307 replies to this topic

[JtP1]

There is one lucky escape not so far raised. Nigel Mansell leaving Williams at the end of 92 and Frank not having to listen to him with Prost as his team mate throughout the season.

Now how lucky is that?

[Giraffe]

Originally posted by sterling49


I seem to recall that this photo (or similar) was in all the mags at the time, a truly awful accident, Mathews put his survival down to the strengh of Broad's car. I know that Mathews slipped from radar after the accident (quite understandably) but I never knew much about him, what was he racing before?

In my dim and distant memory, compounding this sad saga, I recall that either Matthews or Brodie lost a son on an Everest ascent that led to a protracted legal wrangle.......

[Peter Darley]

Originally posted by Giraffe


In my dim and distant memory, compounding this sad saga, I recall that either Matthews or Brodie lost a son on an Everest ascent that led to a protracted legal wrangle.......

Dave Matthews lost his son on Everest

[stevewf1]

RE: David Purley.

A quote from AutoCourse 1977-1978 (I've posted this somewhere here a few years ago)

David Purley's practice accident at Silverstone emphasised how strong Formula 1 cars have become. Owing to a stuck-open throttle, Purley's Lec crashed into the banking, stopping from 120 mph in 26 inches! True, Purley was very seriously injured - dislocated collar bone, dislocated heels, seven broken ribs, five pelvic fractures, eight fractures in the left leg, left foot broken in two places and right foot broken in seven places - but up until a few years ago his car would have become a blazing mangled wreck from which no one could have escaped alive.

I got this image off some web site several years ago which said it was Purley's car. Don't know the copyright...

[Giraffe]

I remember seeing Purley's Lec, in it's crashed state in the Donington Collection some years ago; I'm unsure if it still remains there to this day?

[alansart]

Originally posted by Giraffe
I remember seeing Purley's Lec, in it's crashed state in the Donington Collection some years ago; I'm unsure if it still remains there to this day?

The tub and a few bits and pieces were there this summer.

[volvo Death Spell]

Originally posted by stevewf1
RE: David Purley.

A quote from AutoCourse 1977-1978 (I've posted this somewhere here a few years ago)


I got this image off some web site several years ago which said it was Purley's car. Don't know the copyright...

Jezz that is unreal I don't want to sound condescending on the nostalgia forum but that is scary...

[Twin Window]

Posted on behalf of Peter Darley; the Dave Brodie Escort and Dave Matthews Capri after their shunt (which also involved Gavin Booth's Mini) during the 1973 British GP support race at Silverstone. Peter was Team Manager at Broadspeed at the time, and thus was looking after the Matthews Capri...









All photos are copyright Peter Darley.

[simonlewisbooks]

Originally posted by Jim Thurman
I beg to differ on both Brayton and Weatherly's accidents. Both of those were hard impacts. Weatherly's car really slams the wall. For years and years, I always read of how it didn't look so bad, then I finally saw the footage and wondered how that was considered a minor impact?

To be fair Jim I did say Weatherley made a " heavy impact" but we have all seen many far more serious looking shunts where the driver gets out unaided. I agree that it can't be termed a minor impact at all and I'm surprised anyone ever described it as such.

[stevewf1]

Originally posted by B Squared
"I recall Indy 500 start of multicar crash where a car was upside down spinning spraying gasoline". Pikachu Racing

That would be David "Salt" Walther at the first attempt to start the 1973 race, in a M16 McLaren/Offy.

I was there. Walther's car came to rest on the inside of turn 1, upside down, the front torn off and his feet and lower legs were sticking out. There was no fire, but I remember reading that several fans were injured by the fuel spray getting in their eyes when he hit the fence.

[Henri Greuter]

I forgot the year and the track.

But since Chip Ganassi was mentioned...

I recall one year in the early 2000's when Memo Gidley, driving for the Ganassi CART team (Was it still CART at that time?) slamming against the wall of a crossing over the track.
Forgot the track too....

But it was a Ganassi car...


Henri

[Henri Greuter]

Originally posted by B Squared
"Brayton's wreck doesn't appear as violent as either Ongais and/or Fox when you see it. Still...." henri

When Scott's car swapped ends and impacted the wall, from what I understand, his helmet/ head got into the wall causing his fatal injuries. In fact, the Speedway mandated bodywork extensions around the cockpit area between his accident and race day to try to prevent a repeat of Scott's circumstances. I must say that I was at his funeral in Coldwater, MI - it didn't make it one bit easier because it "didn't appear as violent." Nothing personal intended Henri - gone is gone. He is still greatly missed.

