Chevron Racing Cars rising star racer, Jordan Witt, 20, survived a massive 110mph, 30g crash in his Chevron GR8 GT at the infamous Redgate corner at Donington Park this weekend – but, thankfully, walked away unscathed, proving what a safe and strong car the compact GR8 race car is, even in such a high speed racing incident.
The weekend was going perfectly for Chevron and youth race sensation Jordan Witt – with the diminutive, heritage-rich GR8 GT qualifying for its first pole position in the GT Cup, in dry conditions, despite the extra 60kg of ballast the car was carrying from its Brands Hatch win last time out, again beating the Ferrari 430’s, Porsche GT3’s and other supercars.
Then, at the start of the first race, disaster struck, through no fault of his own, in an incident involving a Ferrari 430 driven by ‘Secret Millionaire’ star, Gary Eastwood at the challenging turn one, Redgate.
Jordan said: “Most unfortunately after getting into pole position, Gary Eastwood in his Ferrari 430 made contact with me, just after the start line before the first corner at ‘Redgate.’ The high-speed impact plunged me backwards into the inner circuit concrete wall. It was quite a shock. The impact data from the in-car telemetry systems shows the car was at 110mph and pulling 30g when I hit the wall. The crash energy was so high, it broke the wall in three places and sent me bouncing back across the track in front of other cars, into the outside gravel. Very fortunately, I got out with no injuries apart from a minor one to my elbow. Most sadly, the race car is a mess, but it is our intention to be back out racing at the next British GT race at Rockingham on 03/04 September.”
Gary Eastwood was black flagged by the Clerk of the Course instantly, and after three laps, eventually came into the pits and was removed from the race. His race licence was later endorsed.
Chevron’s Managing Director, Helen Bashford-Malkie said: “Obviously, it was most disappointing when Jordan had got the Chevron onto its first pole in the GT Cup and we were all very worried that he was going to be OK after such a big crash. But we were very pleased the Clerk of the Course saw fit to address such a serious accident in such a prompt and efficient manner. And, on the positive side, we were extremely pleased with how safe and secure the GR8 is in such a massive impact. Whilst the car may have looked a complete mess after hitting the wall at 110mph, and having been hit by the heavier Ferrari 458, the safety cell remained perfectly intact and our roll cage protected Jordan perfectly. I’ve seen much lesser crashes result in far more serious personal injuries in my time racing, and we are all glad Jordan is OK.”
“We are focusing now on re-building the GR8 for the next round at Rockingham, just a few days away, and hope to continue our run of success with the new, exciting GR8 race car – which is getting some great results against established names and racers. Jordan is a superb driver and we are very confident the Chevron GR8 will continue its run of success, just a few months since we launched the new race car,” Helen added.
Chevron Racing Cars made a stunning race debut in the GT Cup Championship (www.gtcup.co.uk) in August – with an inaugural victory in the ballistic Chevron GR8 GT at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit. Jordan Witt, took a huge victory – by over 11 seconds – in the second of two sprint races in the Chevron GR8 GT Car, blitzing Ferrari 430’s and Porsche 911 GT3 racers to take the chequred flag in style, in the pouring rain.
The GT Cup Championship Sprint (25 minutes) and GT Trophy Endurance Series races are designed for GT Cars with both up-and-coming racers, like Jordan, and “gentleman drivers,” like his father, David Witt – who was racing alongside his son at Brands Hatch in the Chevron Challenge Car in August, and again at Donington Park. The Challenge Car runs mainly the same high specification as Jordan’s Chevron GR8 GT Car, with a re-worked version of the GT version’s full aero pack.
Unbelievably given his pace and success already, Jordan Witt has only been racing competitively for twelve months, in the Dunlop Sport MAXX Cup, Chevron GR8 Challenge and in the epic British GT Championship, in the Chevron GR8 GT. And, as well as his recent crash at Donington, the Cheshire race ace has also just recovered from a dose of the mumps and a serious bout of conjunctivitis prior to the Brands Hatch GT Cup races. But that didn’t stop him taking the c260 bhp, 750Kg Chevron GR8 GT to a historic inaugural victory in the second of the two sprint races, and getting pole position at Donington Park before the crash. The future is bright for young Witt, and the Chevron GR8.
The Chevron GR8 is available in Challenge Car and GT specification, from just £55,000 (+ VAT in EU) and £70,000 (+ VAT) respectively. And, for retro racers, the Chevron B19 Works Car is available from £80,000 (+ VAT), plus engine and gearbox costs (there are several specifications available).
