Kourosh Khani had an eventful first visit to the world-famous Spa Francorchamps circuit in the FIA Formula Two Championship, the Iranian driver luckily walking away from a 160mph practice crash at Eau Rouge.
Friday practice proved to be a session that will forever be etched in Kourosh's memory, after an off at the infamous Eau Rouge at 166mph saw him broadside the tyre wall on the outside of the corner. Despite the crash recording a huge 79G and heavy contact with the tyre wall, Khani was able to walk away, testament to the strength of the F2 chassis.
The races themselves were no less eventful in his repaired chassis. The opening encounter saw him move up from sixteenth on the grid to ninth in the opening couple of laps, however on lap three his race was over after he was unceremoniously pushed into the gravel by Russian Max Snegirev.
The second race saw him start at the back after an engine malfunction in qualifying stopped him from putting a lap in, with his car needing an engine change prior to the race. In torrential rain, Khani made his way up to eleventh when the red flags came out due to the conditions, with the result declared soon after.
Khani said: “It's a shame that my efforts and those of the amazing F2 mechanics came to nothing in the first race. Today, I had the pace in the wet to really show well. I was hoping for a chance to make some good ground on the restart but unfortunately never got the opportunity.”
Footage of Khani's accident can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6RgsgWlE-s
