Mark Howard and Alex Martin blame each other for tower-wrecking smash

Team BKR driver Mark Howard and Team Parker Racing’s Alex Martin found at each other at fault for the clash in Race 3 at Snetterton, which saw the track-side cameraman gantry knocked down, causing the second red flag of the day.

The Volkswagen CC of Howard and the Ford Focus of Martin made contact at the start of the race, with Howard’s car then clipped by Power Maxed Racing’s Hunter Abbott, whose Chevrolet Cruze was propelled into a barrel roll and slammed into the tower on the left-side of the main straight, knocking it over.

The ITV Sport cameraman on top of the gantry jumped to safety and was unharmed in the incident. Although no penalties were issued post-race, it’s understood that this may be further investigated by the championship organiser’s during the next meeting at Knockhill in two weeks’ time.

“I got a good start and had my front-left up the inside of Martin’s car and then he came over on me,” said Howard to TouringCarTimes. “I don’t know if he didn’t see me or got pushed by someone but it just spun him across me into the wall. I then got forced to the left and the next thing I saw was the underside of Abbott’s car as he flew over me, and it ripped off the left hand side of the car.”

An angry Martin said Howard was responsible for the crash, with the two having come together on more than one occassion earlier in the day.

“I got a better start than the guy ahead and I moved to the right to go for the position and Howard has hit me in the rear and turned me into the wall,” said Martin. “He hit me in race one, he smacked into my rear in race two and put me out and then he’s put me in the wall again in race three.”