Motorsport: Race crew member pushed into car by rival

The moment just before the car makes impact with the crew member's shoulders and neck. Photo / Twitter

The 2020 edition of the Dubai 24 Hours race has been thrust into the spotlight following an ugly incident in the pit lane.

After the green flag dropped to get the endurance race underway, it was only a few hours in when the serious incident unfolded during a busy round of stops.

A pit crew member on the No 989 MRS GT-Racing team began to wave their Porsche 991 away following their stop when a crew member on another team injected himself.

The No 77 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan was in the middle of its own pit stop in the next box when the crew member raced to grab a new tyre, as he turned and began to run back to the car he shoved the GT-Racing crew member into the path of the departing Porsche 991.

The shove resulted in the GT-Racing crew member landing on the back end of the car and saw the rear wing smash into his back, spinning him around before he hits the concrete.

@specutainment is the Barwell Penalty for that behavior from their mechanics against MRS? pic.twitter.com/jFHTxzZ8Qp

— GT-Place (@GTPlaceFB) January 10, 2020

Thankfully the GT-Racing crew member avoided serious injury after he was taken to the medical centre for an assessment on minor injuries.

As is understandable he was left badly shaken by the incident.

Race officials looked into the incident before handing down a four-minute time penalty to the Barwell Motorsport team for causing the accident.

Fans watching on couldn't believe the penalty handed down wasn't more severe.

A little over seven hours into the race the heavens opened and rain began to pelt down on the track, forcing the officials into action.

Cars struggled around the track as large pools of water made getting up to speed near on impossible, before the red flags were raised and the race was brought to a stop.

Officials were hopeful of the race getting back underway but once the lightning and thunder began the race was officially called off.

"The weather conditions have heavily impacted the entire city and the infrastructures of Dubai Autodrome," an official statement read.

"Despite the best effort of Dubai Autodrome staff and officials to resolve the situation on track, the water level on track and in the pit lane continued to rise throughout the night.

"In mutual agreement, Creventic and Dubai Autodrome have decided not to resume the race on grounds of safety."