A Real Life Mario Kart Crash!

This crash is the definition of insane.  It happened fairly recently too.

The Derek Bell Cup at the 73rd Goodwood Member’s Meeting, which is essentially a place where really rich car guys get together and race their vintage race cars for a trophy.  It sounds like a whole lot of fun.  There was one moment that I still can’t get over.  It was one of those “Oh my G-d HOW the hell did that happen?” moments.

For the record, the Derek Bell Cup is for Formula 3 cars.  It is not for every other class of car!

This bonkers crash happened on the second flat-out lap of the qualifying session.  Paul Waine’s beautiful red De Sanctis-Ford hit Michael Scott’s equally beautiful 1969 Brabham-Ford BT28 at the legendary Madwick corner.

Waine’s airborne #10 Ford was credited with a still-impressive 17th place for qualifying, but had to retire from the rest of the event.  Scott’s Ford somehow got through another six laps before qualifying in 20th place.  Scott then went on to finish 13th in the actual race.

The De Sanctis-Ford was an Italian effort that took much inspiration from the Brabham cars of the late 1960s, and was powered by a Ford engine.  What seems illogical to me is the fact that the De Sanctis family ran a Fiat dealership.  Nonetheless, 1969 was a disappointing year for them.

The Brabham-Ford cars were extremely successful F3 (Formula 3) cars throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

Here’s a link to the video of the crash.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWVPL8oEFJs

Another saddening crash was Jochen Mass, who slammed a priceless Mercedes-Benz 300 SLS into a Lister.  Both cars were racing in the Salvadori Cup, and from footage I’ve seen, it looked like the Lister wanted to enter the pits when Mass tried to help.  It looks like Mass locked up the brakes in the 300 SLS, and by the time he let up on the brakes, it was simply too late.  Cars of that era aren’t known for their braking prowess (they were in the day), so it is a sad surprise.  Like any race car worth it’s racing slicks, I’m sure that both cars will be repaired and racing again in no time at all.

Here’s an action shot: