Murdered drivers

 

 

communist partisans who murdered people on the basis of their ideology, as apparently happened in France too.

No apparently involved - my late father came across such a scene in a wood on the outskirts of Paris in 1944. I'll spare the details, but it was extremely unpleasant.

Back on topic I wonder if it could be argued that some drivers in the Carrera Panamericana were murdered by spectators. They had a habit of arranging 'accidents' by moving road signs and placing obstacles just around blind corners. I think Phil Hill was nearly caught out by one of these traps.


 

No apparently involved - my late father came across such a scene in a wood on the outskirts of Paris in 1944. I'll spare the details, but it was extremely unpleasant.

Indeed. The number of 'collabos' who were summarily disposed of is believed to run to a figure somewhere north of ten thousand in France alone. I don't think the true numbers will ever be known.

Portuguese driver Sidónio Cabanelas, one of the best touring car drivers at the national scene in Portugal, was killed by a letter-bomb early in 1985, at the height of his career, by an ex-employee of his business. I don't know exactly why he did it, but I think he held a grudge against his former boss. Back then, there were some bomb attacks perpetrated by a radical left-wing group called FP-25 and businessmen were targeted and, at the beginning, it was said they were behind the bomb, but the real culprit was soon discovered.

Le Mans driver Laurent Pasquali had disappeared in 2018. This year, it was revealed during an investigation into another affaire that he had in fact been murdered because a sponsoring deal for his 2011 season had turned wrong:

Le Mans. Un pilote des 24 Heures victime d’un réseau de tueurs (ouest-france.fr) (en francais)

Corps de Laurent Pasquali trouvé dans les bois de Cistrières : le pilote assassiné pour 10.000 euros - Cistrières (43160) (leveil.fr) (en francais)

Interesting that so many of the list are Amercian. Does that just reflect American society or that there are more "dodgy" Americans in US motorsport?

Probably the fact of more guns in American society.

There is a load of dodgey people in motorsport as well as many other sports as well.

Interesting that so many of the list are Amercian. Does that just reflect American society or that there are more "dodgy" Americans in US motorsport?

Might also be reporting bias or the sheer number of Americans - a proper comparison population-wise would be the European racing world.

 

But from this thread it's safer to be a US racing driver than retired South African...

No reporting bias, it's the latter. It just shows the sheer number of Americans involved in motorsport. When I mention to many British or European forum members that some states in the U.S. have likely held more more motorsport events than the entirety of Britain, they harrumph it, or worse. It is utterly unfathomable to them. It just goes to show how unaware they are of the massive number of short ovals and how much racing has taken place upon them. 

Perhaps not Britain, which has a special position in European motorsport, but I have no doubt that states like Pennsylvania, Indiana or California (and several others probably too), each on their own, EASILY outnumber any other country in the world - except Britain.

Perhaps not Britain, which has a special position in European motorsport, but I have no doubt that states like Pennsylvania, Indiana or California (and several others probably too), each on their own, EASILY outnumber any other country in the world - except Britain.

Good point, Michael. It's probably all the British oval racing that might give it the edge  , though not as considerable a gap as some definitely think. I used to say Europe, citing "nearly as much" as England, until the incredulity expressed by some that it was utter tosh and hogwash, and the number couldn't remotely be anywhere near the number of motorsport events held in Dear Old Blighty 

No reporting bias, it's the latter. It just shows the sheer number of Americans involved in motorsport. When I mention to many British or European forum members that some states in the U.S. have likely held more more motorsport events than the entirety of Britain, they harrumph it, or worse. It is utterly unfathomable to them. It just goes to show how unaware they are of the massive number of short ovals and how much racing has taken place upon them. 

Right, if you think about how many counties especially east of the Mississippi have dedicated "County Fairgrounds", many of which featured a horse track that predates motorized racing, it's easy to see how using those facilities and tracks to generate income by staging/promoting races over an entire summer became an attractive option.

It's not only the fairgrounds, though there are plenty of them throughout the States. Just take one state like Pennsylvania, and there are dozens of tracks that run weekly, like every Friday evening or so, and have been doing so for more than fifty, sixty years - some of them former fairgrounds, like Port Royal, Selinsgrove or Jennerstown, others purpose built for racing, like Williams Grove, Lernerville or Lincoln Speedway. Most start in March or even February, and run through October, that's thirty-plus shows every year (minus a few rain-outs, plus a few holiday extras) with generally three to four classes racing every week - upwards of 100 races per track. Multiply that with the number of active tracks in PA (I count roughly 75): Pennsylvania Race Track Listing, Directory of Oval Tracks & Drag Strips - RacingIn.com - I doubt even Britain can keep up with that.

EDIT: not sure all the tracks are active at that link, other sites suggest the number is nearer forty. Here's an interesting map: Pennsylvania Dirt Tracks - Google My Maps

Edited by Michael Ferner, 25 July 2021 - 08:56.

No reporting bias, it's the latter. It just shows the sheer number of Americans involved in motorsport. When I mention to many British or European forum members that some states in the U.S. have likely held more more motorsport events than the entirety of Britain, they harrumph it, or worse. It is utterly unfathomable to them. It just goes to show how unaware they are of the massive number of short ovals and how much racing has taken place upon them. 

According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime's UN Survey of Crime Trends, the murder rate in the Unitied States is three times that in the European Union. Surely that is also a factor?

Source: https://www.nationma...ed-States/Crime

Right, if you think about how many counties especially east of the Mississippi have dedicated "County Fairgrounds", many of which featured a horse track that predates motorized racing, it's easy to see how using those facilities and tracks to generate income by staging/promoting races over an entire summer became an attractive option.

Even west of the Mississippi. Many of Iowa's tracks are fairgrounds, and in California there are also "district fairgrounds" owing to the size of the counties. A huge number of California fairgrounds have hosted racing. All but three of the 58 counties, and those three don't have fairgrounds!

It's not only the fairgrounds, though there are plenty of them throughout the States. Just take one state like Pennsylvania, and there are dozens of tracks that run weekly, like every Friday evening or so, and have been doing so for more than fifty, sixty years - some of them former fairgrounds, like Port Royal, Selinsgrove or Jennerstown, others purpose built for racing, like Williams Grove, Lernerville or Lincoln Speedway. Most start in March or even February, and run through October, that's thirty-plus shows every year (minus a few rain-outs, plus a few holiday extras) with generally three to four classes racing every week - upwards of 100 races per track. Multiply that with the number of active tracks in PA (I count roughly 75): Pennsylvania Race Track Listing, Directory of Oval Tracks & Drag Strips - RacingIn.com - I doubt even Britain can keep up with that.

 

 

EDIT: not sure all the tracks are active at that link, other sites suggest the number is nearer forty. Here's an interesting map: Pennsylvania Dirt Tracks - Google My Maps

And it has only been in the last 15 years or so that Pennsylvania surpassed California (Wisconsin and Iowa have also ranked high for some time). Like Michael's, I must give a caveat that there are errors at this site, with a few tracks added that never existed, and a few others missed, but it gives an idea of the scope:

http://autoracingrec...gion=California

According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime's UN Survey of Crime Trends, the murder rate in the Unitied States is three times that in the European Union. Surely that is also a factor?

 

Source: https://www.nationma...ed-States/Crime

What years do those UN figures cover? The list of drivers covers the years 1940-2012.

It still figures, a larger population, more of them involved in motorsports. There are more Americans in motorsport that have died as the result of heart attacks, from cancer, in plane crashes, you name it...