43 replies to this topic

[scuderia]

I'd like to know your opinions on the topic....but please let's leave out the massive crashes at Spa 1998 and Hockenheim 1994, also the fatal crash of A. Senna.
The next most impressive crash for me is the crash when De La Rosa crashed at Monza 2000 and Burti's crashes at Hockenheim 2001 and at Spa 2001.

[mikedeering]

Hmmm. Not sure impressive is the right word! Maybe spectacular.

1973 Silverstone - when Jody lost the McLaren at Woodcote and wiped out half the field

1987 Austria - start 1 and 2 - carnage in the midfield after Mansell's slow getaway.

1993 Italy - Fittipaldi's 360 flip on the finishing straight.

[Buford]

The big one that Jody Scheckter caused at Silverstone back in the 1970s when he spun in front of the whole field. Others that were unforgetable were the Peterson crash at Monza, the Roger Williamson crash at Zanvoort, the Wolfgang Von Trips crash at Monza, the Tom Pryce crash at South Africa, the Nikki Lauda crash at Nurburgring. I recall a big flip by DeCrasheris (whatever his real name was). All of those are on video. Many others of course are not on video. GP racing goes back a long way.

[Buford]

Oops Mile beat me to the Scheckter crash and even remembered when!

[mikedeering]

Originally posted by Buford

I recall a big flip by DeCrasheris (whatever his real name was). All of those are on video. Many others of course are not on video. GP racing goes back a long way.

I think the biggest de Cesaris smash (and hey there are lots!) was at Austria in 1985 (which led to his sacking). It looks spectacular - the car just runs wide, hits a bump and barrel rolls to destruction. On the 85 F1 review tape, Senna is doing the commentary and says something like "and here we see de Cesaris having a small off." I don't believe an understatement to compare to this has ever been made!

[Eric McLoughlin]

Was it in 1981 that a Brabham went off in Austria at the same spot as De Cesaris' Tyrell and a female spectator could be seen legging it, handbag flying.?

What about Piquet and De Cesaris' (it's that man again) coming together at St Devote in the 1985 Monaco GP.

[Buford]

Originally posted by mikedeering


I think the biggest de Cesaris smash (and hey there are lots!) was at Austria in 1985 (which led to his sacking). It looks spectacular - the car just runs wide, hits a bump and barrel rolls to destruction. On the 85 F1 review tape, Senna is doing the commentary and says something like "and here we see de Cesaris having a small off." I don't believe an understatement to compare to this has ever been made!

Yeah that's the one. When you get old and your experience runs into 5 decades, you forget the exact years stuff happened in. And if you are too lazy to look it up and just want to post now, you kind of generalize.

[maxim]

Originally posted by Eric McLoughlin


What about Piquet and De Cesaris' (it's that man again) coming together at St Devote in the 1985 Monaco GP.

Piquet crashed with Patrese's Alfa Romeo at St Devote in 1985.
Poor Andrea , it's always your fault

[Buford]

Oh I should add the Bandini crash at Monaco and the Rubens B. crash at Imola in 1994.

Then from photos, the Stirling Moss crashes at Spa and Goodwood, a Willie Maresse (sp?) - Trevor Taylor crash at Spa in the early 60s, Graham Hill at Watkins Glen just posted on another thread, and of course when J.P. Sarti went over the banking at Monza. Wait, that was a movie!

[Eric McLoughlin]

I'm obviously suffering from the same problem as Buford. I remember the incidents, just forget the details.

[Sintra]

Zanardi's crash at Spa was unbelievable...

[maxim]

I mention Martin Donnelly's crash at Jerez in 1990.
No movie available but looking at some picture about it, I wonder how Martin is still with us - thanks God - .

[nitro]

amongst the most spectacular -At the finish-line at Monza 1993 Christian Fittipaldi drives with his Minardi into his teammate Martini, performs a full 360-degrees turnover and finally finishes.
http://people.freene...ork/video17.mpg

the most tragic wud be these amongst many ...The same weekend Ayrton Senna died, Roland Ratzenberger died, too. On Saturday during the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola 1994 he died crashing into the wall. http://people.freene...ork/video18.mpg

Gilles Villeneuve crashes with his Ferrari into the slow-driving Jochen Mass during the practice-session 1982 at Zolder in Belgium and died.http.. http://people.freene...ork/video01.mpg

[biercemountain]

Spa 1998 (I think). Biggest start line pile-up I've ever seen.

I wonder what the total dollar value of that accident was? It put about half the field out of the race.

