Comic relief after an unnecessary ordeal.
The BMW sourced V12 isn’t the motor you’d ever want to put the wrong fuel into.
Most of us experience financial related headaches when we refuel at the pumps but one such McLaren F1 GTR owner had the misfortune of filling his priceless gem with diesel instead of petrol. We can only imagine the minor inconvenience when forking out a few extra Rands is dwarfed by this.
The BMW sourced V12 isn’t the motor you’d ever want to put the wrong fuel into.
Mistakes happen, some more embarrassing and costly than others. We think this one is quite high on both scales but the McLaren F1 GTR owner took to social media to present his 30k + followers with some comic relief and a lesson learned.
François Perrodo, a French businessman and more importantly an amateur racing driver graphically detailed his misfortune on Instagram after filling the tank of his F1 GTR with diesel instead of petrol on his way to a track day a few weeks ago.
While a host of colourful words dominates the diction in his post, we can only imagine that there were many more that came out of the McLaren F1 GTR owner’s mouth as the incident unfolded. But how exactly did it happen? Well, Perrodo stated that “I don’t know what went through my head at that precise moment (actually, probably nothing) but I was so happy and excited I just grabbed the first nozzle available (which incidentally was blue, like 97 ultimate!) and then I started filling the car,”
He further adds that despite how great Gordon Murray’s McLaren creation was, it doesn’t compromise and run on diesel. Modern cars are much less prone to such accidents as the filling aperture of each car is specifically shaped to accommodate the fuel pipe of the corresponding fuel it is intended to receive.
Comic relief after an unnecessary ordeal.
It is unknown if the Frenchman had to complete significant mechanical repairs with new fuel pumps and lines or if it was just a matter of replacing the incorrect fuel and running the V12 motor until it had cleared itself out. What we do know is the McLaren F1 GTR owner took a major ego knock and has subsequently joked about condemning himself to driving diesels and EVs until condemnation passes.
Keyword: Petrol pump headaches for McLaren F1 GTR owner