Brake master cylinder failure to blame for dramatic Indy 500 tyre fire

James Davison has confirmed a brake master cylinder was to blame for his spectacular exit from the Indianapolis 500.

Davison caused the first caution of the day after stopping on track with his right front tyre on fire.

Replays showed the brake disc glowing as though Davison had his foot hard on the brakes, an action not usually associated with the Indy 500, before the disc shattered, breaking the wheel hub and causing the whole assembly to catch fire.

Gives new meaning to the term "Hot Wheels."

Watch #Indy500 LIVE now on @nbc.#INDYCAR | @GainbridgeLife pic.twitter.com/xBzHoCyXzn

— Indianapolis Motor Speedway (@IMS) August 23, 2020

On Twitter, Davison confirmed: "[A] Brake master cylinder malfunction caused the brakes to stick and heat up to thousands of degrees.

"The team had given me a good car and a promising race went down the drain."

Another look at James Davison’s wheel fire. ?#Indy500

?: @JerseyMike72 | Twitter pic.twitter.com/wk9Lnp234j

— The Majors TV ? (@themajorstv) August 23, 2020

Speaking via the Dale Coyne Racing team website after the race, Davison added: “Well, that’s obviously heart-braking to go out of the Indy 500 in the first handful of laps with a mechanical issue.

"I’ve got to thank my team for all their hard work throughout the event, our car felt good and we had gotten by Alonso and I was pretty excited for the race ahead.

"Unfortunately, it just wasn’t meant to be, but hopefully we will be back next year with the Jacob Construction car running a bit stronger."

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