Supercars star Aaron Cameron has been forced to evacuate his burning car after it burst into flames during the opening race of the Sandown 500.
Cameron’s back wheel caught fire at the start of lap 13, with the Blanchard Racing Team driver quickly pulling over near the marshalling post at turn four.
He was able to calmly get out as the car quickly disappeared behind a huge plume of black smoke.
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“He has bailed immediately,” Richard Craill said in commentary.
“He had an enormous fire under the rear axle. Smart from Aaron Cameron to stop where he did, right next a well-marshalled, well-flagged officials point at turn four.
“Goodness me, look at this,” Craill added as the in-car camera went completely black from the smoke.
Race engineer Daniel Veronese said the team will investigate the incident, but suspected tyre damage or fuel may have caused the inferno.
The incident flipped the race on its head with the rest of the field pitting under the safety car.
Leader Matt Payne ended up dropping to third behind Will Brown and Brodie Kostecki.
The winner of Saturday’s race is guaranteed a spot in the four-driver grand final in Adelaide.
More to come …
