Motorsport is one of the most dangerous species sports in the world. And though Lately organizers pay increased attention to the safety of races, even if at the expense of entertainment, athletes continue to die on the tracks.
Often the participants in the tragedy are not only racers who participate in competitions at their own peril and risk and are well aware of the price they will have to pay for a mistake, but also ordinary spectators who come to the stands to enjoy the races. And despite all the horrors that, thanks to modern technology, are gaining hundreds of thousands and millions of views on YouTube, there are no fewer riders or those who want to listen to the roar of powerful engines “live”.
Some spectators, for example, fans of the popular NASCAR racing series in the USA, are made fun of, believing that they come to the stands to see more accidents, fire, loss of life - just like the ancient Romans visited the Colosseum. Well, every joke has its share of jokes...
10. Accident near Tom
On the day of Russia, on June 12, a 46-year-old British participant in the Beijing-Paris vintage car rally, which takes place in 15 Russian regions, became a participant. A woman driving a Chevrolet 6 Tourer died as a result of a collision with an ordinary car that did not participate in the rally and was moving in the opposite direction - a Volkswagen Polo.
The accident occurred due to the fault of a "civilian" car. The Volkswagen driver jumped into the oncoming lane and could not avoid a collision. The driver and the infant died in the accident. The child's mother, who was also in the car, was taken to the intensive care unit. In connection with the incident, the rally participants will drive at minimum speed and without overtaking until the next checkpoint. The race will resume on Friday 14 June.
9. The accident of Maria de Vilotte
One of the most notorious recent accidents for Russia occurred at the aviation training ground in Duxford. The only casualty was the reserve pilot. Russian team Formula 1 Marussia Maria de Villota.
The girl's car, which participated in aerodynamic tests, was heading towards the service area at low speed when it collided with the platform of a truck parked nearby. According to witnesses, the car suddenly accelerated and crashed into a stationary car.
For half an hour, while the girl was removed from the cockpit, she showed no signs of life. Maria came to herself only in the hospital and was even able to make a phone call, but then her condition worsened and the doctors were forced to put her into an artificial coma and perform a surgical intervention. As a result of the accident, the girl lost her eye. She was no longer able to continue her career as an F1 pilot and was forced to become a commentator on Spanish television.
8. Jochen Rindt
In early September 1970, one of the best Austrian racers, 28-year-old Jochen Rindt. A couple of months after the tragedy, Rindt was posthumously declared the champion of Formula 1 - before his death, Jochen managed to score so many points that no one could beat the Austrian. Rindt is the only posthumous title holder.
During Saturday's practice session for the Italian Grand Prix, Rindt's Lotus was decelerating into a fast and difficult turn when the Parabolica was blown off course and thrown into the bump stop. The car fell under the fences and crashed straight into the barrier post - the most rigid part of the structure.
The reason for the death of the athlete was the seat belt - from the impact, the buckle slipped from its position and squeezed the rider's throat. Rindt for a long time refused to use a seat belt, claiming that it hinders his movements and reactions during performances.
7. Greg Moore
In October 1999, the death of a 24-year-old Greg Moore at the final stage of the CART series, the American analogue of Formula 1, in Fontana, shocked the entire US motorsports community - Moore was a rising superstar of local racing and a favorite of the public, and the tragedy with new force raised a discussion about the safety of motorsports.
At one of the early restarts, Moore's car turned around at the exit of the turn, after which the uncontrollable car at a speed of over 320 km / h flew to the side of the road and rolled over. The machine made several revolutions around its axis and on great speed crashed into the fence of the inner part of the track. Racer got severe injuries head and neck, as well as countless internal injuries. A few hours later, doctors diagnosed the death of the pilot.
Moore was considered one of the brightest and most fearless pilots of his generation. He started winning races already in his second season in CART. In 1999, a few weeks before his death, Greg's contract with the team was announced. Penske, one of the grandees of the championship, and it seemed that the pilot's career would reach a fundamentally new level.
6. Dan Weldon
Death Dan Weldon in October 2011, it became another shock for the world of motorsport - during the IndyCar round on the track in Las Vegas, one of the best racers on the planet, who won championship titles and the most prestigious races, crashed in an accident.
