Mark Pitcher from The Moving Company in New Zealand has been injured in a motor racing accident.

He’s not seriously hurt but he has received a nasty burn to his lower leg and, more importantly it seems when talking to mark, has given him a setback at the start of the racing season.

Mark was taking part in a national championship event at the Wellington Speedway.  He was driving his American Nascar-style ‘Super Saloon’ with 780 horse power under the accelerator pedal. During the race a fuel line came adrift and caused the car to catch fire.  Unfortunately, the car runs on methanol, which cannot be seen burning, so by the time Mark realised what was happening the flames had already taken hold.

“It was my accelerator leg from the knee to the shin,” Mark explained.  “And I burnt through a brand new set of triple layer racing overalls. What’s worse is that the race was the start of the season and I had moved up to second place in the race before my emergency exit.”

Mark’s car has now been fully repaired and he is about to start the Burger King sponsored Pro series.  His leg might take a little longer to fix.

Photo:  Mark Pitcher's newly-repaired 780hp Nascar-style Super Saloon.