Ex-Formula 1 driver turned pundit Karun Chandhok did miraculously well to control a fiery Ferrari 250 GTO last weekend at the Goodwood Revival festival, after the car “went bang”.
Chandhok was one of many racing stars competing at the festival in glorious sunshine, where he was starring in the Lavant Cup.
It was during the race itself when the GTO he was driving suddenly burst into flames, before suddenly spinning.
Chandhok somehow performed a perfect 360-degree spin to remain in control of the car, using all of his F1 experience.
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After regaining control of the fiery car, he pulled off the circuit and jumped out in rapid fashion, with him incredibly escaping the blaze with nothing more than a melted boot, which he posted an image of on social media.
“Lucky to get away with that with nothing more than a melted boot…. Something went bang and seized up the back wheels and sent me spinning,” Chandhok wrote on Twitter/X.
“Such a shame to end a race in my dream GT car like that but happy to get out ok!”
Chandhok’s brother, Suhail, was quick to post on social media after the crash that Karun was thankfully okay, although the same couldn’t be said for the GTO, which can sell for as much as £52.3 million.
“Scary moment for @karunchandhok minutes ago @goodwoodrevival in the iconic GTO,” Chandhok’s brother wrote on Twitter/X.
“Most importantly just really glad he’s ok but I have to say that save, car control and presence of mind to quickly get it off circuit and onto the grass was IMPRESSIVE.
“We thought we were done with stressful moments as a family of a racing driver but guess that’s the nature of the beast.”
Escaping a fiery blaze certainly wasn’t exactly how the ex-HRT driver was expecting his time in one of his “dream cars” to go, with him having admitted that he was “pinching himself” ahead of the event.
Chandhok revealed how “happy” the owner of the car was for him to race it, even though the 39-year-old knew he wouldn’t win.
Despite the concerning ending, the owner of the car has every intention on getting the GTO repaired, so it can return to the festival in the future.
“The 250 GTO is one of my absolute dream cars,” Chandhok told Goodwood.
“I was pinching myself. The owner was lovely and so happy for me to go out and enjoy it. The race was fun but I wasn’t really going to be catching the front runners.
READ: Sky F1 pundit escapes horrific fiery incident
“So part-way around, I was just thinking to myself, ‘how cool is this? I’m in a GTO at Goodwood!’. Then coming out of Lavant onto the straight – I was in second and cruising – I heard a bang and the back wheels locked up. As I turned I saw flames, so I got right off the track safely, to minimise oil going down and get out of the way.
“Obviously I was shaken but the Marshals, the owner, were all great. The owner’s absolute first priority was that I was okay. He was extremely understanding.
“The owners deserve so much credit. They send these cars that were designed 60 years ago out racing, that are worth so much, understanding that things can go wrong and that these things happen. He told me, he wants to get the car fixed and get it back on track at Goodwood soon.”