The incident occurred on lap 11 of the oval race. Due to the small difference in the speed of the cars, two and a half dozen riders were in a tight group. Contact between two cars at a speed of about 330-340 km / h led to a blockage involving 15 cars, many of which simply did not have time to change direction. After a collision with one of the rivals, Weldon's car took off about a hundred meters above the track and rolled over in the air and crashed into the fencing net. From the force of the impact, the protective structures of the machine were destroyed, and the damaged safety arc could not prevent the pilot from hitting his head on the bump stop.
Dan Weldon became the IndyCar champion in 2005, after which he changed the team, in which his results began to decline. Subsequently, Dan had to spend two years in the middle team, but in 2011 the Englishman again reminded of himself, winning the most prestigious American race Indianapolis 500 for the second time in his career. After this triumph, a contract for 2012 was signed with Weldon Michael Andretti, in whose team Dan previously became the champion.
5. Dale Earnhardt Sr.
The news of the accident is spread all over the world and enters the history of motorsport for two reasons: either a lot of people died as a result of a collision, or one, but legendary, died.
The last happened on February 18, 2001 during one of the most prestigious and popular races in the USA - the Daytona 500. On this day, at the age of 49, perhaps the most legendary American racer passed away. Dale Earnhardt Sr.. To list all his titles is not enough for the entire article. There could have been more of them if not for the ill-fated collision on the last of the five hundred laps of the race.
After making contact with an opponent's car, Dale's car lost control and crashed into a concrete barrier at full speed. From the outside, the collision did not seem so serious, but by the end of the day, the doctors of the hospital, to which the legendary racer was urgently taken, ascertained his death.
4. Wolfgang von Trips
The worst accident in the history of Formula 1 occurred on September 10, 1961 on the second lap of the legendary track in Monza, Italy.
The driver who was leading at that time in the championship became the victim of the accident Ferrari graph Wolfgang von Trips. Together with him, the pilot of the red car took the lives of 14 spectators to the next world. His car flew into the stands at the very beginning of the race after a collision with the car of the British "stable" lotus.
3. Gilles Villeneuve
Not the bloodiest, but one of the most remembered by the audience, the accident occurred with a Canadian Formula 1 racer Gilles Villeneuve.
The tragedy occurred on May 8, 1982 during the qualification of the Belgian Grand Prix at the Zolder circuit. After making contact with an opponent's car, Villeneuve's car rolled over in the air several times and crashed onto the track. The pilot himself, for unknown reasons, flew out of the car. Medics found his body at the chipper, where they tried to provide emergency assistance. Gilles was urgently taken to the hospital, but the doctors stated a spinal fracture that was not compatible with life.
Son of Gilles Jacques Villeneuve at that moment was 11 years old. And just seven years later, he began his professional career driver in the Italian Formula 3, seven years later, Jacques became the second in the overall standings of Formula 1, and in 1997 he won the world championship in the "royal" racing, dedicating the victory to his father.
2. Pierre Levegh
Crash involving a French driver Pierre Levegh considered the bloodiest in the history of all motor sports. The tragedy occurred in 1955 during the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans, which Levegh had been trying to win since 1938.
And now, being already a veteran, he received an invitation from one of the strongest teams of that time - Mercedes. As a result, instead of triumph, tragedy occurred. Levegh's car, moving at full speed, stumbled upon a car that slowed down in front and, due to the special structure of the body, took off into the air. Everything would have worked out if the car had landed on the highway or on the side of the road. But the flat car flew into the stands too close to the track.
Having fallen on spectators a car, the body of which contained magnesium in in large numbers, ignited. As a result, 86 more spectators died along with the driver himself, and the Mercedes factory team stopped participating in the legendary race for a long 32 years, returning to the Le Mans track only in 1987.
1. Ayrton Senna
The most famous accident in the history of motorsport claimed the life of only one person, but what. May 1, 1994 on the seventh round of the Formula 1 Grand Prix in San Marino, the three-time world champion Brazilian died Ayrton Senna.
