Nissan Skyline Owners Sue Track Over Their Wrecked Cars

Two Nissan Skyline owners are suing Laguna Seca after their cars were struck by a telehandler during a red flag.

In most cases, car owners suing a race track for their totaled cars would boil down to a skill issue, a hurt ego, and a desire to blame anyone but themselves. However, things are a bit different in this case. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve likely seen the video of a red Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R getting crunched by a Telehandler moving tires while parked on a track. Though it hasn’t shared quite as much of the attention, a Midnight Purple R32 Skyline GT-R was also involved in this incident.

The accident itself raises some questions. Why were the cars stopped on the track, and how did the driver of the telehandler not see them? The latter still is a bit of a mystery, but The Drive shed a little light on the former. Apparently, there was a red flag for a separate on-track incident. Both Skyline drivers report that they pulled off to a complete stop for the red flag as is required by the rules of the track.

How Did This Crash Even Happen?

The Drive reported some details of the lawsuit the Skyline owners, Artin Nazaryan and Akihiro Fuchigami, filed against Laguna Seca. Unbelievably, Nazaryan is himself an attorney who specializes in vehicle accident cases. You can’t write that kind of irony!

According to the lawsuit, the telehandler driver was on their way to the other on-track accident with fresh tires to repair the damage to the tire wall. Both GT-Rs were reportedly stopped off the racing line as Laguna Seca reportedly requires red flag conditions. The lawsuit reports “the telehandler operator proceeded without maintaining a safe and clear line of sight ahead and without taking adequate measures to ensure the path of travel was clear, “the telehandler operator proceeded without maintaining a safe and clear line of sight ahead and without taking adequate measures to ensure the path of travel was clear.”

In addition to damages to the vehicles, the lawsuit alleges damages to both GT-R owners, “including, but not limited to, physical injuries, pain and suffering, emotional distress, mental anguish, inconvenience, and such other non-economic losses as will be proven at trial.”

Countless Hours of Work Down the Drain

Nazaryan posted on his personal Instagram showing the crushed red R34 Nissan Skyline rear end and claiming that the only response from the telehandler operator was “I didn’t see you.” That’s a tough one, but, frankly, if we were behind the wheel and crushed a GT-R, we wouldn’t know what to say, either.

The car was far from stock, and his Instagram shows some on-track use of the car that has a full cage, a sequential transmission, and countless other upgrades and modifications. It’ll be interesting to see how this lawsuit shakes out. We feel it’s reasonably likely that it’ll end in a settlement of some type. Only time will tell!

Photos: The Drive