McNish survives horror shunt

Lucky Man
By Phil
October 12 2002

Allan McNish has escaped from an enormous accident on the 130R corner at the Suzuka circuit in Japan. His right rear wheel hit the kerb, he lost grip and the car span, launched itself into the air and bounced through a tyre barrier and the armco totally writing off the car and the barrier.

The qualifying session was stopped for 45 minutes while the barrier was repaired and McNish was given the once over by the professor Sid Watkins at the medical centre.

Allan is confident that he will be able to race in tomorrows Grand Prix, however he took no further part in the qualifying session which still had 25 minutes to run.

The team ended the session in 13th and 18th places.

Mika:
"I thought we could have gone a bit better around this track. I gave it my absolute maximum but we do not seem to be able to get rid of the understeer on the car. I was going well on my final run but a car ran wide in front of me and I collected some grass on my tyres, losing me a couple of important tenths. All in all disappointing, but I am very pleased to hear that Allan is okay after his crash."

Allan:
"First of all, I feel fine. I have had a check-up and my knee is sore, but I am confident of getting back into the car tomorrow morning. Basically, everything felt good through the 130R corner but the car suddenly snapped into a big oversteer and I reversed heavily into the barrier. My natural instinct after the crash was just to make sure everything was still in working order and thankfully it is. I have got to see the medical crew tomorrow morning for a check-up but I am confident for tomorrow. The best thing is to get back in the cockpit as soon as possible."

Keizo Takahashi - Technical Co-Ordinator:
"We are all relieved that Allan is okay after his accident. It says a lot for the safety in Formula 1 cars. As for Mika the balance of the car was very good and Mika gave his best effort to improve the performance of his car. We are sure Allan will be all right to race tomorrow. Nothing would make the Japanese fans happier!"