Brian

Not taken personal Brian.
I only described it as I felt about it, comparing what I saw with a few other big ones..
And compared with Ongais '81, Piquet '92, Fox '95 and a few others that were fatal, Scotty's one appeared not that lethal.
But as we all know, things may not be what they appear.

Henri

[fines]

Originally posted by Henri Greuter
I forgot the year and the track.

But since Chip Ganassi was mentioned...

I recall one year in the early 2000's when Memo Gidley, driving for the Ganassi CART team (Was it still CART at that time?) slamming against the wall of a crossing over the track.
Forgot the track too....

But it was a Ganassi car...


Henri

Elkhart Lake?

[Gregor Marshall]

Originally posted by Giraffe
I remember seeing Purley's Lec, in it's crashed state in the Donington Collection some years ago; I'm unsure if it still remains there to this day?

From last year - wreck in the background. Apologies for not having a better picture. The only thing not correct with the wreck is the engine but the rest of the car is as it was recovered apparently.

[simonlewisbooks]

[stevewf1]

Originally posted by fines
Elkhart Lake?

Yes. Forgot the year, but he hit the Bill Mitchell bridge over the left-hander between Canada corner and the final turn. I believe that bridge has since been removed - although not because of this accident(?)

[Gregor Marshall]

Reference the Lec and Dave P - at the time wasn't it a world record of de-celeration and stopping of g-force?

[B Squared]

Michael, Definitely Elkhart Lake for the Gidley incident. I think it was by the bridge on the run to the final turn from Canada Corner. Edit: Steve, you beat me to it!

Henri, Piquet's '92 Indy practice wreck was really frightening. I have pictures somewhere in the files which show the car's front end impacting the wall. Nelson's head is approximately 12" from the wall as the monocoque compresses & shatters around him. I don't know how he survived. To come back and compete the following year was nothing short of a miracle.

Many forget that Al Unser (Sr.) took over Piquet's car and finished third in the race. In its late stages, he was tantalizingly close to that elusive 5th win. The best finish ever for the V-6 Buick. Then called the Menard.

Brian

[Henri Greuter]

Originally posted by B Squared

Many forget that Al Unser (Sr.) took over Piquet's car and finished third in the race. In its late stages, he was tantalizingly close to that elusive 5th win. The best finish ever for the V-6 Buick. Then called the Menard.

Brian

Yup, that effort and Arie Luyendyk´s 7th place of 1995 are the only two occasions that a Buick V6 and-or derivative completed the 200 laps race distance.
If my memory is correct, Crawford scored a 6th place and maybe there are 1 or two other 7th and better results obtained with a Buick but none of those was with full race distance covered.

Henri

[stevewf1]

Originally posted by B Squared
Henri, Piquet's '92 Indy practice wreck was really frightening. I have pictures somewhere in the files which show the car's front end impacting the wall. Nelson's head is approximately 12" from the wall as the monocoque compresses & shatters around him. I don't know how he survived. To come back and compete the following year was nothing short of a miracle.

Many forget that Al Unser (Sr.) took over Piquet's car and finished third in the race. In its late stages, he was tantalizingly close to that elusive 5th win. The best finish ever for the V-6 Buick. Then called the Menard.

Brian

I remember reading that Nelson Piquet had some difficulty adapting to Indy's "month-long" format instead a of the more familiar "race weekend". If I recall, he was entering turn 4 when yet another yellow came out for yet another delay and out of frustration, he backed off too quickly and perhaps pinched the car too much to enter the pits...

Copyright unknown.

[Gregor Marshall]

Ouch!!

[B Squared]

Henri - I believe you are correct on your Buick finishing record. Danny Ongais finished 7th with 197 laps in 1996 after taking over Scott's pole winning car. I was in Michigan for the U.S. 500, the rest of the family went to Indy. With losing Scott earlier in the month, the rest of the turmoil really didn't seem to matter.

Steve, that is the photo I was referencing. Thanks. Your background set up on the cause is true. My friend & co-worker, Rich Schroeder, was at the station that made the call for yellow. IIRC, that is what the station reported.

Brian

[Giraffe]

I gather Piquet has the classic old racing driver's walk as a legacy of that accident, other members of that particular club who immediately spring to mind are Graham Hill & Jacques Lafitte..... Doubtless there are many more out there..... :

[stevewf1]

Originally posted by Giraffe
I gather he has thc classic old racing driver's walk as a legacy of that accident, other members of that particular club who immediately spring to mind are Graham Hill & Jacques Lafitte..... Doubltless there are many more out there..... :

Back then, they called it the "Indy Car shuffle".

[Henri Greuter]

Originally posted by stevewf1


Back then, they called it the "Indy Car shuffle".

