1994 Benetton Pit Stop At Hochenheim

Kinja'd!!! "Goggles Pizzano" (gogglespizzano)
03/28/2014 at 21:40 • Filed to: None

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Kinja'd!!!

The man in the photo is Paul Seaby, now Team Manager at Lotus. He uses this photo for his Twitter account. Steve Matchett, legendary race announcer, was the rear jack man for Benneton at the time.

1994 saw the reintroduction of refueling, banned since 1983 from the sport. Even before the season began, teams were concerned about the pressurized fuel rigs to be used. The rigs could fill an empty tank in just a matter of seconds, but everybody was concerned about the consequences of a spill or malfunction. Through the first eight races, there had been no incidents, and perhaps the teams were feeling a little more comfortable now. On lap 15 of the German Grand Prix, Benneton's Jos Verstappen brought his B194 in for a regular pit stop: tires and fuel. Unbeknownst to the FIA, the team had tinkered with their refueling rig, removing a fuel filter and in the process upping the flow by an additional 10%. Everything seemed to be going fine, until the man on the hose moved it around slightly. The nozzle seemed to pop out of the fuel tank, spraying an estimated four liters of gasoline around the car in an instant. It took no time at all for the inevitable to occur.

Verstappen, caught in the middle of the whole thing, suffered a burn to his nose when some fire got into his slightly-opened visor.

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Just as quickly as it happened, it was over. While a few of the mechanics went to the hospital, nobody was seriously injured.


DISCUSSION (1)


Kinja'd!!! EL_ULY > Goggles Pizzano
03/29/2014 at 22:35

Kinja'd!!!0

fuck that scary