WEEKS after suffering a high-speed crash and escaping a burning car, Swindon’s Lucas Romanek secured a memorable victory in the National Formula Ford at Snetterton last Saturday.

Romanek rolled his car at Croft race circuit in late May and saw it burst into flames while he was still inside, but incredibly he competed the next day using borrowed equipment to finish fifth and keep his championship hopes alive.

Fast forward to June 11 and the Swindon teenager was climbing onto the top step of the podium after showing incredible mental toughness to respond to his horror crash.

A nail-biting end to the Croft race in May saw Romanek just 0.162 seconds ahead of his rival going into the final laps.

As Romanek and his rival went through the second part of the Jim Clark bends they made wheel-to-wheel contact, and Romanek’s right-hand wheels were pitched into the air before the other side of his car touched the gravel.

As a result, he was sent into a barrel roll and then the barriers where his car caught fire.

The teenager managed to escape and was taken to the medical centre with the race being red-flagged and the result being taken back a lap.

Romanek’s rival was ultimately disqualified, and the Swindon talent had to borrow a plethora of equipment to compete the following day due to his own being badly burnt.

Miraculously, Romanek started from the back before weaving his way through to finish fifth - a stunning result given the circumstances.

With his hand on the mend and some new equipment in tow, Romanek arrived at Snetterton last weekend aware that his racing life was not about to get any easier.

His qualifying session time was shortened so that the new brakes system could be bled, but when he finally managed to get back out, he qualified in second place.

Romanek started second but immediately took the lead and battled hard throughout with Colin Queen to take the race victory.

Following the Snetterton race, Romanek said: “The race meet at Anglesey has three races, so that will be a good opportunity to get some valuable points in the championship.

“After the crash at Croft last month, it was good to race in my own gear and this was a real confidence boost for me and the team.

“It’s good to know that we still have the pace to be competitive.”

The next national formula ford race for Lucas is Anglesey, June 17-19.