General News
07/Jul/2009
Jelley survives major shunt
Stephen Jelley was today lucky to emerge unscathed from a high-speed crash at the Snetterton circuit in Norfolk during official HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship testing.
Jelley’s Team RAC BMW slammed sideways into the barriers after he lost control under braking at around 130mph for the daunting Riches Corner.
He told btcc.net: “It had just started to rain and I was hoping to experiment with a few different lines – it would have been important as this place can be unpredictable, weather-wise.
“As I got to Riches I was moving from sixth gear down to fourth and maybe I just caught the white line on the edge of the track and I was a gonna.
"I thought I was going head-on into the barrier so tried steering it towards the gravel trap but that sent it sideways. I went in very hard on the driver’s side and that’s probably why I’m feeling pretty dazed after the impact.
“The worst thing though is I bit my tongue – that’s what hurt most. Above all, I’m pretty annoyed with myself. It’s a silly thing to do, to crash on a test day. But now I just need to forget about it and look forward to the test day at Rockingham next Monday (13 July).”