The day before the race, another pilot died in qualifying, an Austrian Roland Ratzenberger. But the race was still decided to hold. Already on the second lap, as a result of a collision of other pilots, it became necessary to release a safety car onto the track, which reduced the speed of the pilots, in order to enable the track services to remove the fragments of cars scattered on the roadway.
The race was continued on the sixth lap, and on the seventh lap Ayrton Sena's car flew off the track at full speed, ramming the fences. The race was suspended, and Senna's body, showing no signs of life, was transported by helicopter to the hospital. In the hospital, it turned out that Senna's brain was already dead and there was no chance of getting out of a coma. It was decided to disconnect his body from the means that artificially supported life in it.
The most famous of this accident is also because, until now, there are too many unknowns in the whole history. The main mystery is the cause of the accident. According to one version, the overheated tires could not withstand it, according to another, the vehicle control systems failed, according to the third, the pilot could not withstand the loads and fainted.
It is also unknown when Senna died, on the highway, on the way to the hospital, or already in the hospital. Everyone agrees on only one thing - the cause of death, which was caused by a blow to the head with a wheel with torn out elements of fastening to the body. It was they who pierced Senna's helmet and caused death.
Accident with Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR: 83 victims
On June 11, 1955 at 6:26 p.m., the worst tragedy in motorsport history occurred. At the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race, at the end of lap 35, at full speed, he crashed into the podium of a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR, driven by French racer Pierre Levegh. The car shattered into pieces, its engine and other parts flew straight at the fans, and as a result of this accident, 82 people were killed and the racer himself.
Le Mans was founded by 82-year-old Charles Faro, who was the chief judge on that ill-fated day. How unpleasant a person felt when he saw such a picture, especially at the end of his life, two years later he was gone. It was hard to come to terms with the fact that it was on the races he created that this terrible disaster occurred.
Restoration of events
The cameras captured the moment when Mike Hawthorne, who was driving the Jaguar D-Type, suddenly decided to go to the pit lane and left no room for Lance McLean's car. Then McLean tried to go around Hawthorne, but unsuccessfully shifted to the left, and cut off Levega's Mercedes. I would like to note that seat belts were not used at that time, they began to be used in the 60s, but not only this fact could cause the death of the rider. After that, the Mercedes took off over the track, flew over the fence and flew straight into the stands with the audience. It was terrible to look at this picture, fragments of the car fell on people, then there was an explosion of a fuel tank, there was a serious fire. The flames intensified due to the fact that they began to extinguish the magnesium body of the Mercedes. The fire lasted for several hours and many spectators did not even understand what had happened, the competition did not stop so as not to raise a panic. By that time, it was necessary to provide access roads for ambulances.
The incident was also witnessed by one of the riders Juan Manuel Fangio, who was at that moment behind Levegh, Hawthorne and McLean. He said that Levegh understood everything that was happening, but he could no longer do anything, and therefore waved his hand at him. Fangio managed to slow down, which was his salvation. The chief of the racing team, Alfred Neubauer, who invited Levegh to participate in these competitions, upon hearing the first data on the death toll, immediately removed the cars from his team. At this time, Fangio was in the lead, but it was no longer important. As a result, Mike Hawthorne became the winner of the 1955 Le Mans race.
After this ridiculous and terrible story, other competitions were canceled, including four Formula 1 races. In Switzerland, a law was passed banning competitions involving motor vehicles. And the Mercedes-Benz team left motorsport for a long time, until 1987. Only on June 7, 2007, the ban was partially lifted, but racing at the Grand Prix in Switzerland is still prohibited. What caused such an accident remains a mystery to us, according to one version it was a conspiracy, according to another it was just an accident.
On April 16, 1945, exactly 117 years after the death of Francisco Goya, the Goya ship was sunk by a torpedo attack carried out by a Soviet submarine. This catastrophe, which claimed 7,000 lives, was the largest shipwreck in world history.
"Goya" was a Norwegian cargo ship, requisitioned by the Germans. On April 16, 1945, it did not work out in the morning. The bombardment to which the ship was subjected became a grim omen of the coming catastrophe. Despite the defense, during the fourth raid, the projectile still hit the bow of the Goya. Several people were injured, but the ship remained afloat and it was decided not to cancel the flight.
