WITH motorcycles track days in such high demand at the moment, it’s really no surprise to see occasional sparks flying on track between riders who’ve not been out for a couple of months.
Indeed, as I found out on Sunday at Donington during my first track day since lockdown, some of those on-track antics were questionable at best.
On circuit incidents are though all part and parcel of riding in a motorcycle track day, actual flames flying in the pit garages though is a much rarer occurrence.
The video below was filmed at the Catalunya circuit in Barcelona and shows two track day bikes being ravaged by flames after a fire broke out in one of the pit garages.
The fire is reported to have started after the drained fuel tank of a BMW S1000 RR was removed to assess an electrical fault. Despite being drained, the fuel vapor within the tank has ignited, quickly spreading to a nearby Yamaha R1 and severely damaging both bikes.
Petrol vapor sitting in a fuel tank is actually more flammable than liquid petrol, with liquid fuel converting to vapor more rapidly in warmer temperatures. In this scenario, it's easy to imagine an electrical component causing a spark near to the opening of the drained tank causing the fire.
It’s reported that the fire was quickly brought under control, with no structural damage being reported to the structure, and with no injuries being reported.
The same can’t be said for the bikes, as both look as though they will probably never return to the track.
