Mazda Miata Has Ridiculous Nurburgring Near Crash, Driver Loses It

Well, a first-gen Mazda Miata nearly performed the dreaded metal kiss last weekend, with the whole thing having been captured on camera (of course).

Thanks to the piece of footage at the bottom of the page, we can see the tiny Japanese sportscar entering the Wippermann section of the Ring hard. In fact, this was the whole problem: the driver carried too much speed into these corners.

Judging from the movement of the NA generation machine, it looks like the one behind the wheel quickly realised the velocity excess, but there wasn't all that much the aficionado could do.

In fact, we can see the Mazda struggling for grip, with many of the car's features becoming weak spots at this point. I'm talking about the generous body roll, the lack of a locking diff (notice the wheel on the inside smoking heavily) and the underpowered aura (the driver struggles to use the throttle to steer, but to little effect).

The Mazda MX-5 did end up spinning, but by the time the rear end was out of line, the machine had scrubbed off enough speed to stay on the track.

Fortunately, there was no danger from the 997 Porsche 911 GT3 RS approaching quickly from behind, so perhaps the only damage came in the form of a serious drycleaning bill for the one linking the Mazda's pedals to its steering wheel.

Oh, and if you're looking for what is perhaps the best way to blitz the Nordschleife in a Mazda Miata, here's Koenigsegg test driver Robert Serwanski manhanding his own.