Rod Birley ‘thankful to be alive’ after 120mph crash at Brands Hatch GT World Challenge Europe meeting

Veteran racing driver Rod Birley says he is thankful to be alive following a huge 120mph crash at Brands Hatch.

The West Kingsdown resident, 69, was competing in the Classic and Modern Motorsport Club's Super Saloons on Sunday when the "weird" incident occurred on the Grand Prix loop.

Birley was lapping Andrew Stenning's Ford Fiesta on the unnamed straight between Stirlings and Clearways when contact between them speared them both into the armco on the right-hand side of the circuit.

Birley says the barrier "acted like a launchpad" and sent his BMW E36 into a violent roll, with the car hitting part of a vehicle bridge which runs across the track.

He was taken to Princess Royal University Hospital, near Farnborough, for scans but was released on Monday morning.

"I'm very sore but thankful to be alive - it's mostly bruising," Birley said.

"It was weird and I didn't expect it at all. I had my lights on but the driver said he couldn't see me coming through.

"I hit the barrier at 120mph. It launched me up and I went barrel rolling into the bridge, going end over end."

Birley thinks his BMW was "totalled" in the crash, which saw Stenning's Fiesta roll into the middle of the circuit.

The West Sussex racer’s car landed upside down on the track and was hit by Keith White’s BMW Z4, which flipped the Fiesta onto its side.

Birley's machine eventually came to rest on the grass on the left-hand side of the circuit after the vehicle bridge.

"I was bracing myself as I could feel it rolling - it's a weird sensation as it feels like you're in an aircraft flying," said Birley, who was on the tail of Intermarque category racer Paul Knight when the incident happened.

"The rear wing flew off, as well as a wheel and the suspension, and the