Tag: accident

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BMW

BMW 135i undergoes impromptu crash test!

Ouch!

This BMW 135i suffered an unwanted fate after a nearby building came crashing down on top of it. The car, a BMW press vehicle, was under the watch of Wheels journalist Samantha Stevens. You can read all about it, and see more images of woe at the Wheelsmag blog. Ironically, Samantha had the 135i because the M3 she was hoping to collect was ‘no longer available’. Let’s hope the M3 didn’t meet a similar demise!

Testament to the little Beemer’s intrinsic strength is this comment from Samantha’s post:

“A positive note to this sad story can be found in the pictures. The 135i’s rigid body structure upheld the impact of several tonnes of metal falling square on its vulnerable middle roof. Its optional sunroof didn’t even shatter. So our BMW 135i has proven it’s as strong as houses – by having one land on top of it.

Had passengers been in the car at the time, only the rear-passenger side occupant would have one hell of a headache. The four other cars under the rubble didn’t fare so well, though they were older models and had borne more of the impact.”

Amazingly, the attending tow truck driver was not only able to start the car, but also drive it on to the flatbed to take the car away!

Trivia buffs will have noticed this was also the same car used in Top Gear Australia‘s test which went to air on SBS last night.

Source: Wheelsmag (Thanks to Micky for the link.)

Categories
MINI Challenge

2008 MINI CHALLENGE – Round 6 wrap up

MINI CHALLENGE crash at Bathurst

Hard to go past the most spectacular imagery from this round, Ryan McLeod and Darren Berry’s accident. The incident has been covered here (including a MINI CHALLENGE press statement on Darren’s condition). The good news is, despite the horrific looking wreckage above, Darren Berry’s injuries will not be long term.

Back to the racing and it was the familiar story of Jason Bargwanna at the head of the field. His domination since joining the field full time seems to know no boundaries, even dual British Touring Car champion Matt Neal couldn’t match Bargs—who started from pole, scorching around the Mount Panorama circuit in 2:31.1762, some 1.25 seconds faster than Neal. The Brit grabbed his second place in the dying seconds of qualifying snatching a front row position from the other Team Bargwanna entry of Scott Bargwanna.

Jason Bargwanna felt his V8 Supercar experience at the track gave him an edge, “I came down the mountain at the end of the session and saw the 97 and 79 one and two on the scoring board, which was a very exciting thing to see! Although Matt pipped Scotty, it’s still a great result for us. Personally, the extra 50kg (success ballast) that I’m carrying definitely makes a difference under acceleration. I think the miles I’ve done around this place may have contributed to the result!”

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Categories
MINI Challenge

MINI CHALLENGE race cut short at Bathurst

The Australian MINI CHALLENGE had a great position in the television broadcast today. Race 3, the final race for Round 6, was to be beamed live into Australia’s lounge rooms as the last event before the Top 10 Shootout for the V8 Supercars. The first two races, both won by Jason Bargwanna, were tight and exciting, and after a few ups and downs for the series management this year the MINI CHALLENGE would really benefit from a full grid and a national live telecast.

All was going well until a brutal accident on the first lap involving Darren Berry and Ryan McLeod. The crash happened towards the back of the field, on the downhill run, between the Dipper and Forest Elbow. McLeod’s MINI tagged the back of Berry’s Clipper Motor Yachts MINI and forced him head on into the wall. McLeod also slammed into the concrete, before parking on the in field just after Forest Elbow. The Safety Car was sent out, but race organisers stopped the race and declared it a no result. No points will be awarded.

The impact of Berry’s MINI into the wall was shocking. A statement from MINI CHALLENGE (shown below) reveals that Berry suffered a broken ankle and was complaining of back pain. He has been transferred to Orange Hospital where we hope he makes a quick start to a full recovery.

Berry’s accident comes on the back of Grant Denyer’s absence from the series after his incident at the NSW Monster Truck Championships last month.

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Categories
MINI Challenge

Ben Tune on a roll in the MINI Challenge

With all the MINI CHALLENGE highlights we couldn’t forget Ben Tune’s rollover! Tune is a former Australian test rugby player and was part of the UBER-STAR CAR program at Round 3, held at Perth’s Barbagallo Raceway. This accident happened in Race 1 and while he did spend the night in hospital he was released with no serious injuries. A full statement from the MINI CHALLENGE organisers can be read HERE. Further commentary and a brief pre-race interview with the former Wallaby international can be seen HERE.

Categories
MINI Challenge

2008 MINI Challenge – Round 3, Race 2

Continuing our quest to bring you up to date with the first four rounds of the 2008 MINI CHALLENGE here are a couple of clips bringing you all the thrills and spills from Race 2 of the Round 3 action at Western Australia’s Barbagallo Raceway. This round, known as the Ben Tune Rollover Round, created a bit of controversy with UBER-STAR pole sitter Leanne Tander punted off before the first corner of Race 1. Then, of course, there was Tune’s accident, and you can see from his pre-race interview in the clip above that his comparisons of Test Rugby and motor racing were eerily accurate. Highlights and commentary of Ben’s accident are shown at the end of the first clip.

This category is still growing and with each race the racing gets tighter and more competitve. This still didn’t stop media personality Grant Denyer from having an interview during the race (see clip below), although, he was a bit short of breath at times showing that he was working damn hard.

A full wrap up of Round 3 results can be found HERE.

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Categories
MINI

MINI Cooper S – Upside down Miss Jane!

R56 MINI Cooper S rollover

Yikes! Images of this R56 MINI Cooper S rollover have recently surfaced on the Minifinity.com internet forum. The accident happened in Malaysia and, while details of the moments leading up the incident are only speculation, there has been an alleged eye witness report stating the driver and passenger walked away with no serious injuries.

See below for more images, or read the thread on Minifinity.com for more detail.

Continue reading “MINI Cooper S – Upside down Miss Jane!”