Thruxton Scares on Halloween
The first race of the penultimate round of the British Truck Racing Championship at Thruxton Circuit last Saturday proved to be rather memorable.
The first race of the penultimate round of the British Truck Racing Championship at Thruxton Circuit last Saturday proved to be rather memorable.
Following 24 hours of gales and driving rain Race 1 of the programme got underway at a point when the track was drying out. Unfortunately not so the very wet and soggy grass run off areas which lay in wait for the unsuspecting and in particular those who dared to put any wheels on the green stuff .
Unfortunately, our own #86 Tom O’Rourke fell victim to these extreme conditions.
It was on turn 2 during the hectic first lap that Tom drifted wide on a patchy damp track and lost some of his traction to the point that 2 wheels on the grass led to all 4 over the line and total loss of control.
5.5 tons and wet grass certainly do not mix well. 100 yards later Tom re-entered the track but his momentum and lack of steering on the subsequent right hander resulted in contact with fellow competitor John Newall and another excursion onto the slippery stuff. His unabated momentum took him into and over the steel safety barrier. Fortunately, the truck came to rest on the banking behind. The impact was to say the least spectacular and damaging to the truck. Efficient work by the rescue teams and the medical staff quickly released a concussed Tom and a precautionary visit to Southampton A&E by ambulance followed by tests and X-rays revealed bruising and some stress to the lower back.
The incidents can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/n3rTaMWahc0
Unfortunately, that was the end of the weekend for Tom who has now returned home and has strict instructions to rest to allow the back to recover. Needless to say, Tom will follow the instructions to the letter.
The crashes continued on Sunday with a repeat on the same corner which involved a further three trucks, fortunately all trucks were able to recover under their own steam.
Fellow competitor Rick Collett also had a serious accident on the following corner and was able to egress his truck unaided.
The incidents can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/8oHMlrPNF0Q & https://youtu.be/n3rTaMWahc0
Tom would like to thank the TOR team who prepared his truck and looked after its recovery, the rescue crew, the marshals, the medical team and all other officials at Thruxton. Also, the amazing Garry and Jen in the ambulance ride and the staff and medical teams in the A&E unit at Southampton General Hospital.
We wish everybody a safe and speedy recovery and we look forward to seeing everyone again next year.
