Big Explosion At Formula Drift Atlanta 2024 (VIDEO)
Formula Drift Atlanta 2024
Formula Drift started off with a bang! Vaughn Gittin Jr vs. James Deane!! A battle for the ages. 2 great runs but ended with James Deane taking the W. saw a couple more great runs, controversy between Matt Field and Adam LZ, and a few more wrecks. Overall, the 2024 Atlanta weekend was great between both the prospec and Pros. But one of the biggest moments was when Aurimas Bakchis and Rome Charpentier were battling it out for the Top 4 position.
Aurimas Bakchis Car Explosion
One spot left in the Top 4. Run #1, Aurimas Bakchis has a great run and leads Rome Charpentier through half the course. Aurimas Bakchis hits the dirt and gives Rome the chance to catchup. At the end of the run Aurimas Bakchis is able to pull away and looks like he takes run #1.
Run #2 starts and there’s talks of Rome’s car isn’t at 100%. They take off and Aurimas Bakchis is stuck right on Rome and Rome goes into the dirt! Afterwards, Aurimas Bakchis finishes out the run but at the last turn has a HUGE EXPLOSION!
@shiftcarclub Big Explosion from Aurimas Bakchis at Formula Drift Atlanta! Glad he's ok! #shift #shiftcarclub #formuladrift #drift #cars ♬ original sound - SHiFT Car Club
What Happened To Aurimas Bakchis Car In The Explosion?
In an interview with Aurimas Bakchis, Aurimas states that there was a pop and the car came out of the drift and went towards the rail. As there is a fire in the cockpit, Aurimas is able to steer (without power steering) away from the wall, slow down to a stop, pull the fire suppression system, and free himself before any injury! Aurimas also says that there was a lot of vibration in the car while in the burnout box but had full power and still felt good.
So what happened? We still do not know 100% what caused it, but it was either a fuel line or oil line that popped off and sprayed flammable fluids/gas all over the heated headers/engine causing ignition.
