GP3 race car barrel rolls in air, catches fire in huge crash (Video)

Jun 8, 2013; Fort Worth, TX, USA; A view of the track during the Firestone 550 at Texas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 8, 2013; Fort Worth, TX, USA; A view of the track during the Firestone 550 at Texas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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While most gnarly race car crashes are reserved for the actual race, that’s not what happened to 20-year-old Konsantin Tereschenko recently.

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Attempting to get used to the GP3 series track in Belgium on Saturday, Konsantin Tereschenko came up on a chicane  and was set to take the turn, however he appeared to get too far up onto a buffer curb. Combined with his speed, that sent his car flying into the air where it gave a near complete barrel roll. That is bad enough in itself, though as the car crumbled into pieces before smashing into a tire barrier, flames burst out of the back end (presumably fuel catching fire) where the understandably shaken driver had to rush to get out of his car.

Shockingly, despite the roll, crash and fire, Tereschkenko walked away from the incident without anything more than a couple cuts and bruises (and likely a sore body for the next few days).

Talk about terrifying. How Konsantin Tereschenko walked away from such without any significant injury is beyond me, though it shows how impressive safety technology is currently. He was 11 laps in.

The GP3 series is thought to be something of a training ground for a lot of current F1 drivers, though looks like Tereschenko may need a bit more seasoning on turns as he was coming in a little too hot there. Thankfully the mistake didn’t cost him anything other than a beat up race car (that’s what sponsors are for) and a bruise to his pride.

[NBC Sports]