326 replies to this topic

[Manfred Cubenoggin]

The Herbert Muller fatal? Bobby Rahal's parked 935, iirc, Michael. There are pix out there.

Perhaps figoni's reference is to the Hans Laine shunt?

Edit: On further reflection, no...the Laine fatal was substantially different from the description.

[FLB]

Originally posted by Manfred Cubenoggin
The Herbert Muller fatal? Bobby Rahal's parked 935, iirc, Michael. There are pix out there.

Perhaps figoni's reference is to the Hans Laine shunt?

Edit: On further reflection, no...the Laine fatal was substantially different from the description.

The thing I've always wondered about Müller (who was, of course, in a 908) is why in the name of whatever-you-may-hold-holy was Akin's car parked facing the wrong way? It was off the track, Rahal was out of it because the car had stopped on the first lap (IIRC), but it had been parked back first. The 935 was still full of fuel. Poor Müller hit hit head-on.

Laine's accident happened at Döttinger Hohe. The car blew over. As far as I know, the 908/2s had a tendency to do that. The car caught fire and that was that...

[Jerome]

Wasn't Muller presumable already dead when the car caught fire? Wikipedia says he was not wearing his seatbelts, and he already crashed into the window prior to the frontal crash.

[Graham Clayton]

During the Sunday morning warm-up for the 2002 Brazilian Grand Prix, Enrique Bernoldi crashed his Arrows in Turn 2. When Alex Ribeiro, the driver of the Medical Car, went out to check on Bernoldi, he opened the door of the Medical Car. Just as he opened it, Nick Heidfeld came along in his Sauber, and smashed into the open door. Both Ribeiro and Heidfeld were uninjured.

[Eric Dunsdon]

A rear wheel detatched itself from Maurice Trintignant's Gordini at Woodcote Corner during the 1953 International Trophy Race. After striiking the earth safety bank on the outside of the corner, the wheel flew through the roof of the Beer Tent and struck a spectator enjoying a quiet pint. I have sometimes wondered if at first, the man thought that it was the effect of the pint that laid him out for a minute or two!.

[Graham Clayton]

Not strictly an accident, but an incident that could have led to an accident.

On lap 172 of the 1960 Daytona 500, race leader Bobby Johns had the rear window of his '59 Pontiac smash and sucked out of the body due to a wind pocket.
He recovered from the incident, but lost the lead, and finished 2nd to Junior Johnson.

[ApolloBluecat]

Pedro Lamy

Testing Lotus 107 at Silverstone 1994 when rear wing departed whilst full belt around Abbey Corner, took off, lost engine and gearbox whilst the monocoque clipped the top of the spectator fence and headed off toward the pedestrian tunnel on the old bridge, at Bridge Corner.

The monocoque corkscrewed around the pedestrian tunnel and ended up upright on the floor, wedged in between the wall of the tunnel and barriers running the length of the tunnel. Very severe injuries, but it could have been worse, Jonnie Herbert jumped out of his Lotus and aided rescue cews with fighting the ensuing fire. If it wasn't for the pedestrian tunnel Pedro would no longer be with us, yet there was so much in the tunnel that could have killed him. You could still see the witness marks around the edge of the pedestrian tunnel until very recently

[Kevan]

During the Sunday morning warm-up for the 2002 Brazilian Grand Prix, Enrique Bernoldi crashed his Arrows in Turn 2. When Alex Ribeiro, the driver of the Medical Car, went out to check on Bernoldi, he opened the door of the Medical Car. Just as he opened it, Nick Heidfeld came along in his Sauber, and smashed into the open door. Both Ribeiro and Heidfeld were uninjured.

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

...and talking of close encounters with 'official' vehicles, there's Franz Engstler's shunt with the Safety Car during the Pau World Touring Car round a couple of years ago:



One I don't think I'd seen before- Alexander Wurz being rear-ended by the safety car during a 1995 German F3 race at Avus...

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

[Twin Window]

Recently a rider in either one of the MotoGP or World Superbike classes crashed in practice after he rode over another rider's discarded visor tear-off in mid-corner!

