‘My life flashed before my eyes’

Mercedes driver Lee Holdsworth is lucky to escape this high speed crash without serious injury after slamming his V8 Supercar into a wall at 265 kilometres per hour

Holdsworth car moments after impact. Pic: John Morris. Source: Supplied

THE fastest point of a racetrack is the last place you want to become a passenger in your own racecar.

But that is exactly what faced Lee Holdsworth during Sunday's Sandown 500, a mechanical failure pitching him into a tyre barrier at over 260km/h.

The crash happened on the 131st lap of the 161 lap race. Holdsworth was cresting the rise in Sandown's long back straight, preparing to tap the brakes before turning into the high-speed Esses, where armco barriers lined by tyres sit lurking only metres away.

Lee Holdsworth. Source: News Corp Australia

Suddenly, his Mercedes snapped towards the inside of the track, skipping across the grassy infield and cutting back across the tarmac, before ploughing nose-first into the tyre barrier at almost undiminished speed.

WHINCUP/DUMBRELL DOMINATE SANDOWN 500

The impact demolished the front and passenger's side of the car, ripping a front wheel out, completing a lazy half-spin before coming to rest, the half-million dollar machine reduced to a steaming pile of junk.

Incredibly, Holdsworth was uninjured. He was immediately on the radio to reassure the team he was okay before hopping out of the mangled Mercedes and walking to the medical car under his own power, to the applause of the crowd.

After passing medical checks, Holdsworth explained his terror at suddenly becoming a passenger top speed.

IN PICTURES: HOLDSWORTH'S CRASH, FRAME BY FRAME

"I was in a bit of shock there for a while," he told 7 Sport.

"I saw my life flash before my eyes there. I'm absolutely amazed that I walked away from it.

"It caught me by surprise. Something failed in the rear and it snapped sideways."

Erebus Motorsport CEO Ryan Maddison said their only concern was that Holdsworth's condition, and they won't know what caused the crash until they tear down the wrecked car during the week.

"All of a sudden results get put to the side, but our only concern is Lee's safety and wellbeing," he said.

"There's speculation (on the cause) but until we do a post-mortem on the car, look at the data, look at the physics, we won't know for sure."

The mangled remains of the No.4 Mercedes. Source: Supplied

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