IRL promises action after crash fire

De Silvestro's car was engulfed in flames after she crashed heavily, and just under 40 seconds elapsed between it coming to rest on fire and the safety crew extricating her from the cockpit. They were initially unable to extinguish the fire due to an equipment malfunction.

The Swiss rookie's HVM team boss Keith Wiggins said afterwards that "the safety crew should be ashamed", while Imran Safiulla of the squad's main backer Stargate Worlds described the situation as a "circus".

In a statement issued on Monday afternoon, the IRL said the delay was due to a hose problem that would be investigated and resolved for the future.

"First and foremost, we make the safety of our competitors a priority when on the track," the statement said. "The primary hose on the series' safety truck malfunctioned, so the safety team had to go to the back-up of the bottles.

"All equipment is checked prior to going on track before every race. We are examining why the hose malfunctioned to ensure this equipment failure will not happen again."

The series organiser also defended the quality of its safety crew.

"Our Safety Team consists of approximately 24 highly-trained safety personnel with a minimum of 14 attending each event - two trauma physicians, three paramedics and nine firefighters/EMTs. Team members have an average of 20 years of experience in their respective areas. The safety team is recognised for its high standards and high performance and this problem will be addressed."