The No. 4 Corvette C7.R burst into flames during today’s Roar Before the 24 practice session for the 2017 24 Hours of Daytona with Chevrolet endurance driver Marcel Fassler behind the wheel.
The Swiss driver, who will pilot the No. 4 C7.R alongside Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner in the upcoming endurance race, escaped the flaming C7.R without injury. According to Sportscar365, the source of the fire was related to a fault in the Corvette’s fuel system.
Fassler Escapes Injury After Massive Corvette Fire at Roar: https://t.co/Hf40EUYqto #IMSA #Roar24 pic.twitter.com/4XDxXWc5xz
— Sportscar365 (@sportscar365) January 8, 2017
The incident, which occurred at Daytona’s NASCAR Turn, red flagged the practice session while safety crews put out the fire and cleared debris from the track.
Fassler, along with Milner and Gavin, won the GTLM category in last year’s running of the 24 Hours of Daytona in the No. 4 C7.R. The No. 3 C7.R sister car, piloted by Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia and Mike Rockenfeller, claimed second place.
Comments
Should not be a problem. They have a back up and #4 is expected back to the shop in MI by noon Monday. The can rebuild it this week as long as the chassis is not damaged.
Now keep in mind the #4 burned last year at the same practice then came back to win the GTLM class in the 24.
Take No Prisoners! Good luck Jake and team!
We got the texts yesterday that the #4 had a “thermal event” related to the new fuel pump and related lines. Will go back to last year’s tried and true more than likely and work on the problem with the new setup after the race.