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BMW M3 Nurburgring Crash Is a Lesson On Why You Shouldn't Be Reactive

We've brought you tons of Nurburgring crashes taking place in the Schweredenkreutz section before, but, unlike most of those accidents, the one we're here to show you today has been captured using a camera inside the victim car, a BMW M3.
E46 BMW M3 Nurburgring crash 5 photos
Photo: YouTube screenshot
E46 BMW M3 Nurburgring crashE46 BMW M3 Nurburgring crashE46 BMW M3 Nurburgring crashE46 BMW M3 Nurburgring crash
The piece of footage at the bottom of the page allows us to check out the driver of an E46-generation M3, one gifted with a manual gearbox, manhandling his car properly.

Judging by the way in which the driver throws the M3 around on the Nordschleife, he certainly knows his way around the car, as well as around the Green Hell.

Alas, once he reaches Schwredenkreutz, he loses the back end while doing around 125 mph (200 km/h) - keep in mind that this kind of speed is perfectly normal for the said section of the infamous German track.

This is the point where the guy behind the wheel starts a prolonged struggle to bring the M3 back on track. However, despite the man's best efforts, the still ends up slamming into the protection barrier on the side of the track.

Since this guy pulled respectable crash save attempt maneuvers, we'll rephrase the usual question - so, what could he have done better?

Well, it seems like this driver is reactive. This means that he tries to anticipate and correct the sideways episodes of the Bimmer. Nevertheless, he would've seriously increased his chances of avoiding a crash had he been proactive.

For instance, he stalls the engine at a certain point during his spin - perhaps trying to use some throttle in order to correct the slide rather than go with it could've helped.

We need to warn you about your spinning practice

There's one more thing we need to mention though: if you happen to be in a similar situation and you gut tells you to be reactive, it's usually best to go with the flow. And that's because proactive crash saves only work after plenty of spinning practice and trying to perform such maneuvers without proper training can lead to gaining extra velocity instead of losing it during the spin and thus generating an even more serious impact at the end of it all.

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About the author: Andrei Tutu
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In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist.
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