Tech 3 ready to compete in Austin after garage fire
The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team has thanked the Circuit of the
Americas (COTA) and local Austin Fire Department staff for their
immediate action after a small fire broke out inside Cal Crutchlow and
Bradley Smith’s pit garage overnight.
One of the electric starters used to start the Team’s Yamaha YZR-M1
machinery caught fire, but thanks to the high standards of safety and
fire prevention at the new COTA track, a sprinkler system was
immediately activated and prevented any serious damage.
Computer equipment was damaged but despite the disruption to
preparations for the inaugural Circuit of the Americas race, the
Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team is not anticipating the fire incident
causing any problems to its participation in this weekend’s much
anticipated first race in Texas.
Team staff will now commence a thorough investigation into the cause
of the fire and the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team would also like to
place on record its appreciation to the management and staff at Yamaha
for its cooperation in helping the French-based squad be as best
prepared as possible for the weekend.
Herve Poncharal – Team Manager:
“Unfortunately there was a small incident inside the Monster Yamaha
Tech 3 garage overnight. The process of starting a MotoGP machine
requires an electric starter and overnight they are left on charge.
This is standard procedure and something we have been doing ever since
the introduction of the four-stroke era. Unfortunately in the night
one of the batteries caught fire. We have suffered quite a lot of
damage and of course it is not ideal preparations but thankfully the
fire prevention measures undertaken by the Circuit of the Americas and
the assistance of the local Fire Department were invaluable in
limiting the damage. The sprinkler system was immediately activated
and fire crews on scene promptly and I am grateful for that. We will
be conducting a thorough investigation to find out why this issue
occurred and take the necessary steps to ensure it is not repeated in
the future. I would like to apologise to the Yamaha Factory Team, LCR
Honda and Cardion AB too, as the sprinkler system was also activated
inside their pit area as well. But it could have been much worse and
with the fantastic support of Yamaha and others in the close-knit
MotoGP community, I am confident we can participate in this
weekend’s race without any additional problems.”