For "Goya" it was the fifth evacuation flight from the advancing units of the Red Army. During the four previous campaigns, almost 20,000 refugees, wounded and soldiers were evacuated. The Goya went on its last flight loaded to capacity. Passengers were in the aisles, on the stairs, in the holds. Not everyone had documents, so the exact number of passengers has not yet been established, from 6000 to 7000. All of them believed that the war was over for them, made plans and were full of hope ...
The ships (Goya was escorted by a convoy) were already at sea when, at 22:30, surveillance noticed an unidentified silhouette on the right side of the ship. Everyone was ordered to put on rescue residents. There were only 1500 of them on board the Goya. In addition, on one of the ships of the group, the Kronenfels, there was a breakdown in the engine room. Waiting for the end of the repair work, the ships lay adrift. An hour later, the ships continued on their way. At 23:45, the Goya shuddered from a powerful torpedo attack. The Soviet submarine L-3, following the ships, began to act. Panic broke out on the Goya. Jochen Hannema, a German tanker who became one of the few survivors, recalled: “Water rushed out of the huge holes formed as a result of torpedo hits. The ship broke into two parts and began to sink rapidly. All that was heard was the eerie rumble of a huge mass of water. A huge ship, devoid of partitions, sank in some 20 minutes. Only 178 people survived.
"Wilhelm Gustlow"
On January 30, 1945, at 21:15, the S-13 submarine discovered in the Baltic waters the German transport Wilhelm Gustlov, accompanied by an escort, carrying, according to modern estimates, over 10 thousand people, most of whom were refugees from East Prussia : old people, children, women. But also on the Gustlov were German submarine cadets, crew members and other military personnel. Submarine captain Alexander Marinesko began hunting. For almost three hours, the Soviet submarine followed the giant transporter (the displacement of the Gustlov was over 25 thousand tons. For comparison: the steamer Titanic and the battleship Bismarck had a displacement of about 50 thousand tons). Having chosen the moment, Marinesko attacked the Gustlov with three torpedoes, each of which hit the target. The fourth torpedo with the inscription "For Stalin" got stuck. The submariners miraculously managed to avoid an explosion on the boat. [Fleeing from the pursuit of the German military escort, the C-13 was bombed by over 200 depth charges.
The sinking of the Wilhelm Gustlov is considered one of the major disasters in maritime history. According to official figures, 5,348 people died in it, according to some historians, real losses could exceed 9,000.
They were called the "Ships of Hell". These were Japanese merchant ships used to transport prisoners of war and workers (in fact, slaves, who were nicknamed "romushi") to the territories occupied by the Japanese during the Second World War. The “ships of hell” were not officially part of the Japanese navy and did not have identification marks, but the allied forces drowned them no less fiercely from this. In total, 9 "Ships of Hell" were sunk during the war, on which almost 25 thousand people died.
It is worth saying that the British and Americans could not have been unaware of the "cargo" that was transported on the ships, since the Japanese ciphers were deciphered.
The biggest disaster occurred on September 18, 1944. The British submarine Tradewind torpedoed the Japanese ship Junyo Maru. Of the life-saving equipment on the ship, stuffed to capacity with prisoners of war, there were two lifeboats and several rafts. On board were 4.2 thousand workers, 2.3 thousand prisoners of war Americans, Australians, British, Dutch and Indonesians.
The conditions in which the slaves had to survive on ships were simply horrendous. Many went crazy, died of exhaustion and stuffiness. When the torpedoed ship began to sink, there was no chance for the ship's prisoners to escape. The boats accompanying the "ship of hell" took only the Japanese and a small part of the prisoners on board. In total, 680 prisoners of war and 200 romushi remained alive.
"Armenia"
The cargo-passenger ship "Armenia" was built in Leningrad and was used on the line Odessa - Batumi. During the Great Patriotic War in August 1941, "Armenia" was converted into a medical transport ship. The board and deck began to be “decorated” with large red crosses, which, in theory, were supposed to protect the ship from attacks, but ...
During the defense of Odessa, "Armenia" made 15 flights to the besieged city, from where more than 16 thousand people were taken on board. The last flight of "Armenia" was a campaign from Sevastopol to Tuapse in November 1941. On November 6, having taken on board the wounded, almost the entire medical personnel of the Black Sea Fleet and civilians, "Armenia" left Sevastopol.