There was the joke out that on a CART grid, even with the mechanics in nomex suits that resembled that of their driver, you could still identify the driver.
He was the one who walked the worst of all......

I also heard about an injury within the legs of all drivers who crashed in a March 84C that almost everyone of them who crashed one had, giving that injury `the 84C crack` or something like that


Henri

[simonlewisbooks]

Originally posted by Twin Window
Posted on behalf of Peter Darley; the Dave Brodie Escort and Dave Matthews Capri after their shunt (which also involved Gavin Booth's Mini) during the 1973 British GP support race at Silverstone. Peter was Team Manager at Broadspeed at the time, and thus was looking after the Matthews Capri...



All photos are copyright Peter Darley.

...and the same car earlier in the season (Daily Express Trophy meeting I assume)

[Giraffe]

Years ago, driver's always said you could identify anyone who had had an accident in a Lotus by their walk.......

[Gregor Marshall]

Originally posted by simonlewisbooks


...and the same car earlier in the season (Daily Express Trophy meeting I assume)

A little different to how it now looks in Januarys Motor Sport then...

[simonlewisbooks]

Originally posted by Gregor Marshall


A little different to how it now looks in Januarys Motor Sport then...

Yes... I noticed the recreation is "exactly the same except for..." and...and...and....
So maybe not quite as exact as all that.
Still a superb looking car though and miles more interesting than any touring car of the past 15 years at least!

[Gregor Marshall]

Originally posted by simonlewisbooks


Yes... I noticed the recreation is "exactly the same except for..." and...and...and....
So maybe not quite as exact as all that.
Still a superb looking car though and miles more interesting than any touring car of the past 15 years at least!

Agreed, great looking car.

[David McKinney]

Originally posted by Giraffe
Years ago, driver's always said you could identify anyone who had had an accident in a Lotus by their walk.......

Never heard that
But there was the famous Lola Limp - and, IIRC, a whole TNF thread to prove it

[glyn parham]

Thanks for posting the Peter Darley photos of the two Fords after the GP accident, it is the first time that I have seen the aftermath of the accident as I was spectating at Woodcote that day.

I found David Matthews account of the accident most interesting as a friend of mine was also racing in the saloon car race that day (Gordon Dawkins in his Mini) and he well remembers what the drivers were told at the end of the race.

Apparently they were told that Booth had spun at Abbey and had rejoined the track facing the wrong way and as he may have been dis-orientated he then headed off for Club instead of Woodcote only to meet Matthews and Brodie head-on with disastrous results. Instead it looks as if Matthews has clipped and spun Booths Mini directly into the path of Brodie who then hit the bank at Abbey very hard (Twinnys first photo took me a few swconds to realise I was looking at a Mk1 Escort). I can clearly remember Booths Mini being towed back to the paddock after the race and the sight of the steering wheel almost resting on the roof is one of those images that will not leave me.

glyn

[Twin Window]

I remember seeing Brodie's wreckage at close-quarters after the race and the sight of the engine where the passenger would be (in road spec) was shocking...

[JtP1]

Originally posted by Gregor Marshall
Reference the Lec and Dave P - at the time wasn't it a world record of de-celeration and stopping of g-force?

I am sure it still is, wasn't it something around 170g?

[OfficeLinebacker]

I'd like to nominate this one:

http://www.youtube.c...feature=related

Guy basically pulls a Gordon Smiley at Texas in a CoT.

I think the commentary says it all.

[Twin Window]

Gavin Booth's Mini which was involved in the Matthews/Brodie shunt at Silverstone in '73;



Photo copyright Peter Darley

[stevewf1]

Originally posted by OfficeLinebacker
Guy basically pulls a Gordon Smiley at Texas in a CoT.

Not for this thread because it was (obviously) fatal, but Smiley's accident was probably the most comprehensive single-car crash there ever was...

[Eric Dunsdon]

Ken Wharton was pretty lucky to walk away from what was left of his V16 BRM at Albi in 1953.

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by Eric Dunsdon
Ken Wharton was pretty lucky to walk away from what was left of his V16 BRM at Albi in 1953.

Oh yes, that was a good one...

What of Louis Chiron's crash in the Mercedes in '36? It was '36, wasn't it?

[Haggis 2]

Originally posted by Henri Greuter



There was the joke out that on a CART grid, even with the mechanics in nomex suits that resembled that of their driver, you could still identify the driver.
He was the one who walked the worst of all......

I also heard about an injury within the legs of all drivers who crashed in a March 84C that almost everyone of them who crashed one had, giving that injury `the 84C crack` or something like that


Henri

And here is Australia in the F5000 years we had the "Lola Limp"..... ( edit.... Sorry....was beaten to this one by Davin McKinney...)

