Chandhok’s Ferrari 250 GTO explodes into flames in spectacular Goodwood Revival race
A ball of fire ended Karun Chandhok’s run in the Lavant Cup at the 2023 Goodwood Revival, as his Ferrari 250 GTO dramatically expired
Flaming expensive: 250 GTO briefly catches alight, but a shaken Chandhok wasn’t stirred
Ex-Formula 1 driver and Sky F1 TV pundit Karun Chandhok shrugged off his Goodwood Revival fright when the Ferrari 250 GTO he was racing briefly burst into flames.
Chandhok was running fourth in the Lavant Cup, this year run for Ferrari GTs from 1960-66, when the silver car – an example of a model considered the most valuable in the world – suffered an engine failure as he was accelerating on to Lavant straight. Locked rear wheels sent the Ferrari into a spin as a flash fire erupted, before Chandhok regained control and pulled up safely by the barrier.
“I was just thinking to myself, ‘how cool is this? I’m in a GTO at Goodwood!’,” said Chandhok. “Then coming out of Lavant I heard a bang and the back wheels locked up. As I turned I saw flames, so I got right off the track safely, to minimise oil going down and get out of the way.”
“Obviously I was shaken but the marshals and car owner were all great. The owner’s absolute first priority was that I was OK. He was extremely understanding. The owners deserve so much credit. They send these cars that are worth so much out racing, knowing things can go wrong, that these things happen. He told me he wants to get the car fixed and get it back on track at Goodwood soon.”
A spokesman for the owner also played down the incident, despite the high value of the car. “It has a hole in the engine and the onboard fire extinguisher did its job. Karun is fine, which was our first concern. We race knowing they break.
“In basic terms, it was engine failure, as does happen in racing because these engines are highly strung. There was some internal failure, which caused a hole in the side of the sump that let the oil out towards the exhaust which was the spectacular ‘explosion’ you saw.
“It’s nothing unusual. No one bats an eyelid when a Formula 1 engine blows up. These cars have 60-year-old technology and occasionally one will blow up no matter how well prepared they are.”
A total of 16 Ferraris lined up for the Lavant Cup, making it what was considered the most valuable grid at the Revival this year. Rob Hall recovered from a first-lap spin and brush with a tyre wall to take victory in his 1964 250 LM from five-time Le Mans winner Emanuele Pirro in a 1961 250 SWB/C.
