- V8 driver Conor Somers had a stroke of luck on Saturday
- Was busy qualifying for Townsville 500
- Lost control of Porsche after collision with Ross McGregor
Porsche driver Conor Somers remarkably escaped unscathed after his car was shot into the air and flipped over at high speed during qualifying for the Townsville 500 on Saturday.
A collision with Ross McGregor on a blind bend sent Somers’ Porsche 911 flying into a concrete barrier.
He then rolled several times, causing fans to fear the worst.
Somers was not injured in the crash and crawled out of the driver’s seat window as his battered car came to rest on its roof. News Corp reported.
Fans along the track also had to take cover as debris fell through a hole in the fence.
“That’s phenomenal. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything like that in a Cup car, launched like that. “That was like an open wheeler through there,” Fox Sports commentator Richard Craill said.
‘As he turned the corner he drove on the outside of McGregor and that sent the car flying.’
The accident happened just behind the track at the Reid Park circuit, where Turn 10 is a notorious spot for dangerous accidents.
Porsche driver Conor Somers has remarkably escaped unscathed after his vehicle was launched into the air and flipped over at high speed during qualifying for the Townsville 500 on Saturday
Conor Somers (right) was not injured in the crash that followed a collision with Ross McGregor at Reid Park circuit
“Once you get through Turn Eight, Turn Nine, Turn Ten, it’s a very fast, blind corner,” V8 Supercars legend Craig Lowndes said on Fox Sports.
“There was contact between two cars. That’s a heavy impact to move those concrete barriers… that’s a huge force.”
Somers set the fifth best qualifying time on his first visit to Townsville.
The session was eventually stopped and the damaged barrier was quickly replaced.
Race 13, the first 88-lap race of the weekend, starts at 2:40 PM.