Superleague Formula driver Chris van der Drift has spoken about his huge accident at Brands Hatch during last weekend's fixture which saw him catapult into the air at over 150mph whilst trying to overtake Julien Jousse.
The Olympiacos driver suffered a broken ankle, two broken ribs, a broken right little finger, a fractured shoulder blade and severe damage to his left index finger after the incident. Chris told the media, “I remember using my push-to-pass, went to overtake on the right hand side and (Jousse) moved once, but I kept my foot hard in it and then he moved again, I went on the grass and we touched,” he continued, “I was committed to it as you need to keep the momentum up to get past. The first time he moved was close but the second one left me no room and I was already going for it. It was a racing incident, just one of those things really. I'm still alive, so that's good.”
Onboard footage has so far proved inconclusive as to the cause of the accident, however, Van der Drift believes Jousse changed positions twice. He wanted to make it clear though, the accident that resulted was just an unfortunate event that happens in motorsport.
“I remember when I started to fly, that was all, and then waking up again when I was stuck (in the car). I woke up, saw my hand and then knew my ankle was busted and in another direction. It was in serious pain so I undid the buckles and got out myself.”
Van der Drift spent two nights in Dartford Hospital before being moved to a specialist centre in Northampton where the severity of his damaged index finger will be assessed. It is this injury that he believes will dictate when he will be back in a racing car rather than the broken bones.
“I'm feeling a bit bruised and banged up but it's not too bad,” he said. “I've got lots of pain killers so they're helping. My ankle was operated on yesterday so now I need to get my finger sorted. It depends on my hand. I'm going to do my best to get back up to speed again. I don't know how long I'll be out, I just have to see how it goes in the next few weeks and how quickly I heal.”
