Goodwood Festival of Speed

[Craig]

Just got back from Goodwood - where thepractice was stopped earlier this afternnon after an accident. Have just heard on the news that the guy involved was sadly killed, and two marshalls seriously injured - does anyone have any more details ? And is tommorrow still going ahead ?

In a bit of a state of shock again - as I was when young Neil Shanahan was killed when we were at Oulton last year - really don't feel like going, but i'm sure we will. But would really appreciate any light anyone could shed on the matter.

Thanks

[Liz]

Have you got any kind of update since this happened? I have heard nothing about it and agree it is scary stuff. Who was the driver involved and who were the marshalls and what exactly happened?

[SL]

The accident occoured at the finish line, the car, a 1969 Lotus 63 3ltr, appeared to hit the finish gantry and then fly into the trees and break up.
The driver was John Dawson-Damer (AUS) who also owned the car. No news on the marshals.
It was tragic accident.

[Carrie]

Nasty, not what any of us want to hear has happened at any event. All we can hope now is that the two marshals are okay. Thanks for telling us what you know SL - and also welcome to Ten-tenths.

[Carrie]

This is taken from the Goodwood website:

Tragic accident at Goodwood Festival of Speed

The Honorable John Dawson-Damer has been fatally injured at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The cause of the accident is being investigated and there is unlikely to be further news until tomorrow.

The Earl of March, the founder of the Festival of Speed, said this evening:"I am extremly upset by the accident to John. I offer my deepest sympathy to his wife and family."

Mr. Dawson-Damer lived in Sydney.

Two BARC safety marshals were also injured in the accident. They are being treated in St. Richard' s Hospital at Chichester.

There will be no further news until tomorow. At present it is planed that the event will continue on Sunday.

[Craig]

Thanks for the updates guys - what did we do before the internet ? I've been trying to find news of the incident all evening on the traditional media of TV and radio, but no one has mentioned it bar teletext and a brief mention on the news earlier this evening. A sad, sad event.

Don't know if this is the right time to say this but, other than tragic incident, it was a really good day - some wonderful machinery on display. The soapbox race was a bit of a damp squib as each of the two races were red flagged an ambulances summoned up the hill - I think some of the guys were treating it far to seriously...

[Craig]

One final note on the driver. We were stood just after the first corner & watched the guy do up the hill - he was really tonking up there and looked to be having the time of his life. It is very sad, but at least he went doing something he obviously loved. I hope i'm lucky enough to be able to say the same.

[Liz]

These things happen in racing. I hope his family are coping - it is especially hard when it happens half a world away. I suppose we'll have it in AutoSport in due course. Thanks for the updates guys.

[Carrie]

Sadly, one more update. It was on the news this morning that one of the marshals has also died

[Sparky]

This is truly awful.

my deepest sympathy goes to John Dawson-Damer's family, and to those of the Marshall(s).

The Earl has tried so hard to make this a 'one-of-a-kind' occasion, with all the period charm of straw bales and grass, that the safety issues are easily forgotten. It is the nature of man to want to go fast, and even faster than the next fellow.

Not wanting to appear insensitive to those lost, but what effect do you suppose this will have on the event in future years? It's easy to say "They would have wanted it to continue", and I'm sure it's true, but still...

Will it ever be the same again?

A terrible beginning to a wonderful event.

[SL]

There was a report in today's Sunday Times that seemed to hint that the RAC would not allow the event to happen next year which would be a shame. Mr John Dawson I understand competed quite often and so must have been aware of the possible dangers. Although a very sad ending to Saturdays programme one hopes that next year some sort of tribute is arranged rather than to cancel the event

[Liz]

Perhaps by next year the RAC people will feel differently ... it is not good to make decisions under emotional stress. There was a lot of fuss about the Fontana race not being stopped after Greg Moore was killed, but upon the pilotes and Greg's family saying they agreed with the decision, as "he would have wanted it that way", the protests died away.

Besides, it may be that the families will ask that it continue. And it is an all-too-sad reminder about how recently it was the norm that pilotes should die in pursuit of what they love.

Let us not forget the marshals as well - they even more than the pilotes are putting their lives at risk for our safety as well as our enjoyment.

