Senna uninjured in huge Snetterton shunt.

Bruno Senna may have lost ground in the British F3 International Series at Snetterton, but the Brazilian was left counting his blessings after escaping injury in a horrific high-speed accident during the opening race.

The Raikkonen Robertson Racing driver was battling with Salvador Duran when the pair touched wheels, with Senna being flipped into the air before he hit the underside of the vehicle access bridge backwards - the Brazilian then crashing back down to earth in a shunt that destroyed his Dallara-Mercedes.

"I was tenth but I was fine with that because I knew I was much quicker than the cars ahead," Senna explained. "I went to overtake Duran and tried to get his tow, but when I moved to the right to overtake he just swerved in front of me. And when you're doing 150mph it's not very easy to avoid anything.

"He didn't protect himself enough to start with, and he tried to defend very late. I touched wheels and flew off and had a massive shunt. I hit the bottom of the bridge with the rear of the car, upside down, and then I landed. When I saw the sky I just closed my eyes and waited for it to end. My next thing to do is to call Mr Dallara and thank him for building such strong cars.

"The wheel tether had so much tension that it just sliced the monocoque: I've never seen anything like it. The car was feeling good and I could have got a good result, so it's frustrating really because it's destroyed my championship. I can fight for second now, and the circuits coming up are very good for me so we'll just have to go for it.

"I guess the best thing from the weekend is that I'm in one piece, even if there is not much left of the car."

Senna has now dropped to third in the championship standings, 46 points behind team-mate Mike Conway.