in that incident reportedly died from a skull fracture.
However, considering the severity of this crash, even though the front of the 911 Cup is completely destroyed, the roll cage remains intact, and the driver was likely using HANS (which wasn't as widespread at the time of the previous accident), which I think is quite remarkable.
I pray for the driver's speedy recovery.
Source:
◆Fence destroyed in terrifying Porsche crash at Laguna Seca corkscrew
◆Laguna Seca formally dedicates 'The Zanardi Corkscrew'
◆IndyCar Saturday Halted Following Huge Porsche Sprint Crash in Zanardi Corkscrew
◆Espantoso accidente en el Sacacorchos de Laguna Seca
◆El espectacular accidente en el 'Sacacorchos' de Laguna Seca no fue el único
Related article:
◆You can now enjoy the Porsche Track Experience (PTX) at Laguna Seca.
◆Porsche becomes Official Vehicle of WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
◆Porsche Rennsport Reunion 7 | I went to 2023 ①911 S/T, Dakar, Trans Siberia, Corkscrew
I'm Rika, the author of this article. Since I got my hands on a Porsche 911, I've been completely hooked on Porsches and I can't stop loving them, so I started this blog. My favorite cars are the 911 Carrera (2/991), 911 Carrera Cabriolet & 911 Carrera T (1/992), GT3 (1/997) and 718 Cayman GT4 RS.
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