_________________________________
Brendon Hagarty

[lil'chris]

Originally posted by Ray Bell


What of Louis Chiron's crash in the Mercedes in '36? It was '36, wasn't it?

Think you're right Ray, he went off at Antoniusbuche Bridge on the Nordschleife and was almost scalped from what I've read !

[simonlewisbooks]

How about the start line crash at Indy in 1966 - cars everywhere and from memory I don't recall any serious injuries? That was a miracle....

[stevewf1]

Originally posted by simonlewisbooks
How about the start line crash at Indy in 1966 - cars everywhere and from memory I don't recall any serious injuries? That was a miracle....

With all those wheels flying around, it was a miracle. The only injury I remember was to A.J. Foyt who cut his hand when he scaled the fence on the outside of the track. If you watch a video, you can see him scrambling up the fence.

[Henri Greuter]

I recall having seen pictures of Brian Henton in 1981, shaking off parts and bits of what once has been a Tolema,-hart F1.
Silversone 1981 if my memory is correct. Picture was in the long gone magazine Grand Prix international.


Henri

[Speedy27]

Now, while this very close miss may not directly feature a racing car, it does feature a man whose life has been dominated by them.

This incident illustrates how motor racing teaches very impressive reflexes and an ability to remain cool under extreme pressures, untypical of daily life - in addition to highlighting the power of language as a means of descriptive expression.


http://au.youtube.co...h?v=lT46V3mmWRE

[alansart]

Originally posted by Speedy27
Now, while this very close miss may not directly feature a racing car, it does feature a man whose life has been dominated by them.

This incident illustrates how motor racing teaches very impressive reflexes and an ability to remain cool under extreme pressures, untypical of daily life - in addition to highlighting the power of language as a means of descriptive expression.


http://au.youtube.co...h?v=lT46V3mmWRE

I've seen that clip many times and it still makes me laugh

The Ickx/Oliver crash at Jarama was pretty fiery. Both were lucky to escape.

The fireman was also pretty brave hosing the cars down from the other side of the track as the race continued!

http://uk.youtube.co...B8AF92&index=66

[HiRich]

Originally posted by Henri Greuter
I recall having seen pictures of Brian Henton in 1981, shaking off parts and bits of what once has been a Tolema,-hart F1.
Silversone 1981 if my memory is correct. Picture was in the long gone magazine Grand Prix international.


Henri

For reasons that escape me, I was in the Autosport tower when this happened. My memory is that, despite appearances, it wasn't that big an accident. Brian had obviously braked for the chicane (though obviously not quite enough, as he was on a do or die effort to finally qualify the car). He clipped a kerb, which presumably launched him sideways towards one of the free-standing tyre walls. There was a heck of a bang, that much I remember, followed by steam, smoke, dust, debris, and a pool of coolant as if from a gunshot wound. Whilst the aftermath looked impressive, and we were a bit concerned for Brian, I wouldn't class it with the real biggies discussed so far.

On which, no-one seems to have mentioned Gilles, Imola, 1979 or 1980. On the run to Tosa, the Ferrari T4 or T5 left the road for reasons I can't recall, at immense speed. By chance it hit the wall almost backwards, giving the best possible protection in the circumstances. Still, the engine was thrown all the way back onto the track, the tub spun wildly, and the gearbox, well, wasn't...
The impact was so powerful Gilles was left temporarily blinded (not helpful when you realise that by rights you should be in the middle of a fireball), but nine times out of ten it should have been fatal.

[Simon Arron]

It was 1980 and a a rear tyre failure pitched GV off. Contrary to popular belief, many Villeneuve mishaps were caused by things outside the cockpit.

[Henri Greuter]

Originally posted by Simon Arron
It was 1980 and a a rear tyre failure pitched GV off. Contrary to popular belief, many Villeneuve mishaps were caused by things outside the cockpit.

Can you tell us more about the latter part of your message?

henri

[alansart]

Originally posted by HiRich

On which, no-one seems to have mentioned Gilles, Imola, 1979 or 1980. On the run to Tosa, the Ferrari T4 or T5 left the road for reasons I can't recall, at immense speed. By chance it hit the wall almost backwards, giving the best possible protection in the circumstances. Still, the engine was thrown all the way back onto the track, the tub spun wildly, and the gearbox, well, wasn't...
The impact was so powerful Gilles was left temporarily blinded (not helpful when you realise that by rights you should be in the middle of a fireball), but nine times out of ten it should have been fatal.

http://uk.youtube.co...h?v=FauVLduELDE

The footage shows the tyre has gone before the accident.