Puncture caused Briscoe's shunt
Toyota's test driver Ryan Briscoe was lucky to walk away after losing control of his car on Spa's Eau Rouge corner during Friday's second practice session. The Australian suffered a left rear puncture which forced him into the Armco and tyre barriers at the infamous bend
Although Briscoe sat in the car initially, he soon jumped out of the cockpit. He was taken to the medical centre for a precautionary check-up.
Although the TV cameras missed the start of incident, tyre marks left at the bottom of the hill suggest the Toyota snapped to the right, when it should have been turning left. The fact that the remains of the inside of the sidewall of the left-rear tyre had jagged edges lent credibility to the theory of a puncture occurring at the very worst of moments, and this was later confirmed by technical director Mike Gascoyne.
"We can see from the data that he picked up the puncture at the Bus Stop," said Gascoyne. "He was okay through La Source but the tyre deflated just before Eau Rouge. It was a normal puncture, it started deflating and then it failed because it was running at a lower pressure."
Having hit the end of the old pitwall, Briscoe then hit the Armco on the inside of the left-hander and was catapulted across the track to hit the tyres on the outside of the right-hand element. Fortunately, it appears the angles the car struck the barriers were such that Briscoe himself didn't sustain any large hits, and quickly hopped out of the car unscathed.
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