Massive Accident Threatens Murray's Season

(PRLEAP.COM) Massive Accident Threatens Murray’s Season

:: For Immediate Release :: 19th March 2006 ::
:: 2005/06 MSAQ Sprintcars :: Comp Cams Round 7 ::

Dan ‘Hollywood’ Murray has escaped major injury, however, the rest of his season is in jeopardy after an enormous crash, which wrecked the Comstar Internet car last night in round 7 of the Comp Cams Series at Brisbane International Speedway.

The roll was a shallow and ultra quick tumble, occurring in the first round of heats, and depending on whom you talk to, the car rolled between seven and nine times.

The accident was exacerbated by the fact that the car’s top-wing was ripped off in the first roll, meaning that the car lost its main buffer to slow itself down, and the wing had little more effect than giving the crowd an eyeful of bent and twisted Comstar Internet signage.

The roll happened on the third lap of the first heat race, while Murray was in the midst of the action.

Starting last, he duelled with Terry Bracken – the winningest Queensland driver this season, passing him at the end of the first lap, and Bracken repassed Murray on the second lap.

On the third lap Murray and Bracken came up to Phil Foster, and Bracken tried to have a look by Foster on the outside, but then cut down sharply onto the inside – directly where Murray was.

He hit Murray’s right-front wheel with his knerf bar, and pitched Murray into the dreadful roll.

“It looked like Terry decided to move from the top of the track to the bottom about halfway down the straight, to try and get underneath Foster, and I guess he just didn’t see me there,” Murray said.

“I had just enough time to get my foot on the brake, but after that I was a passenger.

“It was a really helpless feeling,” Murray explained, “I was desperately trying to tuck my arms up into my chest, but the G-forces were so high… I only had just enough strength to stop them from flailing around in the cockpit.”

Showing true showmanship, Dan ‘Hollywood’ Murray whipped up the crowd by climbing out of the wreckage, and bowing twice to the people in turns three and four; an excellent dismount.

After the accident Murray was treated by the medical staff on hand at the speedway, and was given the all clear - the worst injury seeming to be a burst blood vessel in his eye sustained from the huge G-forces.

The Comstar Internet team were left to tally up an extensive – and very expensive, list of damaged and destroyed parts…

The car’s differential, the entire front-end of the car, the top wing, exhaust, brakes, and much more - even one of the two screws holding down the tachometer in the cockpit was ripped out in the accident.

“Sure, we’re going to try to get back on track by the end of the season, but it will be very hard financially, so we can’t be sure that we’ll manage,” Murray said.

“We’ve torn up a lot of equipment in the last few meetings, and we haven’t got money to continually repair damage like this,” he lamented.

“We’re going to go hunting for some extra sponsors to help us out, because meetings like this are the kind that kill your entire budget in one fell swoop.”

The Comstar Internet crew know that repairing the car will prove to be a long and frustrating exercise.

“We’ll assess the situation after the meeting and see how viable it is to fix the car in a short time frame.

“The chassis itself looks intact, but pretty much everything else attached to the car has been damaged or very much rattled, so we’re going to have to take everything apart and have a very good look at it back in the shed.

“We’ll try our best, and hopefully it’ll all come together…”

At this point, the Comstar Internet team’s 2005/06 plans are up in the air.

For their continual support, the team would like to thank Comstar Internet, Race Engineering, Peter Tuesley Photography and Sunset Autos Smash Repairs.

-ENDS-