It's a miracle no one got hurt (or killed for that matter)

[Arturo Pereira]

The few recorded scenes of the 1955 crash at the main straight at Le Mans La Sarthe, just in front of the pits. More than 80 people were killed on that dark day. 24Hs race of 1955.

Arturo

[Jonathan]

The in-car footage of Riccardo Patrese running up the back of Gerhart Berger 1992 Portugal deserves some form of honourable mention. (straight up and nearly straight down).

The flight of the Mercedes-Benz vehicle in preperation for Le Mans (1999 ?) would be up there as well had there been some in-car footage. [EDIT: and had it actually involved an F1 car.]

[Doug Nye]

Stefan Johansson's straight-on in the final hairpin at Jerez was pretty spectacular, and initially very concerning. Back in the pits Harvey Postlethwaite did a swift calculation concerning speed at moment of impact, distance in which Ferrari came to rest, and came up with some extraordinarily high G figure which Stefan had just survived. "That will have stretched all your internal organs" he said. "Mmmm", Stefan replied, "If it does the same to my external organs can I take another car and do it again?".

Now there's a racing driver with a proper sense of priorities...

DCN

[ghinzani]

Originally posted by Doug Nye
Stefan Johansson's straight-on in the final hairpin at Jerez was pretty spectacular, and initially very concerning. Back in the pits Harvey Postlethwaite did a swift calculation concerning speed at moment of impact, distance in which Ferrari came to rest, and came up with some extraordinarily high G figure which Stefan had just survived. "That will have stretched all your internal organs" he said. "Mmmm", Stefan replied, "If it does the same to my external organs can I take another car and do it again?".

Now there's a racing driver with a proper sense of priorities...

DCN

greedy man - judging by the pictures Ive seen I cant recall Stefan ever having any problems with the chicks. He was a real hot property in early 85 was'nt he? - that Ferrari drive promised so much, shame he never won for them or Mclaren cos he'd looked good for Tyrrell and Toleman.

[Bladrian]

I remember sitting in the "B" grandstand at Crowthorne when Basil van Rooyen spun his McLaren in the braking zone and smacked the bank hard. The car broke into two pieces, with Basil still strapped to what remained of the engine and gearbox, sitting in the middle of the track. The front bits were scattered all over the place. Basil survived.

Lucky chap.

[Pikachu Racing]

Derek Warrick crashes in the Parabolic at Monza and slides to the middle of the track on its side as cars passing through in racing speed. He even took the restart of the race. That is balls and dedication right there.

Martin Brundle in Australia 96 flipping several times.

[Buford]

Another one from video I forgot to mention was the Gilles Villeneuve fatal crash where he was thrown out of the car high into the air.

[D. Heimgartner]

Lyn St.James and a pair of friends flipping three endurance-type cars at very high speed. Really crazy stuff. Don't know really anything: track, date, cars... but it is the most spectacular thing I've ever seen, and I choose it also because everyone walked away from it.

Another really big one was G. Bodine's NASTRUCK crash in the tri-oval at Daytona a few years ago. I thought he was a goner for sure. But he was back in the seat again not more than a few months later.

[rgagne]

Not so long ago, Jacques Villeneuve's crash into the barrier was quite spectacular. And before that, his crash at Eau Rouge was too (followed by Zonta, i think...)

Burti's crash, when they had trouble pulling his car out of the tire barrier was, if not that spectacular, quite scary (i remember i thought he was dead...)

RGagne

[Pikachu Racing]

Lynn St. James crashed along with another car. St. James' car burst in flames and she walked away from it.

[Buford]

Originally posted by Pikachu Racing
Lynn St. James crashed along with another car. St. James' car burst in flames and she walked away from it.

That was at Riverside but the question was about F1 crashes so I have not ventured into memorable non-F1 crashes. If we got into that, this thread would be longer than the Amon thread!

[David Beard]

Originally posted by Buford
Another one from video I forgot to mention was the Gilles Villeneuve fatal crash where he was thrown out of the car high into the air.

Forget to mention?

It's a video I wish I had never seen.
This is not a nice thread.

[Liam]

Perhaps it's best not to mention those crashes that result in injury or death.
Remember the drivers, not the crash.

Brundle's crash in the Jordan at Melbourne was spectacular.

[Buford]

Originally posted by David Beard


Forget to mention?

It's a video I wish I had never seen.
This is not a nice thread.

This is not a nice sport! Or as Dan Gurney said, "This is a cruel sport."

