It’s only Monday, which is much too soon for sad news. Unfortunately, that’s what we have to share today from the world of World Rallycross, as Special One Racing — the team that campaigned a pair of fully-electric Lancia Delta Evo-e machines, one of which was driven by Sébastien Loeb — has announced that both of its chassis went up in smoke during a fire at the Lydden Hill circuit in England on Friday.
First off, nobody was harmed in the blaze which engulfed not only both vehicles but also Special One’s truck and entire service area. That’s a relief, especially when you take in the state of the scene:
Special One posted the following statement to its website. In it, the team said that the fire began after Loeb’s car had been recharging for a few minutes, and fortunately not while it was undergoing active repair:
On Friday 21 July, just before 8.45am, a fire broke out in the number 9 car normally driven by Sébastien Loeb. The fire quickly spread to Guerlain Chicherit’s number 36 car and then to one of the team’s two workshop trucks. None of the three vehicles could be saved from the flames despite the intervention of the fire brigade. The scene was quickly evacuated, and no-one was injured.
An investigation has been launched by the FIA to determine the origin of the fire, which broke out while no-one was physically working on the car, but during the electrical recharging of the propulsion system, which had been underway for several minutes. At this stage, we can already state that no handling errors were made by the staff of the Special ONE Racing team, nor by those of its partners.
Needless to say, Special One won’t be contesting the rest of the World RX season, which heads to Benelux, Germany, South Africa and Hong Kong next, in that order. The team thanked its fans for their support, especially during this time. “We’re proud of the response to our two magnificent Delta Evo-e RXs, of which all that remains today are photos and videos,” the last sentence reads. Heartbreaking indeed. Loeb, the nine-time World Rally Championship winner, added the following:
After the fire that broke out under the structure housing our two cars, the first essential piece of news was that no member of the team was injured. My thoughts go out to all the men and women who have worked or are working on this project with such determination and passion, and who have seen everything go up in smoke in just a few moments.
Like its competitors, the Delta Evo-e was powered by World RX’s spec dual-motor powertrain, producing 680 horsepower and 647 lb-ft of torque and supplied by Kreisel Electric. GCK Motorsport was responsible for the car’s assembly. After the incident on Friday, officials canceled the rest of the weekend’s action for the RX1e category, of which the Deltas were a part.