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Former 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, Frenchman Christophe Bouchut saw his car catch fire during the 6 Hours of Fuji, round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Bouchut smelled something burning inside his Lotus CLM P1/01 AER, and he drove straight into the pit lane so the marshals could quickly enter into action.
[TD="class: caption"]Christophe Bouchut, Lotus (Photo: John Rourke/AdrenalMedia.com)[/TD]
While escaping serious injury, Bouchut sustained burns to his eyebrows in the blaze, which was sparked by a fuel pump malfunction that leaked petrol into the cockpit of the car.
“I came close to a catastrophic situation,” Bouchut told Endurance-Info.
“When I stopped the car, there already was a fire in the cockpit. Everything inside was in flames. My left glove has been burnt as if it had been thrown in a fireplace.
“I stayed [in the car] between 10 and 15 seconds. We can only thank the safety standards of drivers' equipment. I also have to thank the Rebellion Racing team, who rushed to extinguish the fire. Without them, the car would have certainly been completely burned.”
[TD="class: caption"]Christophe Bouchut, Lotus (Photo: John Rourke/AdrenalMedia.com)[/TD]
The fire came only three weeks after Bouchut was nearly hit by a spinning car during the heavy downpour at Circuit of The Americas, which was eventually red-flagged due to the conditions.
“I prefer to end my season with Lotus...” the Frenchman declared.
More...
Bouchut smelled something burning inside his Lotus CLM P1/01 AER, and he drove straight into the pit lane so the marshals could quickly enter into action.
|
[TD="class: caption"]Christophe Bouchut, Lotus (Photo: John Rourke/AdrenalMedia.com)[/TD]
While escaping serious injury, Bouchut sustained burns to his eyebrows in the blaze, which was sparked by a fuel pump malfunction that leaked petrol into the cockpit of the car.
“I came close to a catastrophic situation,” Bouchut told Endurance-Info.
“When I stopped the car, there already was a fire in the cockpit. Everything inside was in flames. My left glove has been burnt as if it had been thrown in a fireplace.
“I stayed [in the car] between 10 and 15 seconds. We can only thank the safety standards of drivers' equipment. I also have to thank the Rebellion Racing team, who rushed to extinguish the fire. Without them, the car would have certainly been completely burned.”
|
[TD="class: caption"]Christophe Bouchut, Lotus (Photo: John Rourke/AdrenalMedia.com)[/TD]
The fire came only three weeks after Bouchut was nearly hit by a spinning car during the heavy downpour at Circuit of The Americas, which was eventually red-flagged due to the conditions.
“I prefer to end my season with Lotus...” the Frenchman declared.
More...