2 nasty crashes at the Goodwood Members Meeting Today

[Maysie]

Just as a layman watching the video, I agree it was a miracle he wasn't killed.
That was a VERY nasty crash.

It does demonstrate just how far motor racing has come in terms of safety, even since the 70's/80's, let alone when these cars were produced.

I take my hat off to the drivers who still race these cars to their full potential. They must have (huge) balls made of steel!

I hope the driver makes a full recovery.

[Bravo73]

A few pro driver folks who have reviewed the video, said it is a miracle he wasn't killed, given that any landing or roll onto the top of the car would have taken his head off.

Just as a layman watching the video, I agree it was a miracle he wasn't killed.

It's equally a 'miracle' that there wasn't anybody in the pedestrian tunnel at the time (or that nobody got hit by the flying wheel).

This was the first race of the day. If the same crash had happened during one of the later races (when many more people had arrived at the circuit), the outcome could have been far more horrific. Thankfully it wasn't.

[Backward point]

It's good that both drivers escaped relatively lightly, and that no spectators were injured, or worse. The car that finished up in the tunnel brought back memories of Alan McNish's crash at Donnington when he was in F3000, and parts of his car, including the engine, finished in the pedestrian tunnel after a collision, killing a spectator. Goodwood must be breathing a very heavy sigh of relief.

Motor racing is dangerous, and Goodwood is a very fast circuit - it's highly unlikely that any crash at Goodwood will be a small one.
Goodwood has become the pre-eminent circuit in the world for Historic racing, to the extent that many of the cars that now race there at the Revival and now the Members' Meeting, are "Goodwood Specials" and can produce lap times that the drivers who raced them there back in "the day" wouldn't recognise. They may all have the requisite FIA papers and be eligible for the classes in which they compete, but some of them are rather more equal than others, to paraphrase George Orwell.

A car which has achieved good results at Goodwood is often far more valuable than one which is, shall we say, rather more authentic but finishes sixth in class. As always, modern suspension components, brake materials and tyres will make a difference, but so will other, more specialist preparation.

I love Goodwood, and historic racing. When the sun is shining and the air is filled with the heady aromas of Castrol R and hot brakes there's no finer place to be. But the racing has started to become rather less than authentic, and has become more about spending vast amounts of money to achieve results which the cars may not have been capable of in period.

[lordloz]

It's good that both drivers escaped relatively lightly, and that no spectators were injured, or worse. The car that finished up in the tunnel brought back memories of Alan McNish's crash at Donnington when he was in F3000, and parts of his car, including the engine, finished in the pedestrian tunnel after a collision, killing a spectator. Goodwood must be breathing a very heavy sigh of relief.

Motor racing is dangerous, and Goodwood is a very fast circuit - it's highly unlikely that any crash at Goodwood will be a small one.
Goodwood has become the pre-eminent circuit in the world for Historic racing, to the extent that many of the cars that now race there at the Revival and now the Members' Meeting, are "Goodwood Specials" and can produce lap times that the drivers who raced them there back in "the day" wouldn't recognise. They may all have the requisite FIA papers and be eligible for the classes in which they compete, but some of them are rather more equal than others, to paraphrase George Orwell.

A car which has achieved good results at Goodwood is often far more valuable than one which is, shall we say, rather more authentic but finishes sixth in class. As always, modern suspension components, brake materials and tyres will make a difference, but so will other, more specialist preparation.

I love Goodwood, and historic racing. When the sun is shining and the air is filled with the heady aromas of Castrol R and hot brakes there's no finer place to be. But the racing has started to become rather less than authentic, and has become more about spending vast amounts of money to achieve results which the cars may not have been capable of in period.

I do agree with you a lot with what you say...
I used to live down the road and I did my ARDS race licence there
(actually first laps I ever did there were in a rep junior F1 car at 8 years old)

and it is indeed deceptively fast...
It's very evocative but yes those cars really are almost silhouette category now.... There's no way some of them have the pace they should have... I know of one Mini Cooper where the engine cost £25k to build and the car cost another £25k ...
it's not really in the spirit of what it was supposed to be...

[GregR]

Horrible.

I was at the 73 MM and that wheel headed straight into where I was with a relative in the disabled area. Very very lucky no-one was hurt, I'll bet there's catch-fencing there next year.

That final chicane seems to catch plenty out, there were two spinners there in the F1 GTR high-speed demo last year alone.