'Get the hell out': Reindler recalls fiery crash

"Get the hell out of there as quickly as possible."

That was the "fight or flight" mindset of Karl Reindler in his horror 2011 Perth crash.

Reindler’s start-line accident is the subject of the latest Repco Supercars Rewind podcast.

Hosted by Chad Neylon, the podcast unpacks the incident with insight from Reindler, Steve Owen and Dr Carl Le.

On May 1 in 2011, Wanneroo Raceway came to a standstill after Reindler was hit by an unsuspecting Owen.

Reindler's clutch in his Commodore failed, and he stalled on the grid.

He was collected by Owen, with the 37g impact erupting the fuel cell of the Brad Jones Racing Commodore.

The impact was so severe that Reindler’s car was launched into the air.

Reindler had started from 13th, with Owen launching from 25th.

"I remember thinking I hope no one runs into me," Reindler said told the podcast.

"I had no idea he was coming… the hit, it’s really hard to describe.

"The thing that I recall the most was the noise.

"Think about crunching metal, and amplify that a hundred-fold.

"The noise is the one thing that sits with me… the whole car had lifted up in the rear."

In the podcast, Reindler details how his start procedure went pear-shaped.

Reindler recalls the whole process, from upping brake pressure, clicking the line-locker and releasing the brake.

Critically, the biting point of the clutch never came; he released it, took the car out of gear and fired the car up.

Having released the line-locker, Reindler knew he was in for a bad start.

However, when the lights went out, he was a self-described "sitting duck".

"I knew there was a problem when the five-second board came out," Reindler said.

"I’m thinking, ‘This is going to be a rubbish start’, I conceded to that.

"Just focus on getting off the line. I put my foot to the floor, gave it a bucketload of revs.

"Tried to jam it into first gear with my foot all the way to the floor.

"It stalled straight away. By this stage, the lights had just gone off.

"I was a sitting duck."

The impact, with Owen unsighted behind David Reynolds, was registered at approximately 150km/h.

"I remember thinking I hope no one runs into me," Reindler said.

"I had no idea he was coming… the hit, it’s really hard to describe.

"The thing that I recall the most was the noise.

"Think about crunching metal, and amplify that a hundred-fold.

"The noise is the one thing that sits with me… the whole car had lifted up in the rear."

Some 17 seconds passed between the impact and Reindler alighting from the car.

He received third degree burns to his hands and face; Owen escaped unscathed, despite reporting abdominal soreness.

Owen noted that he missed a message from spotter and team boss Paul Morris.

No fuel came into Owen’s car thanks to the windscreen tear-off.

Reindler wasn’t as lucky; the impact split his carbon fibre seat, the firewall split, and fuel spilled into the cabin.

It was a bittersweet day for BJR, with the team later winning its first Supercars race through Jason Bright.

Neither driver missed an event, with Owen’s car repaired for the following round at Winton.

Reindler moved into a spare chassis; after the accident, the damaged chassis was stripped.

From 2013, fuel tanks were moved from the rear of the car to a more centralised position.

Last Sunday, Thomas Randle and Andre Heimgartner escaped a similarly frightening impact, and walked away.

Further safety enhancements have been made in preparation for Gen3.

For Reindler, few days were as pivotal in his career than that day in Perth.

In that moment, he "took one deep breath in, closed my eyes, and managed to undo the five-point harness".

He lived to tell the tale, and some 11 years on, currently drives the Medical Car at Formula 1 events.

"I felt the heat of the flames before I could see the flames," Reindler said.

"Even with a three-layer race suit, fireproof underwear, a helmet and gloves.

"My mum and my wife were at Turn 1, and they felt the heat from the grid.

"The priority was, ‘Get the hell out of there as quickly as possible’."

The 2022 season will resume at Sandown on August 19-21. Purchase your tickets now.