Race car drivers are wired differently. Their only goal is to win, and the best never give up in the pursuit of victory. Which is how we ended up with the remarkable image of Japanese racer Max Orido pushing his BMW M4 GT4 over the finish line at Okayama.
Per DailySportsCar, Orido was leading the Asian GT4 series race on Sunday by 33 seconds, when on the start/finish straight, he dramatically slowed down. The commentators initially think he's slowing down to avoid crossing the start/finish line before the clock runs out, or that he's playing a joke on his team, but his car then comes to a halt. The second place Toyota Supra sweeps by to take a surprise victory, and Orido gets out of the car and pushes a not-insignificant distance it to the finish line.
Orido and teammate Masaki Kano ended up being classified sixth after what was otherwise a dominant day. The second race of the day went much better for the pair, with a victory that confirmed them as champions of the series.
There's actually a decent history of race car drivers pushing their car over the finish line. Jack Brabham did it in 1959 in the U.S. Grand Prix at Sebring to take fourth place and seal his first Formula 1 title. Nigel Mansell also famously tried to push his Louts across the line in 1984 at the infamous Dallas Grand Prix, before collapsing of heat exhaustion and being classified sixth.
A car enthusiast since childhood, Chris Perkins is Road & Track's engineering nerd and Porsche apologist. He joined the staff in 2016 and no one has figured out a way to fire him since. He street-parks a Porsche Boxster in Brooklyn, New York, much to the horror of everyone who sees the car, not least the author himself. He also insists he's not a convertible person, despite owning three.
