When things go wrong in drag racing, the results are usually very nasty, with suffering major injuries, losing limbs or being killed being the perspectives each of these brave riders have to live with. Still, it looks like some guys are extremely lucky even if they happen to crash at speeds close to 200 mph (320 km/h).
It’s the case of Top Fuel Drag Bike rider Filippos Papafilippou, who suffered a crash during the 2014 FIA/FIM European Drag Racing Championship Finals at Santa Pod Raceway, the UK. Papafilippou was up against Steve Woollatt in a quarter-mile race at the Santa Pod, when his bike started to wheelie and he lost control, coming off the bike subsequently.
However, what could have turned into a very gruesome accident ended up in a most unexpected way, as Papafilippou actually landed on Woollatt’s wheelie bar, where he got stuck. Witnesses say that Papafilippou got away with some burns to one of his legs and was altogether unscathed, though a bit shaken after his “impossible” involuntary save. Moreover, Papafilippou actually stood at the other end of the ¼ mile strip, while his crashed bike was burning in the middle of the track.
Woollatt has also been incredibly lucky to remain upright after Papafilippou “hijacked” his bike, and could brake to safety. In a way, it’s also good that the bikes have not picked up all the speed they can carry, which can reach north of 250 mph (400 km/h). If it wasn’t for the witnesses, I’d rather say this is a creation of Bollywood action movie directors…
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