Neil Cotty wrote:
>
> I'm back from the 24 Heures du Le Mans. A big disappointment yet again, but
> again as last year the experience makes it worthwhile. I was awake in the
> stands for the Lola MG privateer to light up the big screen in a big way,
Fire at speed (where it takes you a while to stop - and especially in
our older front-engined models where the flames will mostly be in front
of you) is more frightening to me me than the thought of a heavy shunt.
Bruises and even broken bones are less scarey than incinerating in the car!!
As a postscript to this report from Neil, the following was posted on
www.xpower-mg.com/forum:
"Here's the latest on our car's condition. We took it to Lola's factory
in Huntingdon, England on Monday. Four members of our crew showed up
Tuesday and we spent the day disassembling and cleaning the mess. At
first, we thought that we had extensive damage to the entire rear
section, including the tub. Upon cleaning, we found out that the
suspected tub damage was only cosmetic and very light. Many of the other
parts were in fine condition. Overall, the damage was much less than
expected, so the cost wasn't in the $300,000-$400,000 range as we
originally projected. (Our on-track insurance does not cover fire, only
crashes, because the insurance companies are wise to the "last race of
the season total write off fire claims" that were so popular some years
ago.) We'll take next week to completely bring the car back to new
condition and ship it to Road America. We will do Mid Ohio with our old
Lola B2K/40."
"Cause of the fire was a broken exhaust pipe right where it goes into
the turbo. It spewed hot exhaust onto the carbon fibre and burnt through
a oil return line, which fed the fire. Why did the exhaust pipe
break? We are investigating that at this time."
... and in a media release from the team (you can tell they thought the
damage was more extensive than they finally discovered).:
June 15, 2002 Le Mans, France KnightHawks #30 MG Lola 675 LMP was
retired in the eighth hour due to a spectacular fire that all but
destroyed the teams only entry. The cars pilot at the time Mel
Hawkins walked away unhurt.
While traveling the Mulsanne straights at high speed, Hawkins was
stunned to see a huge bolt of flame shoot right past him from inside
the cockpit on his left side.
I was on the straight, right between the first and second chicane, when
all of a sudden a huge flame shot up the left side of the cockpit, said
the suprisingly calm Hawkins. I quickly looked in the rear-view mirror
and saw huge flames coming at me from the back of the car. They came
clear over my head almost like an explosion although I didnt feel
or hear one. I never saw any smoke, or smelled any smoke at all. I was
probably about a quarter-mile past the first chicane, at a speed of
about 150mph and all of a sudden it was just as if the car blew up! I
pulled over as quickly as I could, and by the time I did get over there
were absolutely no lights on in the car any longer. It was completely
dark. I got out of the car as fast as
I could, and as soon as I was out, with my feet on the ground I quickly
tried to set off the on-board extinguishers. I couldnt see couldnt
find the button. At that point, I just got away from the car as fast as
I could.
The team quickly retired the effort and Team Manager Mike Johnson has
yet to determine the actual cause of the fire. Preferring to wait until
the car could be inspected more closely, Johnson offered no guess at
this time.
The car, rather than being returned to the KnightHawk paddock, by
regulation will be stored in Park Fermi until the end of the race
tomorrow afternoon.
I'd like to thank the corner workers for their fast response, added
Hawkins. By the time my feet first hit the ground, when getting out of
the car, they were right there with fire extinguishers.
--
Eric
'68MGB MkII
Adelaide, South Australia
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