At night, the ship arrived in Yalta. The captain of the "Armenia" was forbidden to make the transition to Tuapse during daylight hours, but the military situation dictated otherwise. The port of Yalta did not have cover to protect against German air raids, and German troops were already on the near approaches to the city. And there was almost no choice ...
At 8 am on November 7, "Armenia" left Yalta and headed for Tuapse. At 11:25 a.m., the ship was attacked by a German He-111 torpedo bomber and sank less than 5 minutes after the torpedo hit the bow. Between 4,000 and 7,500 people were killed along with "Armenia", and only eight managed to escape. So far, the reasons for this terrible tragedy cause controversy.
"Dona Paz"
The sinking of the Doña Paz ferry is the largest shipwreck that has occurred in peacetime. This tragedy has become a cruel lesson, denouncing greed, unprofessionalism and slovenliness. The sea, as you know, does not forgive mistakes, and in the case of the Dania Paz, mistakes followed one after another. The ferry was built in Japan in 1963. At that time it was called "Himeuri Maru". In 1975, he was sold to the Philippines for a profit. Since that time, he has been exploited even more than mercilessly. Designed to carry a maximum of 608 passengers, it was usually packed to capacity, seating between 1,500 and 4,500 people.
Twice a week, the ferry carried passengers on the route Manila - Tacloban - Catbalogan - Manila - Catbalogan - Tacloban - Manila. On December 20, 1987, the Doña Paz left on her last voyage from Tacloban to Manila. This flight was filled with a maximum of passengers - the Filipinos were in a hurry to the capital for the New Year.
At ten in the evening of the same day, the ferry collided with the huge tanker Vector. From the collision, both ships literally broke in half, thousands of tons of oil spilled into the ocean. The explosion caused a fire. The chances of salvation were reduced to almost zero. The situation was aggravated by the fact that the ocean at the site of the tragedy was teeming with sharks.
One of the survivors, Paquito Osabel, later recalled: “Neither the sailors nor the officers of the ship reacted in any way to what was happening. Everyone demanded life jackets and a lifeboat, but there were none. The lockers where the vests were kept were locked, and the keys could not be found. The boats were thrown into the water just like that, without any preparation. Panic, chaos, chaos reigned.
The rescue operation began only eight hours after the tragedy. 26 people were caught from the sea. 24 are passengers of the Donji Paz, two are sailors from the tanker Vector. Official statistics, which cannot be trusted, speak of the death of 1,583 people. More objective, independent experts claim that 4,341 people died in the disaster.
"Cap Arkona"
"Cap Arkona" was one of the largest passenger ships in Germany, with a displacement of 27,561 tons. Having survived almost the entire war, Cap Arkona died after the capture of Berlin by the Allied forces, when on May 3, 1945 the liner was sunk by British bombers.
Benjamin Jacobs, one of the prisoners at Cap Arcona, wrote in The Dentist of Auschwitz: “Airplanes suddenly appeared. We clearly saw their insignia. "It's the English! Look, we are KaTsetniki! We are prisoners of concentration camps!” we shouted and waved our hands at them. We waved our striped camp hats and pointed to our striped clothes, but there was no compassion for us. The British began to throw napalm at the shaking and burning Cap Arcona. On the next run, the planes descended, now they were at a distance of 15 m from the deck, we could clearly see the pilot's face and thought that we had nothing to be afraid of. But then bombs rained down from the belly of the plane... Some fell on the deck, others into the water... Machine guns fired at us and at those who jumped into the water. The water around the sinking bodies turned red.
On board the blazing Cap Arcona, more than 4,000 prisoners were burned to death or suffocated by the smoke. Some prisoners managed to break free and jump into the sea. Those who managed to avoid the sharks were picked up by trawlers. 350 prisoners, many of whom suffered from burns, managed to get out before the liner capsized. They swam ashore, but became victims of the SS. In total, 5594 people died on Cap Arcone.
