14 replies to this topic

[ilferrari]

Just wondering if anyone knows anything about Senna's serious crash at Hockenheim in 1991? Apparently he cartwheeled through the first chicane and was taken to hospital.

 

Senna injured at Hockenheim

Senna to compete at German Grand Prix despite crash

 

 

The spokeswomen said Senna was travelling at 198 mph when the McLaren's rear tire punctured and as a result the right front wheel left the ground. With only two wheels on the ground, Senna had been unable to bring the car to a halt. The McLaren Honda went 15 feet into the air and was destroyed in the crash.

 

'After the crash I might have been unconscious momentarily, but I left the car on my own and took my helmet off,' said Senna, whose participation for the race probably was not endangered by the crash.

 

'Senna went five meters (16 feet) up in the air just in front of me, ' said Jordan-Ford driver Andrea de Cesaris of Italy.

 

 

[jcbc3]

Article says second chicane. Old Ostkurve?

 

 

 

 

The 31-year-old South American overturned several times in his McLaren Honda in the second chicane of the course, just 10 minutes before the end of the test drives in preparation for the July 28 race.

[midgrid]

For reference, Érik Comas crashed at the Ostkurve chicane during the Grand Prix weekend: https://youtu.be/8Uw...UIz2puZg0aT_jdG.

[Parkesi]

The location (pre chicane) and the lonely crash in the forest of Hockenheim - it somehow reminds me of Jim Clark. 23 years later...

[BRG]

That Ostkurve chicane wasn't the luckiest of places for Brazilian superstars.

[PayasYouRace]

That chicane always looked more dangerous than the corner itself to me.

But I guess that’s why they changed it for 1992.

[LittleChris]

I thought the 1991 crash was at the first (Jim Clark) chicane. I think Senna & Schumacher also had a coming together there the following year whilst testing. Plus Senna put the Toleman into the wall between The JC chicane and Ostkurve chicane whilst running 3rd in the 1984 GP.

Edited by LittleChris, 18 October 2024 - 10:33.

[AJCee]

Wasn’t it (the chicane) introduced after poor Patrick Depailler’s testing accident in 1980?

Edited by AJCee, 18 October 2024 - 13:52.

[F1matt]

Horrible track for a rear puncture, I am sure Derek Warwick had a similar accident there when he had a rear puncture in testing causing the front of the car to rise up and ended up going over. It would be interesting to know how many marshals and trackside officials were covering the event as it was usually a small number back then.

[LittleChris]

Del Boy's shunt was at the third chicane in the warm up due to his running into another car rather than a puncture.

Similar to Pironi's shunt in 82 but fortunately the Footwork didn't take off 

 

Derek Warwick is Superman

[F1matt]

That is a scary crash, even worse in slow motion. I am sure he crashed a Lotus in testing so it must have been at Hockenheim in 1990? Same year as Martin Donnelly had his huge accident. Remember seeing a b&w photo in Autosport showing the rear deflated.

[MikeTekRacing]

the safety standards where atrocious. 

[Louis Mr. F1]

interesting that just a few months ago I was trying to find photos of this particular accident but couldn't find any.  Here is the report from the Autosport magazine.

 

 

Edited by Louis Mr. F1, 25 October 2024 - 01:47.

[AnttiK]

it somehow reminds me of Jim Clark. 23 years later...

 

I also thought about Clark, as the most likely cause of the Clark accident was a rear puncture as well, pretty much at the exact same spot as Senna had his rear puncture in 1991. Also, peculiarly, Ayrton visited the Jim Clark museum in Duns, Scotland, just a few months before this accident, in February 1991. Here's a picture of Ayrton signing the guest book at the museum:

 

 

Rear punctures were a relatively common occurence at the old Hockenheim. Berger in 1989, Hill in 1993, Fisichella in 1997 and Häkkinen in 1999 come to mind as other famous rear puncture incidents at the old Hockenheim.

[PayasYouRace]

Wasn’t it (the chicane) introduced after poor Patrick Depailler’s testing accident in 1980?

The first version of that chicane was introduced in 1982, and was made instantly famous by the Piquet/Salazar crash. That was the fast right kink leading into the quick left-right chicane configuration.

 

Then for 1992 they swapped the direction and made it a lot slower. That was the configuration that went straight on before going right, crossing the old track, and then left, rejoining the Ostkurve on the inside.