‘VERY LUCKY TO BE ALIVE’ (From News Shopper)

‘VERY LUCKY TO BE ALIVE’

12:58pm Tuesday 31st May 2005

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THIS is the result when a rally car introduces itself to a tree at 65mph.

Beckenham's Sam Collins, 23, is "very lucky to be alive" after the Peugeot 205 XS challenge car he was co-driving collided with a loose tyre which had been left lying on the Thames Valley Rally circuit.

Collins, deputy editor of Racecar Engineering magazine, takes up the story in his own words: "About half-way through the rally's fifth stage we approached a fast chicane and just glanced a loose tyre on the side of the track. This flicked the car into a big slide, which resulted in us hitting a low concrete wall on the edge of the circuit.

"The next thing I knew, we were rolling through the undergrowth and bouncing off trees at about 65mph. When you see a tree coming towards you at that sort of speed it makes you realise just how dangerous motorsport can be.

"This sort of accident is potentially fatal we're very lucky to be alive. I felt the impact of the first tree hitting the car and remember my head hitting something solid, but from then on everything's pretty much a blur."

Safety marshals later told Collins the car had rolled six times and bounced around 8ft in the air.

The battered Peugeot eventually came to rest on the driver's side around 15 metres from the point where it began its dramatic roll.

Said Collins: "As with all rally cars the 205 was fitted with a full challenge spec rollcage, safety harnesses and FIA standard seats, and we were both wearing high standard helmets. These bits of kit certainly saved our lives."

The drama, however, did not end there.

Worried the car could burst into flames at any time Collins removed his seat belt the only thing holding him in place and promptly dropped into the lap of his driving partner Chris Wise, from Trottiscliffe.

Once both men had recovered from their shock they got out the car and tried to regain their bearings and composure, but Collins soon felt faint and had to be treated by the paramedics.

A neck brace was fitted as a precaution and he was taken by ambulance to hospital, before being released the next day.

Collins said: "I'm still feeling the effects of the crash today, and imagine I will be for a while yet, though my health is improving all the time.

"On inspection my helmet had really done its job and absorbed all the impact, quite literally saving my neck.

"The fact that we had lowered the seats by 10cm before the race to lower the centre of gravity and allow us to corner faster may also have been a factor in our survival.

"If we'd been sat any higher we would probably have been very seriously injured if not killed. Just 10cm from possible death a chilling thought."

Despite this Collins is looking forward to getting back into the saddle in September at Brands Hatch for the UK Formula Vee championships, the other series in which he competes.

He said: "Am I put off motorsport? Not a bit of it. I can't wait to get back behind the wheel."

Rather you than me Sam.

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