BTCC - Phew, what a scorcher!
“At least she went up properly for the cameras” were Martin Johnson’s words after his dramatic exit from Silverstone’s first race on Sunday (pictured above)…
Popular privateer Johnson was forced to pull up quickly when his Boulevard Vauxhall Astra's fuel pump failed and a flash fire enveloped the car – his first mechanical retirement of the season.
But he told btcc.net: “It’s a shame but at least she went up properly for the cameras! I came through Copse corner and there was an almighty bang and then whoosh. There was just a big orange glow with flames coming through every hole into the car.
“It was like someone was in there with me with a flame thrower.
“It didn’t register at first what was happening. There was just a big orange glow and then I realised I needed to stop pretty quickly and pull off the track as best I could.
“We’ve pinpointed the cause to a major oil pump failure. I’ve managed to get a replacement engine sorted so we’ll be OK for the next round at Rockingham but the car is from 2001 so they are becoming a bit like national treasures.”
Lincolnshire driver Johnson was unable to start the day’s second race but his crew – the smallest on the grid – worked miracles to have his car ready for race three.
He added: “We had a spare engine so they managed to get that installed and we actually only missed race two by not that long. But the race one engine is finished. Nothing is salvageable from it. The hole it blew in it is so big I can look straight through the centre of the engine and out the other side.”
Johnson, though, was not too downbeat – prior to his race one retirement he’d enjoyed a couple of laps dicing with his motor racing hero, former F1 star Johnny Herbert who was making his BTCC debut.
The 46-year-old from Alford said: “It was mega. He was always my favourite and to find myself suddenly dicing with him was a dream come true. I also had a really good dice in race three with John George and eventually got past him so, despite the obvious disappointments because I love racing in this championship, I’m still a happy bunny.”
BTCC :: HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship
Popular privateer Johnson was forced to pull up quickly when his Boulevard Vauxhall Astra's fuel pump failed and a flash fire enveloped the car – his first mechanical retirement of the season.
But he told btcc.net: “It’s a shame but at least she went up properly for the cameras! I came through Copse corner and there was an almighty bang and then whoosh. There was just a big orange glow with flames coming through every hole into the car.
“It was like someone was in there with me with a flame thrower.
“It didn’t register at first what was happening. There was just a big orange glow and then I realised I needed to stop pretty quickly and pull off the track as best I could.
“We’ve pinpointed the cause to a major oil pump failure. I’ve managed to get a replacement engine sorted so we’ll be OK for the next round at Rockingham but the car is from 2001 so they are becoming a bit like national treasures.”
Lincolnshire driver Johnson was unable to start the day’s second race but his crew – the smallest on the grid – worked miracles to have his car ready for race three.
He added: “We had a spare engine so they managed to get that installed and we actually only missed race two by not that long. But the race one engine is finished. Nothing is salvageable from it. The hole it blew in it is so big I can look straight through the centre of the engine and out the other side.”
Johnson, though, was not too downbeat – prior to his race one retirement he’d enjoyed a couple of laps dicing with his motor racing hero, former F1 star Johnny Herbert who was making his BTCC debut.
The 46-year-old from Alford said: “It was mega. He was always my favourite and to find myself suddenly dicing with him was a dream come true. I also had a really good dice in race three with John George and eventually got past him so, despite the obvious disappointments because I love racing in this championship, I’m still a happy bunny.”
BTCC :: HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship
