Photo: Eurocup-3
Michael Shin had a scary crash in Eurocup-3’s first race at Zandvoort, but remarkably escaped the incident unscathed despite barrel-rolling seven-and-a-half times.
The Campos Racing driver made contact with Sainteloc Racing’s Alexander Abkhazava approaching the crest of Slotermakerbocht after they ran side-by-side through turn five. He lost his front wing, speared off into the barriers and the left-hand side of his car rode up them, pitching him into a set of rolls.
While the strength of the tethers improved safety for everyone in the vicinity since the car’s front wheels did not fly off, they were entirely detached from the suspension arms and that increased the speed of the rolls.
The race was red flagged and eventually restarted. Shin was able to contest race two the next day, which he finished ninth in.
“Unfortunately my car was heavily damaged and was not suitable to be driven for race two. However, Campos worked really hard overnight to organise and set up another car for me to drive,” Shin told Formula Scout. Palou Motorsport is said to have provided the replacement chassis.
“There were minor differences that I needed to adapt to such as the feeling on the clutch. I tried to approach the race like I would have had under normal circumstances. Obviously my goal was to finish the race, but that didn’t mean I was going to push less or back out of overtaking opportunities.”
He beat two of his team-mates, finishing seventh on-the-road and 8.3 seconds behind the winner before a 10s penalty dropped him to ninth.
“I would say that I felt more thankful rather than I did proud [of the result]. I was almost certain after the incident that my weekend was done. For me to then be able to participate in and finish race two made me really grateful to all those who made it possible. We had good pace throughout the weekend so that’s definitely a positive for me to take on for the remaining races of the season.
“Physically, I felt fine during race two, which is a testament to the safety of our cars. I probably wasn’t as sharp mentally as I would have been, but I am all good now.”
Reflecting on the immediate aftermath of the crash, he added: “The medical staff were very attentive and were checking my condition straight away. In the medical centre they went through examinations that they couldn’t perform on track like checking blood pressure. Because it was a high-speed crash, the checks were more extensive than they would have been otherwise.
“I was very impressed by how they dealt with the situation because I did not have to make any effort to move in the process of getting transported all the way to the bed in the medical centre. Actually, they insisted that it would be best if i stay still just in case I had sustained injuries that I couldn’t feel in the moment.”
View this post on Instagram