Race car mechanic engulfed in flames sues for £5m

Rally car technician Matt Finney sustained burns across much of his body

A rally car technician who was engulfed in a fireball during training for a 1,300-mile desert race is suing for up to £5m compensation.

Matt Finney, 52, was soaked in highly volatile fuel whilst filling up a rally car during testing before the November 2021 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.

Mr Finney, 52, was put in an induced coma for three months, and was in hospital in Dubai for four months.

He has now launched a compensation claim against his long-term employers, Prodrive Motorsport, over the physical pain and mental trauma caused by the incident.

The company, based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, has been linked with multiple racing legends over the years, including rally stars Sebastien Loeb and Colin McRae, as well as with Lewis Hamilton’s Extreme E Electric car race team.

Lawyers for Mr Finney, who has been a senior motorsport technician for Powerdrive for over 20 years, blame the accident on the company’s alleged defective “working practices” at the time.

The cars are intended to race in the desert conditions of Abu-Dhabi

But his employers say the mechanic was himself at fault in failing to wear full protective equipment.

At the time of the accident, Mr Finney, who was tasked with “building, testing, preparing and restoring” rally cars, was preparing for the Abu Dhabi desert race by maintaining its Prodrive Hunter T1+.

The rally cars being tested would be “subjected to chassis engine change and other adjustments” after being driven round a 35km circuit designed to simulate desert conditions – with refuelling after each loop.

However, Mr Finney was set alight while carrying out the first refuelling of the day using a new fuel delivery system.

His barrister James Candlin, explained Mr Finney had attached the electric pump to the car and switched it on when “ a fountain-like spray of fuel – emanating from behind him from the fuel pump components – struck him”.

He then “slipped on fuel in the ground tarpaulin whereupon fuel or fuel vapour ignited, and he was engulfed in the subsequent conflagration.”

After the fire, he was driven to a Dubai hospital where he was treated for burns to his head, face, chest, back and upper and lower limbs – as well as to his throat.

Although Mr Finney began a “phased” return to work, he continued to be dogged by scarring and chronic pain, along with flashbacks and mental trauma.

Explaining the impact on his work life, Mr Candlin continued: “The claimant has recently been medically certified as unfit for work but when fit for work since the accident he has been limited to engagements mostly in desk work rather than hands-on mechanical roles for which he is trained”.

The accident occured during the use of a new fuel delivery system - Champion News

He claimed the company failed to deploy enough crew, failed to ensure comprehensive training in the new fuel system, and failed to consider the maximum operation temperature of 40 degrees for the Piusi Ex50 fuel pump.

The auto company insists that Mr Finney brought disaster on himself by neglecting essential safety procedures.

In the company’s defence documents, its barrister, Vaughan Jacob, claimed that Mr Finney “failed to carry out his own risk assessment,” tried to refuel the rally car when it was still hot, failed to wear the right safety equipment, neglected to use the correct refuelling area – and failed to check the pump was securely attached.

At the time of the accident, the temperature was below 40C, which meant the fuel pump in use was “within its safe temperature range”, the barrister added.

The case will return to court at a later date.

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