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Porsche blames Roger Rodas for fatal Carrera GT accident

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Porsche blames Roger Rodas for fatal Porsche Carrera GT accident that also took the life of Paul Walker.

Porsche has announced that in their opinion Roger Rodas was responsible for the horrible Porsche Carrera GT crash from November 30, 2013.

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Back in May last year, Roger's wife Kristine decided to sue Porsche, blaming them the Carrera GT's faulty suspension was the cause of the tragic accident in which her husband and Paul Walker died. At that time, Kristine said "the Carrera GT was unsafe for its intended use by reason of defects in its manufacture, design, testing, component and constituents, so that it would not safely serve its purpose."

Now, Porsche attorneys said 'Roger Rodas's death, and all other injuries or damages claimed, were the result of Roger Rodas's own comparative fault". Moreover, the lawyers hired by Porsche added Rodas "chose to conduct himself in a manner so as to expose himself and others to such perils, dangers and risk."

In addition, Porsche believes the 2005 Carrera GT was "abused and altered after being placed into the stream of commerce in a manner that was not reasonable foreseeable". As a reminder, when the company's engineers investigated the car after the accident they discovered it was using worn-out tires which were nine years old.

Kristine Rodas said Roger was doing approximately 55 mph (88 km/h) before the moment of impact but the result of an investigation revealed the Carrera GT was actually doing around 93 mph (150 km/h).
 
NINE YEAR OLD TYRES! :eek:

Forget they were bald (all the better to slick you with), but who runs a CGT on such a shoestring that it doesn't get regular tyres?

That would be an MOT (TUV etc) fail in Europe.

It's a shame the US is so litigious, as because of threatening Porsche they have to defend themselves with information that can only put the driver/owner in a poor light (OK, I realise it could have gone against Porsche if the car had been at fault, but for all its highly strung nature, the CGT has no rep for mechanical or design faults)
 
They should sue her and she can sue her advisors (if she had any) :nooo: it was all too obvious that excessive speed was a factor and the defective tyres was disclosed before she started the litigation.
 
NLW73 said:
and lack of talent.

Harsh....as a component failure would have put most drivers in the same position sadly.
 
Snap oversteer was reported as a common occurrence on launch of the CGT. If he was speeding no excuse but I believe there is more to this than meets the eye. :judge:
 
Cos Murica

Stupidity central.
 
Having driven the CGT on numerous occasions I found it stuck to the road like it was on rails. But I was a passenger in the same car and the driver put his foot down as we came off a roundabout and he got the back end out pretty aggressively. Not sure if it was any worse than any other car though. In all my time driving it I never felt it was dangerous.
 
IMI A said:
Snap oversteer was reported as a common occurrence on launch of the CGT. If he was speeding no excuse but I believe there is more to this than meets the eye. :judge:

I read somewhere (possibly even the police investigation) that the most likely scenario was excessive speed (over 100mph) combined with crossing cats eyes in the road, leading to loss of contact with the road and snap oversteer. Not the first time Porsche has been involved in legal action over a fatal accident in a CGT.

Roger Rodas was an experienced race driver - was probably fairly close to the limit of grip, hadn't factored on what would happen when you hit cats eyes at that speed on a corner, in a car with those handling characteristics. If his line through the corner had taken him between those cats eyes rather than putting the rear wheels on them we'd probably never have known that he went out for a quick spin with Paul Walker and FF7 wouldn't have grossed over a billion dollars.

Weird.
 
9 years old tyres........Is that guy was a racing driver ? He should have known better.....They did carry some serious speed.....too
When you own and drive a car like that you have to be responsable , to be sure the car is in tip top condition and if you go fast you need to know what you are doing.
They tried to sue Porsche for the accident :? It's an american thing to take a lawer to blame someone else for your ***** up !
 
Not wishing to detract from those who wish to defend Porsche as is their right to support the home team but this is all about a tragic event which claimed 2 lives.

There is probably more to this than is available in the public domain and could therefore be just a step along the journey to decide who or which Insurance company will be paying the settlement to the bereaved.

93 miles an hour in a "supercar" driven by an" experienced racing driver" with 9 year old tyres does not sound dangerous at all to me but then I know nothing about these things.

From what I have read the tyres did not explode or deflate prior to the accident, nor was the road wet, damp or had a been raining. There was no mention of a "diesel spillage" or similar.

If car makers make fast cars then they have to be safe to drive in all conditions at all times and by those of the lowest common denominator of driving ability, any "inherent" handling quirk must be deemed dangerous and eliminated prior to sale to the public.

My mothers 1.4 golf used to do 93 miles an hour and she has never reported a problem or been caught :cop: naughty old lady!

On the other hand it sounds like someone was showing off and came badly unstuck and to do so on a public road is unforgivable.
 
Over 30 000 miles in 2 Carrera gt's mostly to , on and from track gives me some experience . What is meant by "snap oversteer? It certainly doesn't without reason or provocation . Yes the car will oversteer but the chassis is so communicative and well balance there's no need for this to happen unless you want it to . Until you run out of lock the car can be drifted at will , the issue here is 9 year old tyres and disrespect . The engine revs like a motorbikes , the power is colossal ( all make well over 620 on dyno ) and there are no safety systems to speak of . My joke is the tc light comes on to tell you you have spun . It really is a race car for the road , with bad tyres and "incorrectly maintained " I wouldn't drive mine to Asda let alone bomb about in it . Still the best car I've ever driven
 

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Their challenging handling (at the limit) has been known for nearly a decade.....

As the investigation found nothing mechanical failed, it's down to the driver , a collusion at 93 mph on a street like that, with 9 year old tyres (probably those from factory) suggest too much bravado and not enough respect.


Wtdoom didn't figure you as an Asda shopper :grin:

( Mr Q from s9)
 
vroomvroom said:
Their challenging handling (at the limit) has been known for nearly a decade.....

As the investigation found nothing mechanical failed, it's down to the driver , a collusion at 93 mph on a street like that, with 9 year old tyres (probably those from factory) suggest too much bravado and not enough respect.


Wtdoom didn't figure you as an Asda shopper :grin:

( Mr Q from s9)

Hello matey :thumb:

Yes Asda my favourite hang out when I'm in the uk .
Cgt just doesn't suffer fools , that's all . It does exactly what you tell it , no more no less . The thing is if you tell it to crash ( through bad input ) it will do exactly that .
 

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