[Henri Greuter]

How about Derek Daly's `How to fly inwith Tyrrell F1 car` acts in 1980?
Monaco and Zandvoort in particular.

And for those who are so into crashes,

Berger at Taburello in '89
Arnoux at Tarzan's corner Zandvoort '82 (I saw that one happen under my own eyes and they who say that it is a thrill to see ca car crash out at high speed as long as the driver comes off good, You're a sick person.


Not F1 but still a "thrill" to see

Ongais at Indy in 1981,
Smiley at Indy in 1982
Mears at Sanair in 1984.
Zampredi at Indy in 1996
Fittipaldi at Michigan 1996
Arie Luyendyk at Fontana '97
Greg Moore at Fontana '99
Mark Webber twice and Dumbreck once at Le Mans '99

Have fun with watching those.

or go to NASCAR events or IRL races, satisfaction eventually garuanteed

Burti spectacular? When it happened were you sure he was still alive?

I do agree with what some people said: This is not a nice subject at all.
You get to the fatal ones eventually.

There are much nicer subjects about racing which bring back happy memories to discuss.
Crashes are a part of racing but better to be accepted instead of being discussed as if it is the thing that makes racing worthwhile.

Henri Greuter

[biercemountain]

Originally posted by Buford


This is not a nice sport! Or as Dan Gurney said, "This is a cruel sport."

Although I love motorsport I have to agree with Dan Gurney. It is a VERY cruel sport for the drivers, their families and the fans. Watching Greg Moore lose his life, Alex Zanardi lose his legs and now hearing about Jason Priestly breaking his back is enough to make me think about finding another hobby.

[Vitesse2]

Originally posted by biercemountain


Although I love motorsport I have to agree with Dan Gurney. It is a VERY cruel sport for the drivers, their families and the fans. Watching Greg Moore lose his life, Alex Zanardi lose his legs and now hearing about Jason Priestly breaking his back is enough to make me think about finding another hobby.

Motor racing has always been dangerous - thirty or forty years ago we used to lose a high-profile driver every two or three weeks on average: it was expected, inevitable, part of the game. : F1 hasn't had a fatal crash since Senna and Ratzenburger - without checking, I'm pretty sure that's the longest it's ever gone fatality-free.

CART has been pretty safe too - in comparison to earlier years anyway. Certainly Greg Moore's accident was bad, Zanardi's was terrifying. But they are isolated incidents these days - in the 50s, 60s and 70s they happened every other week

[josh.lintz]

Originally posted by D. Heimgartner
Lyn St.James and a pair of friends flipping three endurance-type cars at very high speed. Really crazy stuff. Don't know really anything: track, date, cars... but it is the most spectacular thing I've ever seen, and I choose it also because everyone walked away from it.

It was at Riverside, California in 1986. It took out the Group 44 Jaguar (Hurley Haywood driving?) and a Chevrolet Corvette GTP car (Doc Bundy, I think). But all three cars became quite airborne, the Jaguar was sliding on it's tail. The Vette flipped a few times, and the Ford GTP was tumbling and burning at the same time. What a mess, and what a wierd racing wreck.

I saw Tom Sneva's flip at Indy in 1975 on TV before, I still can't believe he walked away.

The Peter Drumbreck at Le Mans '99 really takes first prize. I hope we never see anything like that again!

Stefan Sarrazin's one and only F1 race ended with a crash aganst the wall. The car spun 7 or 8 times before it finally stopped. I'm amazed he walked away in a fairly straight line!

Phillippe Alliot's crash the day before the '88 Mexican GP was quite horrendous. He was travelling quite fast at the exit of the Peralta, when the suspension let go, and he went hard right into the pit wall. The car flipped at least two or three times, and the tub was completely intact. He wiggled away from that one. That's one of the worst I've ever seen that didn't hurt anyone!

[Breadmaster]

The most spectacular is Fittipaldi's at Monza in 1993 (previously mentioned...)

a lot of fatal crashes were "spectacular" but not enjoyable to watch...........

[Pascal]

From an earlier post of mine, recalling my experiences as first aid worker on the Monaco track...

