Saddest days in Motor Racing...
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by user Alex Holowczak
As Marco Melandri was rushed to hospital in the Spanish MotoGP on Sunday, I was reminded of some of the saddest days in motor sports.
Whilst Melandri was okay, there have been several much worse incidents.
1. Roland Ratzenberger
During qualifying at Imola in 1994, for the San Marino GP, Ratzenberger lost his rear wing at the Villeneuve kink. He crashed into a concrete wall at nearly 200mph. He died there and then. What makes it worse for him, is that he is the forgotten man of that weekend, as it was overshadowed by Number 3 on this list. His and Senna's crash are sad because they were the first in Grands Prix for 8 years, and the first in F1 for 12 years. It was thought that the era of racing deaths was over. But the next day confirmed those opinions.
2. Pierre Levegh
At the famous Le Mans 24 Hour Race in 1955, Levegh lost control and drove into a section where spectators were stood. His car then exploded into flames, and not only was he dead, but so were more than a hundred spectators. This is so high up the list, because it is "okay" for a racing driver to die - he accepts the risks. But for the crowd to die is awful. As a result of this motor racing was temporarily banned in some countries. Indeed it is still banned in Switzerland today. (It was banned because it was due to host the Formula One Swiss Grand Prix at Bremgarten a few weeks after the crash. They never lifted the ban.)
3. Ayrton Senna
The Brazilian spent much time with fellow countryman Rubens Barrichello, who after crashing on Friday, only just survived. The day after Ratzenberger, Senna decided to race. He was leading, and set the fastest lap of the race on Lap 5. Sadly, at the 180mph Tamburello, the first corner on Lap 6, his car scaped the floor. Wheels lifted in the air, and he could not turn the car, and went straight into the barriers. His suspension broke, and one of the tyres flew into head. He was lifted to hospital, but was probably dead before he got there. A sad end for a three-time World Champion.
4. Dale Earnhardt
The 7-time NASCAR Champion refused to wear the Hans device, something that allowed a driver to not hurt his neck when he crashed, which due to the G-Forces, and sudden stopping, caused a problem. Earnhardt refused to wear the device, saying he was safe enough, and was uncomfortable. However, when he crashed into the wall in Daytona 2001, he died. The saddest part, was that it was right infront of his son, who was in third at the time.
5. Jim Clark
The two time F1 World Champion was at Hockenheim, for a F2 race. Suddenly his Lotus-Climax lost control (no-one knows how), and he flipped through the air and crashed into a tree. One of the most respected, and the best racing driver of the 60s was dead. Amazingly, he still won the World Championship that year, an amazing accomplishment considering he was dead for the second half of the season. Clark was the last great amateur F1 driver.
6. Alex Zanardi
The ChampCar king and F1 driver returned to ChampCars in 2001. At the Lausitzring, the first major sporting event after September 11th was held. It was renamed the American Memorial 500. Zanardi rejoined the race from the pits, but lost traction and spun into the track. Alex Tagliani was coming down the straight at 200mph+, and crashed into the stationery Zanardi. He lost both legs. It was even more emotional in 2002, when Zanardi returned to the Lausitzring to finish the race in front of a capacity crowd no less. He was the only car on the track. He has since won races in the World Touring Car Championship. Okay he didn't die, but in terms of raw emotion, his career keeps bringing sadness every time he races.
7. Gilles Villeneuve
The Canadian was furious at the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder in 1982. As Ferrari were dominating, he was allowed to win the previous race ahead of his team mate. After all, he was winning. However, he was overtaken. Furious at Zolder, Villeneuve drove aggressively, but paid for it in qualifying when his car was crushed in a corner. There was no way Villeneuve could have survived.
8. Alberto Ascari
The two time World Champion, and rival of Juan Manuel Fangio returned to his home track at Monza for the Italian Grand Prix of 1955. He was testing his Ferrari, when he ploughed into the wall after going under the Oval bridge on the brow of the hill. At least his name survived, a chicane was put there which now bares his name.
9. Nicki Lauda
At the 14-mile Nurburgring, Lauda pitted to change from wet to slick tyres. Strangely, he swerved right, crashed into the enbankment, and rolled out into the track, where he was collected by Brett Lunger, and caught fire. He was trapped inside his flaming car. Due to the length of the track, it was impossible to get marshalls to him straight away. Heroically, Lunger, Guy Edwards, and Arturo Edwards stopped their cars, got out and helped pull him out. Lauda escaped with an apparent severed ear (really it was burnt), and survived after falling into a coma. He was racing just six weeks later, although he only told people after the event that he was petrified at the time. He almost won the title that year, but, still affected by his Nurburgring excursions pitted in wet conditions at Watkins Glen, saying the conditions were appalling to race in. This let James Hunt steal the title. As a result of this, the Nurburgring was no more. The track still exists in it's entirity, but Formula One now uses a shortened, safer version of the track encorporating part of the Sudschleife section. The Nordschleife can still be raced, it was in the DTM in 2000, or the general public can pay about £5, ($10) to set a lap time today.
10. The Isle of Man Amateurs
The Isle of Man TT races are some of the oldest in professional motorcycling. This year was another when there were deaths on the street circuit. If you crash on the streets, you will probably fly into a building, advertising hoardings, or as happened this year, over a cliff into the sea beyond. That happened in a sidecar. As the two-man car flew over the cliff, they were trapped inside as it hit the water. The car filled with water and drowned. A later investigation found them dead in the car. Every year people seem to die in the TT races (TT stands for Tourist Trophy). The 38 mile circuit takes about 18 minutes to complete, and with it being a public road course, has things such as pavements, bollards, and even possibly road humps next year! It lost it's place on the MotoGP calendar in the 70s due to it's lack of safety, but the TT races have now become unique, even though they no longer contain the best drivers in the world as it is not a Championship race anymore.
So there you have it. The F1 dominance and lack of NASCAR/IRL influence was mainly due to my lack of knowledge in those areas. Feel free to insert any fatal deaths from those if you wish.
Date
Tue 06/20/06, 1:08 am EST