[Graham Clayton]

When the field was getting ready for a restart in the 2001 South Carolina 200 NASCAR race at Darlington on the 1st of September 2001, the steering wheel on Steve Park's Chevrolet came loose from the steering column. The car slewed left into the path of Larry Foyt, who was moving up to the front of the lapped cars line, resulting in a crash. Park missed the remainder of the 2001 season and the start of the 2002 season, and never fully recovered from the crash.

[GMACKIE]

Maria De Villota's horrific testing crash falls into this category.

[Graham Clayton]

During the 1964 Southern 500 NASCAR race at Darlington, Bobby Johns and Tiny Lunds' cars touched on the back straight.
They locked bumper bars, spinning nose to tail together before sliding down to the apron of the track.

[Graham Clayton]

During the 1973 Nashville 420 NASCAR race on the 25th of August, Cale Yarbourough hit the inside retaining wall on lap 261 while the race was under a caution flag, and while he was leading. "I guess I forgot what I was doing" was his rueful comment after the race.

[Rob G]

During the 1964 Southern 500 NASCAR race at Darlington, Bobby Johns and Tiny Lunds' cars touched on the back straight.
They locked bumper bars, spinning nose to tail together before sliding down to the apron of the track.

Just now I was watching highlights of this race and remembered your post. Here's the incident, beginning with a wild spin and a desperate save.

[Graham Clayton]

Pat Hoare had a huge crash in his Ferrari 625 Special during the 1961 Lady Wigram Trophy Race in New Zealand in very wet conditions. What was unusual about the crash was that as well as destroying his own car, he also wrote-off the official timekeepers' car as well:





Source: http://www.ferrarise...om/gallery.html

[David McKinney]

Actually Frank Shuter, in the ex-Hoare Ferrari

[Graham Clayton]

The marshal who decided to cross the track in front of Ayrton Senna's McLaren-Honda during the 1991 Monaco Grand Prix:

[Graham Clayton]

Also in 1991, Gerhard Berger and Alain Prost spun their cars at Rivazza during the warm-up lap for the San Marino Grand Prix. Berger was able to restart, but Prost stalled his engine and was unable to make the start.

[eldougo]

Post 2931 By ReWind in theSpeed Ultimate Price Thread.

Austrian Hanspeter Laber (52) crashed fatally on the downhill return AFTER a hillclimb in Verzegnis in Italy on Sunday, 26 May 2013.
[Source]

Very sad to hear this story it sounds very strange

.And i have never heard of such a thing crashing going downhill .Any one remember such a thing happening before.

[Catalina Park]

Any one remember such a thing happening before.

Possum Bourne.

[Ray Bell]

I'm quite sure I recall it happening at Silverdale once, too...

Not fatal, however.

[GMACKIE]

Barrie Garner was burned when his Bowin V8 caught fire, whilst negotiating the return 'road' at Silverdale.

[Ray Bell]

That might be the one I recall, Greg...

Was the fire caused by the roughness of the road or something?

[GMACKIE]

I think a fuel line came adrift......Ron Hay would probably know exactly what happened.

[Ray Bell]

It's just that the incident I'm struggling to recall was blamed on the roughness of that return road...

Barrie is still with us too, isn't he?

[DogEarred]

Seeing the Marussia F1 rolling along the track, driverless, the other day, reminded me of an incident that happened to a 'nameless', novice FF1600 driver.

He had his first accident & wasn't even in the car!

It was his first ever test session, midweek, at Brands Hatch. He wanted to test the fuel mileage & was deliberately trying to run the fuel to a low level.

Sure enough, it ran out completely & coasted to a stop just coming out of the Druid's hairpin on the downhill run to Bottom Bend.
He parked it, sensibly pointing the wheels towards the barrier, put it in first gear to stop it moving (or so he thought) then set off on foot towards the paddock for some fuel.
Having reached the entrance to the paddock tunnel, he glanced back to see his car freewheeling down the track at an angle & hit the barrier on the opposite side of the track. A couple of cars easily avoided it it, thankfully.

So he had his first crash, slightly bending a front wishbone, whilst 200 yards away.

He was so embarrassed, he kept walking away pretending it never happened.

[Graham Clayton]

Lombark Trophy race at Brands Hatch in the late 60's.early 70's, with the ambulance getting hit by a car:

http://www.gettyimag...otage/450074720