[Peter Mallett]

Well, my sympathies go to the families of those who died yesterday at Goodwood. However, I don't think it is appropriate at this time for the authorities to say that the event may not happen next year. Whilst when I have attended, I found it a little claustrophobic, I know that there are many people who would miss this greatly.
Taking Liz's point about the Greg Moore incident. As with Greg the driver was doing what he wanted to do. If we take these things away from people, we all may as well curl up and die. Let's hope the authorities take the sensible view and let the proceedings continue next year and beyond.

[Carrie]

Just to echo what has already been said by Liz and Peter, now is not the time to make a decision about next years event. They need to wait a while until emotions aren't running quite so high and then make a rational decision.
Tragic though they are, I'd be very sad if Saturday's events spelled the end of Goodwood.

[Peter.S]

After watching the accident on both Sky News and ITV it was a pure accident.. If the news is that the MSA may stop the event next year, then I would ask the same of Rallying. I attended the Scottish Rally the other week and.. These Rally drivers are nutters (the spectators are not much better).

[Craig]

They actually showed the accident ? That is not good taste - cannot believe they did that. Actually, I CAN believe that Sky did it (I can remember them doing a slow motion replay of an errant engine leaving a crashing car and killing several people in the crowd) but i'd have thought ITV had more taste. I'm glad I didn't see it when I was flicking through each news report last night trying to find details of how the marshalls were.

[Craig]

I am very sorry to say that I have just seen the crash - I was just watching the news, and there it was. That was horrible & they /never/ should have shown that on TV - exactly what the relatives of the marshalls and the driver needed. Who OK'd the release of that film to the news companies ? Surely the Goodwood Estate own the copyright & could have prevented such a nasty thing getting air time ?

On the plus side (if there can be one), they did confirm that it was 'only' one of the marshalls who was killed. Sincere condolences to his friends and family.

[TimD]

I was just wondering the same thing, Craig. I saw the pictures at about 4.20 this afternoon, and I recognised the gantry position of the camera from previous Goodwood videos. Someone somewhere has made a terrible error of judgement letting that tape out.

I'm also startled to note that even if the news media were determined to play it, it was only too obvious that there is a figure in the picture. There are things such as watersheds and standards, even for news footage.

With my aviation enthusiast hat on, I quite regularly have to sit through replays of the latest air show mishap on the news, knowing that someone I recognise as more than just a name was in the cockpit. But at least that is often reserved for broadcast in the late night bulletins. Most disappointed in that lapse, too.

Equally insensitive was the Sunday Times, which illustrated their piece with an image of the smashed tub, and a distressingly obvious blue tarp covering something in the foreground. Totally unnecessary.

Incidentally, I've heard no reports on BBC or Sky at this time to suggest that both marshals had succumbed. Thank heaven for one small mercy.

[Craig]

A couple of news reports which i've been able to find confirm that one marshall was killed. Sadly the other lost a leg in the incident.

http://news6.thdo.bbc.co.uk/hi/engli...000/805665.stm
http://www.autosport.com/article1.cfm?id=10315&ref=home

[Robin Plummer]

I sincerly hope they do not cancel the event next year becuse of these deaths. No one wants to be killed, but you cannont stop something like this. If this was 1969, it would be an acceptable thing to happen as 3 drivers per year died on avergae in GP's. I not saying it should be ignored, but Motor Racing is a very dangerous sport and drivers, specatators and marshalls all know this when we got to it, just look on the back of your tickets for the disclaimer. As Stirling Moss said recently todays F1 cars are too safe, you need the risk. This accident highlights how far we have come since the times when the Lotus was racing for real.

[Slowcoach]

A brief article in today's Daily Telegraph states....

"That the driver of a veteran Formula One car is beleived to have died of a heart attack moments before killing a marshal and injuring another at Goodwood."

The rest of the details in the article are already known to you all . Personally I hope these are the circumstances as I feel this would leave all concerned free of blame - ruling out driver error or mechanical failure as the causes of this tragic accident.

[Dan Friel]

Heart attack seems likely from what I saw... Car didn't brake or even attempt to spin, something that you'd expect in those instances....

[marcus]

it certainly was a shame that this accident happened on what was supposed to be a fun time for all. condolences to all the families involved.


also is there anywhere i could get a list of drivers attending and what machines they were driving..sounds like a great time just would be nice to know who was driving what ?