Marussia to reveal Villota crash caused by mistakes
26 July, 2012
Jul.26 (GMM) Marussia is expected to claim in the coming days that Maria de Villota’s crash during testing was the result of a “chain of unfortunate circumstances and mistakes”.
The team recently insisted that, following an internal investigation, a failure of the 2012 car had been ruled out as the cause of the incident.
Spaniard de Villota, 32, is currently in a Madrid hospital, having spent 17 days in a Cambridge (UK) hospital recovering from severe head and facial injuries that required the removal of an eye.
“We’re now 100 per cent confident that the car was not to blame in the slightest,” team boss John Booth said at Hockenheim last weekend.
An external investigation is now underway, but Booth warned that it will be a “very long process”.
In the meantime, Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport said that Marussia is planning to release “within the next ten days” a further report about the circumstances leading up to de Villota’s impact with a stationary truck.
The report said that the finding will depict the so-called “chain of unfortunate circumstances and mistakes” that led to the front of her helmet striking the truck loading ramp.
AM&S said that de Villota’s trajectory from the Duxford runway to the temporary pits included a curve, resulting in her struggling to find the clutch lever as the steering wheel was not in the normal 9 and 3 o’clock position.
Spaniard de Villota had reportedly already forgotten to push the neutral button, and with cold tyres and brakes then struggled to stop the car as the 750hp engine powered it forwards in a low gear.
A role may also have been played by “panic”, or “doing the wrong thing at the wrong moment”, the German publication added.
Subbed by AJN.
Related posts:
- Gracia slams Marussia investigation of De Villota crash
- Marussia claim car not to blame for De Villota accident
- Whiting says de Villota crash was one in five million
- Marussia boss denies team negligence in Villota crash
- De Villota admits she is not Marussia reserve
My god I have to admit I agree with Disgusted with 2012
The one error that Marrusia is solely responsible for is the stupidity of having the loading ramp extended and parked off the ground at helmet height – period. Had that not been in place, this story would have likely never required any investigation. Unfortunately, Marussia lawyers will have to drag Maria down in an effort to diffuse liability exposure.