Smoggy Petronas F1

A rare, zero-mile Petronas FP1 worth £33,000 has been destroyed by fire, just days before it was due to be delivered to a customer in the UK.

The bike was being pdi’d in the Zurich workshop of FP1 specialist Livio Kagi when it went up in flames, causing burns to Kagi’s hands and setting fire to the workshop.
Kagi, who says the fire probably started when a spark ignited a residue of spilt fuel on the petrol tank, had to drag the burning bike from the premises to prevent a conflagration.

“It was five meters to the door,” he told MCN, “but there were three bikes in the way. By the time I’d moved them and got back to the FP1 its brakes had melted to the disc s so I had to lift and drag the it through thick smoke. I thought I was going to black out.”

The FP1 was destroyed just days before MCN and former Petronas factory ride James Haydon were due to test ride the exotic triple. “Luckily, Livio managed to get hold of the only other FP1 in Europe,” said Haydon.

Read the first ever group test of a Petronas FP1 in this week’s paper. – on sale now.