On September 21st, a tragic event occurred during the 5th round of the Russian Drag Racing Championship held in Yevpatoria. During one of the runs, Nissan GT-R driven by Evgeny Kern did not attempt to slow down and continued accelerating until the end of the race track. After covering nearly 700 m of deceleration area and more than 300 m of dirt surface without showing any signs of braking, the car flipped over.
The information about the accident was immediately transmitted over the radio to the emergency rescue team, which arrived on the scene in 30 seconds. The rescue team performed the situation analysis and took all measures necessary to prevent a fire outbreak. The driver’s door was open with the help of a life-saving instrument. It provided the doctor with access to the driver. On initial medical examination, no pulse was present. After that, the driver was carried to the ambulance car and taken to the First Clinical Hospital of Yevpatoria escorted by a Road Patrol Service car.
On September 21st, the vehicle passed Technical Scrutineering for the 5th round of the Russian Drag Racing Championship. The driver passed medical examination and based on its results he was allowed to enter the competitions. Evgeny performed several runs within the Championship and took 10th place.
Evgeny Kern was piloting his own vehicle customised and maintained by “Turbo Drive”, being the Chief Executive Officer of this company. The car was configured as-built with low level of modifications. It delivered around 600 bhp.
This August, Evgeny was taking part in competitions held in Minsk on a similarly configured track with the total race distance of 1 km. He was piloting a different vehicle customised at Turbo Drive and tuned to produce 1,500 bhp. He took second place in the overall standings, reaching the top speed of 344 km/h when crossing the finish line.
Evgeny Kern passed away. The reasons of the accident are unknown; the investigation is ongoing.
We don’t want to give way to any rumours and speculate about what has happened. As soon as we receive any official information about the reasons of this tragedy, we will make it public.
Evgeny was one of us and we suffer a huge loss. He was a great friend, companion, husband, and father. We mourn for him and express our deepest condolences to Evgeny’s family and friends.
