Michele Abbate Road America TA2 Brake Failure

Video Description from YouTube:

Two weeks ago I had this very scary incident on the 6th lap of Test session 1. It happened because of a brake failure on my left rear at Road America at 152 mph which sent me straight into the wall at 80mph in Canada Corner.  Upon impact I remained conscious, but in a lot of pain; in less than 2 seconds the car caught on fire.  Due to the strength and build of the Mike Cope chassis and the safety of my RECARO seat, Sabelt harness & driver equipment, as well as my Arai helmet, and my HANS device I was able to exit the vehicle under my own strength… Something the Trans Am series has us practice every year, which is called an “egress test”….  Had the series not required this test I am pretty certain I wouldn’t have reacted as quickly as I did in this video. 

I was waiting to share this video so I could process everything and also receive a clear indication of the extent of my injuries.  These are the 3 angles I have of the incident. I will be heading to the hospital tomorrow for surgery on my right ankle, and I am suffering some back pain.  Beyond that, I have the typical bumps and bruises that you would find from a high impact sport.  
Nothing is salvagable from the car, all the broken and bent metal took a beating so that my bones didn’t have to.  It is truly unbelievable to look at.  My rear end housing broke because of how hard the hit was, my engine pushed back into the car, my transmissions several inches back, the driveshaft bent up like a slinky.  All of these things are the reason why I was able to get out of that car and still be here today. It really is unreal. 

The Showtime Motorsports team has sent off the part that caused the failure to a failure analysis company so that we can learn from what happened and prevent it from ever happening again.

I am still beyond grateful to be in the condition that I am in after an impact like that.  I truly believe it is a miracle to be here today.  This was a scary one, something that shouldn’t happen but ironically it’s things like this that help us grow the safety of our sport of motorsports as we continue to push the boundaries.  So incredibly thankful for the safety that is engineered in our cars, the safety we have at and ON the race track (thank you EMS of Road America), and thankful for a series that ensures driver safety.
I’ll continue to be on the mend and look forward to my return to the driver’s seat as soon as physically possible. 

My sincerest thank you goes out to EACH of you that have reached out to check on me.  My heart is so full and I am so grateful for your well wishes, we’ll be back!!