History of Auto Racing Deaths and Sports Car Crashes

Auto racing is by far one of the most exhilarating sports in the world. While most other sports demonstrate the abilities of human body pushed to the max, auto racing represents a combination of state-of-the-art engineering merged with drivers’ unique skills and unparalleled reflexes. But there are times when racers simply cannot cope with the high speeds and stress of the races and lose control of their cars.

24 Hours of Le Mans Crashes

Pierre Levegh cashes during 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1955.
The dangerous nature of auto racing nearly cost the sport its future when in June 11, 1955 Pierre Levegh lost control of his car during 24 Hours of Le Mans and crashed into the stands, killing 83 spectators in a gruesome accident, with over a hundred more admitted to hospitals with serious injuries. After this tragic event, all types of auto racing faced opposition both from the public and governments worldwide, with several major car manufacturers discontinuing their financial support of most races due to negative media coverage.
Much has been done since then to increase safety of auto racing, especially to the spectators, and prevent such tragedies from occurring again, but the risk to the drivers has never been fully eliminated, and history of auto racing has known many more tragic accidents since.

Formula One Crashes

Formula One, considered by some to be a harbinger of technological breakthrough in auto racing, has lost 43 of its drivers to tragic accidents during races, qualifiers and even driving tests. Relief can be found in the fact that ever since 1950s, the death toll of Formula Once races has been steadily decreasing, decade by decade, and not a single driver has been lost to fatal accidents for the last 18 years.

Nascar Crashes

Dale Earnhardt (3) hits the wall in the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500 in
an accident that claims the life of NASCAR's biggest star.
44 drivers have lost their lives on the various tracks of NASCAR, which, until the tragic death of Dale Earnhardt in 2001, had not imposed mandatory use of HANS (Head and Neck Support) device for drivers, and softer walls had not yet replaced the concrete ones around NASCAR tracks. Had these precautionary measures been introduced sooner, Earnhardt’s crash would not have been fatal, but at least it served as a trigger for NASCAR to become safer for drivers to come.

Rally Crashes

The Mitsubishi car driven by Villagra hits a horse during one of  the stages of
the Argentine Rally in General Roca
A similar situation has occurred in rally, where numerous accidents had eventually forced officials to place spectators only in the safest areas around the tracks, where risk of accidents is reduced to an absolute minimum. Yet, as the history of auto racing clearly shows, no one is ever safe when speeding vehicles are concerned. Despite all the precautions, there have been more fatal cases of rally cars crashing into a large group of spectators, supposedly located at a safe distance from the track, killing 4 and injuring over sixty people in two accidents. There have also been over twenty fatal driver and co-driver accidents during World Rally Championships, including two most recent ones in 2005 and 2006.
Despite all these tragic deaths, it should be noted that the safety to auto racers and drivers in general has been improved considerably since the world’s first major races, and much of the progress can be attributed to the engineers and constructors behind the fastest and most efficient racing cars of their age. None of that would ever be possible without the brave drivers testing and racing these incredible sports cars, for their teams, victory and the thrill of the moment.

History of Auto Racing Deaths and Sports Car Crashes 2013-10-01T14:16:00-07:00 Rating: 4.5 Diposkan Oleh: Admin