Rear brake pads caused Göransson’s crash

WestCoast Racing has determined the cause of Richard Göransson’s severe crash in the Scandianvian Touring Car Championship premiere last weekend. A rear brake pad fell off the car, causing Göransson to lose brake pressure and crash.
“This is a mistake by the team that we fully take responsibility for and that we are deeply sorry for,” said Dick Jönsson-Wigroth, WestCoast Racing Team Principal.

Göransson crashed on the penultimate lap of the STCC 2011 opener at Jyllandsringen while leading the race with 8.1 seconds.

The Swede held a speed of 184 km/h when he went on the brakes, a speed that he managed to reduce to 107 km/h when he left the asphalt edge and flew over first part of the gravel trap due to a lower ground level compared to the level of the track.

Göransson held 86 km/h when he hit the barrier and the g-force meters in the car maxed out at 5 G at the moment of impact, WestCoast Racing states that they estimate the g-forces to be between 10 and 20 G at the moment of impact.

“We have always had the safety for our staff and drivers as the number one priority and we have never before experienced anything like this. The human factor has struck us this time and we regret this deeply. We are going to look over our routines and see if we can improve them further in order to never repeat anything like this,” said Jönsson-Wigroth.

The team has not announced yet whether a replacement driver is going to be appointed for the coming STCC race at Knutstorp on the 7th of May.