Rally
X Games Rallycross: 6 Car-Crushing Crashes
High-horsepower race cars, tight courses and massive jumps equal video mayhem.
Rallycross Crash at 2013 X Games Munich
© Lukas Pilz/Red Bull Content Pool
Before you tune into the rallycross action live this Sunday on ESPN at 2 p.m. PT, check out these six clips chock full of car carnage.
6. Wet and Wild in Munich (2013)
To make up for the cancelled rallycross event at the prior round of X Games in Barcelona, Spain, due to rain, Munich doubled up on races. Irony being the prick that he is, brought a whole bunch of rain to the first of the two races in Germany. The wet track combined with an eight-car field flying into turn one was frought with disaster. How do you say "Yeehaw!" in German?
5. 10 Car Pile-up in Brazil (2013)
How to top the carnage of eight rallycross cars going into turn one after the start? By adding two more to the grid. At the dusty track of Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, seven of the ten cars were ensnared by the crash orgy that was first turn. The destruction was so bad, the officials had to red flag and restart the race to collect the broken cars and shattered debris.
4. Travis Pastrana Pushed into Wall (2012)
After getting the holeshot in his heat at X Games Los Angeles, Travis Pastrana and his Dodge were hit from behind going into turn one by Andy Scott in a Saab. Scott carried so much speed he effectively rammed Pastrana into the wall. The most embarrassing part of the whole affair? Travis, a dude who jumped out of a plane without a parachute, having to explain that he was taken out by some guy driving a Saab.
3. Tanner Foust Gives Liam Doran the Punt (2011)
If you felt bad for Travis and what happened to him during his qualifying heat, you’ll feel terrible for what happens to Liam Doran in this clip. Going into the chaos that is turn one (seeing a trend here?), Doran was ahead of the eight-car pack when Tanner Foust decides to punt him into the wall, effectively taking him out of the race.
2. Marcus Gronholm POV Crash (2012)
Dismiss the first five seconds of this video. Don’t worry, we’ll come back to it soon enough. It's just a bit of foreshadowing. What proceeds at the six-second mark is Marcus Gronholm, the two-time World Rally Championship, taking the jump during a practice session at X Games Los Angeles. Gronholm lands the jump successfully, only to clip an exposed light post base.
1. Toomas Heikkinen Nails the Ramp (2012)
It’s not often a YouTube video can make you flinch. Toomas Heikkinen’s crash did exactly that the first time we saw it and still does so today. During a practice session at X Games Los Angeles, Heikkinen takes the jump with not enough speed. Heikkinen lands short, smashing straight into the vertical wall of the metal landing ramp. Ouch. Despite the horrific crash, thanks to the well-constructed roll cage and some luck, Heikkinen emerged with only a broken left ankle, injuries to his abdomen and damage to his urethra. Urethra? Double ouch.
Watch X Games RallyCross SuperCar Final live, starting at 2 p.m. PT on Sunday, August 4, on ESPN.
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