James Cole and Robb Holland both sore and bruised after shunt

Both James Cole and Robb Holland were left sore and bruised but otherwise unhurt from a huge second race accident at Donington Park, which caused significant damage to both of their cars.

Holland’s Rotek Racing Audi S3 took heavy front end damage in the incident at Hollywood on lap six, but Cole fears his United Autosports Toyota Avensis may be a write-off.

Both drivers were caught up in the aftermath of an incident in front, where Rob Austin, Chris Stockton and Jack Clarke made contact, and Austin and Stockton went off. Cole was forced to take avoiding action when Austin’s Audi A4 rejoined the track, which led to the contact with Holland.

“I’m absolutely fine. I got out of the car straight away. Obviously I’m bruised and sore, but for what it could have been I feel pretty good,” said Cole to TouringCarTimes.

“We have got a fantastic seat in this, and that’s what’s saved me. It was straight into concrete – I wiped a concrete wall out. I was going over 100mph.

“The back of the roll cage is bent, which usually means a write-off. We have just got to see what we can do with it. We’ve got two weeks to Thruxton and if we can get out, that’s the important thing.”

Assessing the incident, Cole said: “Rob Austin was coming back on track, and me and the other Robb [Holland] were side-by-side. I had pretty much overtaken him, had to swerve left to avoid Rob [Austin], and Robb [Holland] didn’t notice.”

Asked if he thought it was a racing incident, he added: “I’m not going to say until I see it back.”

Holland also gave his view of the incident to TouringCarTimes.

He said: “I couldn’t see Rob Austin go off. All of a sudden James had to swerve to avoid Rob coming back on a bit abruptly.

“He came straight across my nose, and there was nothing I could do. I think we will have to take a look at it, and see what the standards are for drivers rejoining the track.

“The spray was really bad and it was difficult to see. It was just a combination of factors.”

Assessing the damage, Holland added: “It’s pretty bad. Everything from the engine forward is pretty much gone, and we don’t know if the engine or gearbox is a bit more substantial. We’ve got our fingers crossed on that.

“The rear took a small hit, but I think we can send that to the bodyshop and get it pulled out. It was a pretty big hit, which is obviously what we didn’t need in this stage of the programme.”