dutch super car at Spa. Safety car crash.

[mckeann]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQACcl7y ... tid=170446


This is scary.

[Matelotman]

In the words of the commentator "Vat a meega crash"

[campbell]

far more scary are some of the F1 crash examples in related links listed beside that one

the Roger Williamson one is all you ever need to know to understand why safety rules are so important, not just in F1 but in any motorsport activity

...and what an important jobs the marshalls (are supposed) to play

[mckeann]

far more scary are some of the F1 crash examples in related links listed beside that one

the Roger Williamson one is all you ever need to know to understand why safety rules are so important, not just in F1 but in any motorsport activity

...and what an important jobs the marshalls (are supposed) to play

I just watched that. Obviously far before my time, and that incident was something i was totally unaware of. It is a very sobering sight, and i'm very glad that safety features much higher in today's motorsport, but every driver knows that what they do has an element of risk. I have the greatest of respect for his team mate. Very sad video.

I still think the safety car vid is scary, as they are normal road cars with no safety car gear, and the driver isnt expecting to risk his life in that way. He is purely there to neutralise the race.

[ironside]

The Roger Williamson incident remains to be one of the most moving things I have ever seen. It's absolutely heartbreaking to watch David Purley attempt to rescue him, he wasn't even his team mate. Roger wasn't seriously injured in the crash and was still alive while David was trying to get him out.

Can you believe they put a blanket over the wreck, with Roger still inside, once the fire was out while they finished the race?

For those that haven't seen it, the video is on youtube, but prepare yourself to be upset if you watch it.

[mckeann]

Very upsetting. I had a lump in my throat watching it. I still maintain that motorsport is a dangerous game, and you take all the risks involved, but as simon said, he survived the crash, and the fire, and died from asphyxiation. Really really shocking.

[campbell]

Can you believe they put a blanket over the wreck, with Roger still inside, once the fire was out while they finished the race?

[campbell]

I still think the safety car vid is scary, as they are normal road cars with no safety car gear, and the driver isnt expecting to risk his life in that way. He is purely there to neutralise the race.

Never thought about it like that. Yikes.

[mckeann]

i dont know what speed the impact was, but my honda S1 was doing around 135mph at that point, so i would think in excess of that, and it didnt look like he got much speed off. he hit the other race car first, which would have knocked alot of energy out of it, other wise he could have been killed.

[tut]

I wish that I had not seen this. I did not cotton on at first as I saw the safety car crash, and there were no fatalities, then I saw there was a video of the Roger Williamson crash whom I had not heard of, and David Purley who tried to save him.

The name rang a bell, and I watched another video of an interview with him the next day, and recognised him. He was an officer in the Paras that I met in the Officers Mess in Aden in 1968. I was based in Singapore flying the Sioux with 40 Commando RM, and in '68 we covered the withdrawal of our forces from Aden, including 45 Commando, at the end of the war there. We were flying from HMS Bulwark and it all went pretty smoothly.

When we were watching the Pitts Special doing aerobatics on Sunday, I mentioned to someone on here, forgotten who, that we had one in Oman that we used for fun, but one of my friends, Stephen Kowlowski, was the British Aerobatics Champion, went all through the war with the Strikey Squadron without a scratch, then was killed in '84 in a Pitts doing an aerobatic display in England.

I googled on David to see what had happened to him to find out that he had a very bad crash in 1977, was badly injured, and the remains of his car are in the Donington Park Motor Museum. So what does he do then? Takes up aerobatic flying and was killed over Bognor Regis in a Pitts Special in 1985 when he crashed into the sea, the year after Stephen.

He also received the George Medal for his bravery in trying to save Roger. I watched the videos again, but this time in a different context, though it was bad enough the first time. I also googled on the Oman War to see if there was any mention of Stephen, and came accross this site which I had never seen before. it is a detailed account, again from an old friend and fellow pilot who joined even earlier than I did, Ralph Swift, and it brought back memories from 35 years ago that I had forgotten. I have been asked a few times for stories from the war, but I never had a camera, though the main events were still fairly clear. However Ralph has covered virtually every Operation that we carried out, so shall get the bottle of Laphroaig out and read through it.

I mentioned not long ago about the number of people that could be got into a Bell 205, and I well remember when I was climbing slowly out of Simba with 10 troops onboard when they had come under heavy fire, and Herbie was shot down in his Strikemaster by the first Sam-7. There was no way that I could unload them, so I had to go back down and pick him up after I saw him eject and before the Adoo could get to him. The second Sam-7 was fired at me, but fortunately it was too close to lock on. Herbie jumped in at 4ft, it was a bloody slow climb out and I was crapping myself and waiting for the next one, but Ralph was probably right and they had run out.

I have not seen it in writing before, so if anybody is interested in reading a more factual account of the war, he covers the above here:-
http://www.britains-smallwars.com/Deser ... index.html

and the main index is at http://www.britains-smallwars.com/Desert_song/RAF.htm

Funny how just reading a post on S_E can lead to that lot.

tut

[mac]

Tut,

That's a cracking website - Was just on reading about Aden. My dad served their with the Cameronian (Scottish Rifles)


Mac

[tut]

What years Mac?

tut

[YvoTuk]

Neil, the commentator mentions 180km/h for the impact

[mac]

What years Mac?

tut

Was there at the end I think Tut, my sister was born in '66 when my Dad was over there.

[tut]

We would have been there at the same time then.

tut