I had the fright of my life with Martin Brundle during a practice session in 1984. His Tyrrell hit the guardrail at Tabac corner, a very short distance from where I was posted. The right sidepod literally exploded, and the car turned upside down while keeping its motion. After what seemed to take an eternity, it finally stopped only metres away from me, and when the marshals turned it back on its wheels (or at leas the ones left), a shiver ran down my spine. Brundle seemed unconscious and had his arms limp outside the tub. And then suddenly he came back to life! He removed his belts and literally jumped out of his wrecked chassis. He proceeded to run in direction of the pits, but stopped after only a short distance. He then removed his helmet and turned around. I'll never forget how quickly his face turned white! Much later, I read that upon coming back to the pits, Tyrrell asked him if he knew what track he was on, and Brundle was unable to reply. He did not start the race that year...

[Barry Boor]

I really don't think that fatal or serious injury accidents should be mentioned on a thread that considers 'spectacular' crashes.

I think my personal 'favourite' would be Cheever and Patrese, with Alfa Romeo and Brabham respectively approaching St. Devote at Monaco in nineteen hundred and freezing to death, or thereabouts.

Spectacular, but happily, not physically damaging!

[Jhope]

Spectacular would have to be a tie between Jacques Villeneuve and Ricardo Zonta, both trying to go through Eau Rouge flat out in 1999. Just jaw dropping!

[karlth]

Originally posted by Pascal
From an earlier post of mine, recalling my experiences as first aid worker on the Monaco track...

Compare Brundle's reaction with Warwick's after his massive crash in '89 or '90 at Monza. Lost the car in Parabolica and smashed it to bits onto the pitstraight into the path of the backmarkers. Sid Watkins commented in his F1 bio that Warwick showed no signs of having been in an accident. His pulse was normal and there was not a drop of sweat on his skin, Warwick then ran to the pits and took the restart.

[Slyder]

Originally posted by Pascal
From an earlier post of mine, recalling my experiences as first aid worker on the Monaco track...

From that description, it sounds like Martin Brundle's big one at Dallas in 1984. I saw a pic of that car, man, that cars nose was completely destroyed.

impressive:

Fittipaldi 93 Monza
Tambay 86 in Monaco
Alex Caffi 91 Monaco
Riccardo Patresse 92 Estoril
Giancarlo Fisichella Spa, cant' remember if its 98 or 99, where he crashed and flipped over.
Spa 98
Hockenheim 94
Silverstone 73
Australia 96 and 02

There are others but can't remember

[Slyder]

Originally posted by karlth


Compare Brundle's reaction with Warwick's after his massive crash in '89 or '90 at Monza. Lost the car in Parabolica and smashed it to bits onto the pitstraight into the path of the backmarkers. Sid Watkins commented in his F1 bio that Warwick showed no signs of having been in an accident. His pulse was normal and there was not a drop of sweat on his skin, Warwick then ran to the pits and took the restart.

Warwick has had some BIG crashes, his 3 biggest crashes so far are Mexico 87 (I haven't seen it bu I've heard its BIG), Monza 90, and Hockenheim 93.

[Buford]

His pulse was normal and there was not a drop of sweat on his skin, Warwick then ran to the pits and took the restart.
==============================

While amazing, I think that kind of thing is pretty common with race car drivers. Crashing doesn't change their attitude (which is essentially self delusion) very much. I had very little experience in crashing. Only had 3 in 12 years, all on ovals. The first one rang my bell big time and although I drove pack to the pits, I had no idea where I was, who I was, even what being was. I was able to talk and convince everybody I was OK, because that is what drivers do. But I was not OK. I was lost in space. They did not ask me the right questions. I didn't even remember the crash on the track. I thought they were talking about the crash back in pits when I ran into the back of the trailer because I had no brakes. It took a half hour to figure out where I was and who I was and I had a couple incidents later in the evening where I drifted off again into not knowing where I was.

However, the other two crashes, in a Sprint Car, including a big flip and fireball, I was not particularly excited. Just pissed off. In both cases we tried to get the car back together and race and I was ready to do so, and hoping to do so, to get a chance to redeem myself.

So unless you get your bell rung and don't really know what is going on, I think most real racers accept crashing as part of the game, and want to get right back in if possible. The lunitic part is wanting to be a race car driver in the first place. Anything that happens after that decision, is just part of the price you have to pay to do what you want to do.

[dretceterini]

Brambilla (the Monza Gorilla) had a pretty spectacular crash on the first lap at Long Beach..

[Ray Bell]

From what I read of Jenks' report in Motor Sport it wasn't a patch on the one he had at the Grosser Preiss von Deutscheland at the Nurburgring in 1970...

[Buford]

For anybody who wants to see "Impressing" crashes, here they are.

http://tbk.fameflame...r_Submitted.php

[Earthling]

Alesi's Prost screaming Yahoooo! Hockenheim 2000