NEWS - ITEM 71

PAC PERFORMANCE MAZDA 6 SUFFERS A SETBACK

Date: 24/9/09

One of Australia’s most popular drag racing cars, the Pac Performance Mazda 6, has suffered an unfortunate incident in testing at Western Sydney International Dragway.

Team Principal Rocky Rehayem explained, “Talk about bad timing! Yesterday was supposed to be our final testing day before the Jamboree. Things were going well, we had good weather, the car was behaving well, and we were getting consistent ETs, when disaster struck.

The ‘6’ had just completed a clean pass, then came the call for the fire truck, something no team ever wants to hear.“It was heart-breaking seeing the car being towed back with the bonnet covered in a white extinguisher powder and the front windscreen charred with black burn marks.”

The good news however, is that driver Rocky Rehayem was able to emerge unharmed. So, what exactly happened? It’s best to leave the explanation to Rocky, as the man behind the wheel who experienced the freak accident first hand. “One of the fuel fittings on the fuel rail has snapped, allowing fuel to spray inside the engine bay – and that’s never a good thing.” “The fuel caught on fire almost immediately, and was attended to by the fire marshal at the end of the track.

By the time the fire truck got to us and put the fire out, the damage was already done.” Looking at the pictures, one might think the affected area is mostly superficial, that, however is not the case, as the fire has caused quite a lot of damage within the engine bay.

The question on everyone’s mind is; does that rule the car out the Jamboree?

The car has already been stripped and the crew are working tirelessly to repair the car but with the extensive carbon fibre damage and data logging/engine management components being burnt we are facing an uphill battle, but, nothing is impossible!