Lucky escape in nasty Britcar incident
Britcar has launched an investigation into a pitlane incident that occurred during last weekend’s Snetterton round, and intends to announce new safety changes in the coming days.
The accident took place during the second Britcar Endurance race on Saturday, when an early safety car meant most of the field entered the pits at the same time.
Jonathan Beeson’s VW Golf was released by his Sheard Autosport team into the fast lane but, moments later, was clipped on the rear by Nathan Wells’s Digiplat Racing-run BMW M3, which had also been released.
The contact sent Beeson sideways and back towards the pit boxes before slamming into the side of the stationary Praga
R1 of Jack Fabby, which had just been vacated by Charlie Martin.
No one was injured in the incident, which left Beeson “furious”, but Britcar Championship owner Claire Hedley has launched an inquiry and is weighing up possible solutions to ensure that the pitlane remains as safe as possible for drivers, teams and officials.
“A thorough investigation was under way an hour after the race with the stewards and BARC and an announcement will be made in the next few days,” she said. “There’s lots of different things we can do moving forward [for safety] and everything is going to be looked at.
“Safety is of primary importance in Britcar and for BARC. I’m talking to all the people that have vast experience, people who have worked in British GT, to see what the pros and cons are for everything.”
Jamie Stanley, who won the race, was waiting to be released after taking over from John Seale when he saw the incident. “It happened just in front of me,” said the Lamborghini driver. “It was lucky no-one was hurt and reminds everybody of the need to be diligent in the pitlane.”
For Sunday’s Britcar Trophy races, two pitlane windows were instigated by the race organisers in response to the accident, with Class 1, 3 and Clios separated from the Class 2 cars. The windows were swapped for race two, with Class 2 stopping first.