Tom Boardman bruised but not out after Morocco crash
Special Tuning Racing have their work cut out for them in the next three weeks to repair and rebuild the SEAT León for the Slovakiaring, but driver Tom Boardman was able to walk away from the 110 km/h crash with just minor bruising.
Boardman had just set the fourth fastest time in the morning warm-up on Sunday, before his front brakes failed, with a stone snapping the caliper the cause, which saw him clip Alex MacDowall’s Chevrolet on the way into the wall at Turn 7.
The concrete wall behind the tyre barrier was broken in two and it took almost two hours to repair, holding up the Auto GP race which was scheduled to follow.
As for the car, the team will need to re-shell it before Slovakia in three weeks’ time, and change the engine.
“We’ve done both legs, the engine, the gearbox, so it needs a new engine, it needs a new gearbox and needs to go on the jig,” said Boardman. “So it’s going to have to be a new shell, but the biggest problem now is trying to get a new engine,” he added.
Boardman was frustrated after a weekend which had shown such promise for the SEAT teams.
“It was a disaster qualifying because of the BMW spinning in front of me, and looking at the data I would have well been into the top 12. In the warm-up I was feeling good, the times were good, the car felt amazing, and then the front brakes failed.”
“I’ve seen a lot of crashes in racing, and they’re not as bad as I’ve had and people walked away, so the car did its job. The legs have taken all the impact, the seat’s stayed in position and I’m fine, just a little bit bruised.”