Mini racer escapes fiery crash
Mini Challenge Cooper class racer Clark Wells escaped being seriously injured in a terrifying crash and subsequent fire at Thruxton last weekend – and is even targeting a return to the cockpit for this weekend’s Mini races at Snetterton.
Wells was in the middle of a pack of cars on lap six of the second race at the Thruxton British Touring Car Championship meeting when he clipped wheels with another car up Woodham Hill. This launched his Lee Pearce Racing-run machine into the air and, when it landed, the rear suspension collapsed, spearing his Mini into the Club chicane barriers.
The car then rolled over as it rebounded from the impact and burst into flames after leaking fuel ignited.
Despite the dramatic accident, Wells emerged through the already-damaged windscreen and his only injuries were to his hand.
“It woke me up a little bit!” said Wells. “I was just going round the outside and clipped wheels with another car, it launched the car into the air and it collapsed at the back.”
Wells quickly realised the severity of the situation when his car came to rest: “I thought, ‘How do I get out the quickest way?’ They [rescue personnel] couldn’t get me out either so I thought, ‘I’ve got a crash helmet on’ and headbutted the windscreen a couple of times.”
Rescue crews were on the scene in a flash – including TOCA doctor Paul Trafford.
“It was just one of those things,” said Wells.
“I’ve got a couple of deep cuts on my hand [from when he tried to get out] but we will try to build another one [car] for next week.”
Short oval racer Wells added that he is used to large crashes from his stock car exploits.
The race was red-flagged and the restarted contest ran over five minutes. All three Mini races over the weekend in Hampshire featured a red flag, but Wells’s incident was by far the most dramatic.
The opener was ended early after Bradley Gravett and Brendan Fitzgerald tangled at the chicane, while the finale was also called to a halt with Recticel barriers littering the track.