"Lancasteria"
About the tragedy that occurred on June 17, 1940, Western historiography prefers to remain silent. Moreover, a veil of oblivion covered this terrible catastrophe on the day it happened. This is due to the fact that on the same day France surrendered to the Nazi troops, and Winston Churchill decided not to report anything about the death of the ship, as this could break the morale of the British. This is not surprising: the Lancaster disaster was the largest mass death of the British during the Second World War, the number of victims exceeded the sum of the victims of the death of the Titanic and Louisitania.
Liner "Lancastria" was built in 1920 and after the outbreak of the Second World War was operated as a military vessel. On June 17, he evacuated troops from Norway. The German bomber Junkers 88, which noticed the ship, began bombing. The liner was hit by 10 bombs. According to official figures, there were 4,500 soldiers and 200 crew members on board. About 700 people were saved. According to unofficial data published in Brian Crabb's book on the disaster, it is said that the number of victims is deliberately underestimated.
Catastrophe
Las Vegas was one of the worst and most massive disasters in the history of motorsports. During final stage IndyCar series championship, a total of 15 cars were damaged, some very seriously. And the famous pilot Dan Weldon, whose car crashed into a barrier at full speed, died.
The accident at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which occurred on the night from Sunday to Monday, Moscow time, was yesterday the central plot of many American TV channels. There is nothing surprising. A disaster like the Las Vegas one last years nobody had to watch.
The pilot Ryan Briscoe who participated in this race, speaking about his feelings, said that he seemed to have fallen into a scene from the movie "Terminator": "There are pieces of metal all around, some debris, fire ..." And Danica Patrick, a woman who has been performing for a long time in the IndyCar championship on a par with men, she admitted that she had never been so scared as at the moment when the tragic events occurred, she had never been in her life.
They happened when 11 laps of this race were left behind, that is, just a few minutes after the start. However, forebodings that it could end badly, many arose long before him. The fact is that during the free races, the cars on the oval in Las Vegas developed some monstrous speeds - more than 350 km / h. And there were concerns that such a fast track could pose a safety hazard.
But, of course, no one would cancel it - too much in the race was at stake for IndyCar. Once upon a time, this American series competed in status and popularity with Formula 1, its essentially analogue. However, IndyCar's ratings have fallen in recent times. The executive director of the series, Randy Bernard, did not even rule out that he might resign: the board of directors made serious claims against him.
The final stage of the season was supposed to correct the situation. At least he promised a spectacular fight: the track is ultra-fast, two pilots are fighting for the title - Dario Franchitti and Will Power. A bonus of $5 million was supposed to provide additional intrigue. The organizers appointed such a reward to the driver who, without having a permanent place in any team in the season, dares to enter the race and win it.
Actually because of the bonus, Dan Weldon found himself on the track. This season, he could not find a job in any team. "Stable" Andretti Autosport planned to conclude a full-fledged contract with him immediately after the end of the stage, and on Sunday counted on a good performance of the pilot in Las Vegas.
There were indeed reasons to count on him. 33-year-old Briton Dan Weldon, who has been living in America for more than ten years, was considered a star. In 2005, he won the championship title, won 16 stages of the series during his career. Two of them are the legendary Indianapolis 500, an iconic race in motorsport. For the first time he won it in 2005, the second time - this spring ... Before the race, he himself claimed that he hoped to come first: if only, starting behind the leaders of the championship, to get to them and grab the tail.
He almost made it when the car in front of him, driven by Wade Cunningham, touched the wheel of JR Hildebrand's car. "Indycar" races, in principle, differ from the "formula" races in the rigidity and density of the struggle. But the consequences of this contact were somehow unique in their destructiveness.
Hildebrand's car overturned, Cunningham's car crashed into a bump stop. And those who rode behind could no longer dodge. The next five seconds turned into seconds of real hell. Power miraculously survived crashing into the fence: he could well have been killed by his own wheel, which, having fallen off, almost ruined the cockpit. Pippa Mann was also on the verge of death, but got off lightly: together with Hildebrand, he ended up in the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Only Dan Weldon was unlucky. He ran into rear wheel Paul Tracy's car. The British car was thrown up as if on a trampoline, and it slammed into the fence with all its might, turning into a pile of blazing debris in an instant.
