Sports Car Forum - MotorWorld.net - Jason Platon injured in Caparo

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The Caparo T1 supercar is in the final rounds of its testing phase but it appears developers still have some major bugs to iron out. While driving one of the final prototypes, British Touring Car Championship driver and Fifth Gear presenter Jason Plato was hurt when the car’s engine burst into flames at an estimated 150mph.

Plato received burns to his hands, face, and the back of the neck, and was immediately rushed to the nearest hospital. In a statement, he said he felt a slight loss of power, then saw smoke in the mirrors before suddenly feeling intense heat. “The car spontaneously erupted into a ball of flame and I was stuck in the middle of a fireball. I hit the brakes, brought the car to a stop as quickly as I could and jumped out,” he explained.

This will undoubtedly delay the launch of the high performance two-seater, which was supposed to go on sale by the middle of this year. The engine develops a staggering 575bhp (425kW) from its 3.5L of displacement and achieves this peak at 10,500rpm, which explains its highly stressed nature.

- MotorAuthority.com

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Plato injured during filming

Jason Plato has vowed to race in this weekend’s Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship title-decider after needing hospital treatment for burns when a car he was test driving for motoring programme Fifth Gear caught fire.

Plato was driving a Capara T1 super car at Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground in Leicestershire for the Channel 5 show when it burst into flames at an estimated 150mph.

He has received burns to his hands (the right being more badly injured), his face and the back of his neck. After attending Kettering and Market Harborough hospitals he was transferred to Stoke Mandeville Hospital where he was treated in the specialist burns unit.

The 39-year-old is now recovering back home in Oxford and insists he will race at Thruxton as he seeks to win a second BTCC Drivers’ title. He will go into the title-decider leading the championship by nine points from Vauxhall rival Fabrizio Giovanardi.

Plato said: “The back of my neck is burnt and so are my face and hands. I obviously couldn’t take my hands off the steering wheel whilst braking and my right hand is more badly burnt than my left.

“I’ll have to dig deep, but I’m still looking forward to the BTCC finale this weekend. It’s been a hard-fought season and I’ve led the Drivers’ Championship almost unbroken since winning the opening round, so this isn’t going to stop me winning the title on Sunday.”

Plato has thanked the medical staff who treated him and also former BTCC racer Phil Bennett who drove him to hospital. He also explained what had happened.

He added: “We were testing the Caparo T1 for Fifth Gear and we took it to Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground, a private testing facility, which is common practice.

"There was a slight loss of power, I looked in the mirror and saw some smoke, there was a slight smell of oil and then suddenly there was this intense heat. The car spontaneously erupted into a ball of flame and I was sat in the middle of a fireball. I hit the brakes, brought the car to a stop as quickly as I could and jumped out.

“We found the nearest hospital on our sat nav and Phil Bennett took me to the local A&E. I would very much like to thank Phil, all the staff at Market Harborough and District Hospital, Kettering General Hospital and Stoke Mandeville Hospital for all the excellent care and treatment they so quickly administered."

- BTCC.net