James Cole out of remaining two races after Subaru Levorg fire

James Cole will play no further part in the remaining two BTCC rounds at Donington Park today after exiting the opening encounter after his Subaru Levorg became subdued in flames.

The Team BMR racer had been battling towards the tail-end of the field when the rear-wheel-drive machine emerged from the final chicane on fire, subsequently being parked at the end of the pit lane where marshals extinguished the Subaru.

Given the all clear by the medics on-site at the Leicestershire circuit, Cole will now watch the rest of today’s track action from the garage.

Reflecting on the incident, Cole told BTCC Crazy: “I was struggling with a misfire just before it happened and as a racing driver you begin to smell things that then makes your mind play tricks on you. I could smell fuel and the power soon started to sap.

“As I came out of the chicane I looked at the passenger footwell and there were flames so I just had to pull over in the safest place possible but I was unsure whether to jump out straight away – it was certainly quite eventful.

“We don’t know what the cause of the fire was yet but our day is over because there is no way the team will be able to fix that in time. I’ve been cleared by the medics and I’m fine but it is just a shame our day has come to an end the way it has.”

Race two is scheduled to get underway at 14.27.