High-Speed Collision in Hyundai's Elantra N Spec Race Indicates Possible Brake Failure. Race Driver's Mishap Suggests Faulty Braking System.
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The Hyundai N Festival is a electrifying one-make racing series featuring various models from the Hyundai N family, battling it out for bragging rights. The 2025 season kicked off in May at the Yongin Everland Speedway in South Korea, with 5 exhilarating rounds scheduled before wrapping up in November. However, the season premiere was overshadowed by a multiple-car pile-up involving 4 vehicles and relatively minor injuries for the drivers.
The series divides competitors among three classes, eachclass generally categorized by car model, performance, and modifications. The catastrophic collision took place in the N2 class – the entry-level competition, featuring the beloved hot hatch, the Hyundai Elantra N, with some limited modifications.
What follows is a gruesome, time-stamped footage from the race. Fast-forward to 4:40:35. Everything seems fine until seven laps into the race. The persistent camera drone pilot closely tailing the fourth-place battle suddenly loses the feed, only to reappear with the No. 17 Hyundai veering off at a corner and colliding head-on into a tire barrier. Dramatically, the 17 is rear-ended by a black Elantra boasting the No. 42. follow by the rapid, fiery involvement of the blue-and-pink No. 76, which catches fire temporarily before spinning out of sight.
By the time the camera pans back to the initial crash site, the 17 car looks like another one has joined the accident, the No. 10. The camera doesn't show the initial crash, but subsequent collisions between the 42 and 76 are quite intense. Even the commentators were taken aback by the incident.
There's considerable debate over what instigated this series of collisions, with some experts questioning the braking capabilities of the N2 race-cars. The absence of upgraded brakes has been a recurring problem in past races, and some commentators suspect this disaster could be a similar case[1][2].
To shed light on this issue, I reached out to Hyundai, who confirmed that the Elantra N versions in both the U.S. and Korea are equipped with the same brakes, including single-piston calipers[2]. However, all N2 race cars feature upgraded, race-prepped brakes[2].
While there's no smoking gun pointing directly at the brakes, it's essential to consider enhancing safety measures, such as running shorter races (5-7 laps instead of 12) and shorter tracks with lower top speeds to minimize driver and vehicle stress[3]. With rookie drivers racing wheel-to-wheel, it's unsurprising that unusual accidents like this will occur more frequently.
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Sources and References:
- Reddit Thread
- N Festival Website
- In-depth Analysis
The car-accidents rampant in the Hyundai N Festival's N2 class, despite the general-news of the series' excitement, have sparked concerns among racing enthusiasts. Ongoing debates suggest that the relatively lesser brake capabilities of the N2 race-cars might be a potential factor, given their recurring problems in past races. Enhancing safety measures, such as shorter races or tracks, could potentially mitigate these accidents, considering the high frequency of collisions involving rookie drivers.
