When you’re racing in the southern hemisphere, particularly ‘down under’ in Australia, the last thing you expect is to be facing the right way up for the northern hemisphere.
But that’s exactly what happened to A1 Team Canada’s James Hinchcliffe in round seven of the World Cup of Motorsport, as he became the latest driver to test the strength of Lola's A1 Grand Prix chassis. The 20-year old rookie survived a heart-stopping 160kph double barrel-roll on the opening lap of the feature race at Eastern Creek, ending his race parked upside down in the turn four gravel trap.
Hinchcliffe’s spectacular exit came as his right-rear wheel was tagged by the front-left of Team Singapore’s Christian Murchison, who dived up the inside of the Canadian car. The contact between the two was enough to send Hinchcliffe barrel-rolling across the track before the settling dust revealed the white-and-red Lola beached upside down on its roll hoop.
“It’s funny, as it felt like it was happening in slow motion," Hinchcliffe reflected, "Looking back when I replay it in my head, it all happens quite quickly, but I remember, when I was actually going through it, there was a lot going through my mind and it felt like it played out over a longer period of time.
“Obviously my first thought was ‘oh no, I’m flipping’, but it was closely followed by ‘hold on, this could hurt!'. I didn’t know which angle I was going to hit at, so I just grabbed the bottom of the steering wheel, ducked my head down and prayed for the best. I knew, when we rubbed tyres, we were travelling pretty quickly into the turn so, when I hit the ground the first time, I knew it probably wasn’t going to be the last time. Sure enough, I went over again.”
The Champ Car Atlantic frontrunner's ordeal didn't end there either, as he then found himself dealing with a personal phobia.
