FIA probe grass fires at Japanese Grand Prix

Organisers are investigating the trackside grass fires that disrupted second practice at the Japanese Grand Prix on Friday and taking measures to ensure there is no repeat over the rest of the weekend.

The second practice session at the Suzuka racetrack was stopped four times by red flags, twice because of small grass fires apparently started by sparks emitted from the back of the cars as they passed. They were quickly extinguished.

Red flags were also issued after Alpine’s Jack Doohan spun off in Turn 1 crashing heavily, and Fernando Alonso went off track and beached his Aston Martin in the gravel.

“While we continue to look into the fires that occurred during FP2, our focus before tomorrow will be on taking preemptive measures,” the governing FIA said in a statement.

“The grass has been cut as short as possible, and loose, dried grass has been removed from affected areas. Prior to tomorrow’s sessions, the grass will be dampened, and specific response teams will be stationed around the track.”

Practice at last year’s Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai was also interrupted by a red flag when a small grass fire broke out at trackside.

The third round of the Formula 1 season continues on Saturday with another practice session and qualifying for Sunday’s race.

Source: espn.com