A fire has broken out at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, ahead of the second session of Formula E testing which is supposed to get underway at 2pm local time (1pm GMT).
Formula E confirmed not long after the conclusion of the morning session – which was topped by Mitch Evans – that a fire had broken out in the pit-lane, with reports on the scene suggesting that it took place in the Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) garage. It should be stressed that hasn’t been confirmed by the all-electric series.
WAE are responsible for the batteries and the fast-charging devices, which were trialled during the opening test session. In response to the blaze which saw black smoke rise into the sky near the media centre, the pit-lane building has been evacuated, with “no reported injuries” initially.
The area of the fire has been cordoned off by the authorities, who are dealing with the unfortunate incident.
In an initial statement on social media, Formula E said: “Formula E and the FIA are working with the local authorities to contain the fire incident in the pit-lane. The building has been evacuated and there are no reported injuries. More information to follow about Test Session 2 in due course.”
It is yet to be confirmed whether the second session will take place.
*Update – At 12:53 GMT, Formula E released a second statement which confirmed that one individual had been “transported to hospital for precautionary checks”. The cause of the fire is continuing to be investigated; however, the area of the incident has been “contained”.
Formula E stated: “In a break between practice sessions, a fire was detected in the pit-lane and garage area which has been contained. The on-track Incident Response Team acted immediately to contain the incident while the main pit building and garages were quickly evacuated.
“One person has been assessed by medics and has been transported to hospital for precautionary checks. Formula E, the FIA and local fire authorities are investigating the cause and will provide a further update in due course.”
More to follow…
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