Colin Le Maitre competes at Le Mont-Dore. (0662258)

COLIN LE MAITRE ended the French National Hill-Climb season with a bang.

The Sarnian had been enjoying a good hill climb series around France, which is big business with thousands of spectators regularly watching the races.

But it came to a spectacular conclusion for Le Maitre at the 13th and final meeting at Limonest Mont Verdun near Lyon recently, when, going 110mph, he crashed his Condor Ferries and Esso sponsored two-litre Dallara F302 FL at a tight right-hand corner.

The rear end ploughed into a barrier, flipping the car upside down. Le Maitre had been second in the 2L class at the time and was 16th overall out of 145 competitors

‘The back snapped out for some reason – I don’t why it happened,’ said Le Maitre. ‘I was stuck in the car – anxious moments. I panicked about it catching fire and I managed to crawl out. It was a big accident, but I got away quite lightly.’