An ambulance arrived on the road promptly. Weldon was evacuated by helicopter to the hospital. The race was cancelled, but no one left the arena. Two hours later, the pilots and spectators were told the tragic news: Weldon did not survive.
American experts do not exclude that his death will entail changes in the IndyCar regulations - similar to those that the tragedy of 1994 entailed in Formula 1: then, within the framework of one racing weekend in San Marino, Roland Ratzenberger and the great Ayrton Senna crashed to death. The number of victims of "Formula 1" then reached 43 people, and the team went to tighten security at the expense of entertainment. As a result, there have been no fatal accidents since then.
IndyCar, despite the seemingly harsher format, has long been considered a relatively safe series. The list of pilots who died in it now has four people. However, all these tragedies have been within the past 15 years. In 1996, Scott Brighton crashed to death, in 2003 - Tony Renna, and in 2006 - Paul Dana.
Alexey Dospekhov
“, the site brings to your attention the 10 worst accidents that have occurred in the world of motorsport.
1. Formula 1. 1994 Grand Prix of San Marino. AyrtonSenna
Stage in Imola, perhaps, was the saddest for all fans of Formula 1. In 1994, during a race weekend, two riders died at once, one of which was three-time world champion Ayrton Senna. There are many rumors and versions about the reasons for the tragic death of the Brazilian Magician to this day, and the section of the track called Tamburello has become a synonym for danger and fear for all pilots for a long time. The history of the tragedy caused a reassessment of the safety standards of the “royal races” and cut short the magnificent career of one of the best drivers in the history of motorsport.
2. 24 Hours of Le Mans. 1955 Pierre Levegh
The accident that resulted in the death of Mercedes pilot Pierre Levegh and 82 spectators of the competition occurred in 1955 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans series. The German car, flying into the gravel fence, took off into the air and flew straight into the spectator stands, where a hail of car debris fell on the spectators. After this accident, the German concern left motorsport for almost 40 years.
3. Formula 1. year 2001. Australian Grand Prix. Jacques Villeneuve and Ralf Schumacher
The accident in 2001 at the Australian Grand Prix was overshadowed not even by the collision of the 1997 world champion and the brother of the “great and terrible” Schumacher, but by the subsequent tragedy, the cause of which was ... a wheel from a Canadian racing car. As a result of a collision between two riders, a wheel flew off Villeneuve's car, which flew off at breakneck speed and hit the marshal of the track, who was responsible for the safety of the race. As a result hard hit an employee of the autodrome has died.
4. "Indy-500". 1964 Dave McDonald
The debut race for Ford driver Dave McDonald was remembered for a long time. As a result of the failure of the brakes, the driver's car crashed into the concrete fence of the track at high speed, which caused the car to catch fire. Huge clubs smoke filled the entire track, blocking the view of the rest of the race. Having lost visual reference points, many racers found themselves in a massive blockage. The organizers of the competition had to stop and postpone the race for three and a half hours.
5. NHRA. 2005 year. Scott Kalit
In addition to the main racing series, and very unusual racing disciplines are rich in incidents. In 2005, during the qualifying races, Toyota driver Scott Kalit, driving at a speed of 450 km / h, did not notice spontaneous combustion of his own car. The resulting flames destroyed the brake parachutes and the rider's car flew into a gravel trap at the end of the track. As a result of his injuries, Kalit died in the hospital.
6. Formula 1. 2010 European Grand Prix. Mark Webber.
The European Grand Prix, held in Valencia, Spain, clearly demonstrated recent achievements security in royal races". Pilot "Red Bull" Mark Webber, bypassing the circle of his opponent from the "Lotus" (Now - "Caterham") Heikki Kovalainen, hooked on the rear axle of the Finn's car, and soared into the sunny Spanish sky. Taught by the bitter experience of the past, the automobile association responsible for the safety of racers has proved that it is not in vain that it functions - two hours after the accident, Webber posed for photographers.
7. Formula 1. 1976 Nurburgring. Niki Lauda.
Three time champion world Niki Lauda, as well as his colleagues from other automotive sports disciplines, "marked" a burning car during the race. Having lost control, the driver's car hit the side railing of the track at high speed, as a result of which the car was quickly enveloped in flames, making a fireball out of the Ferrari in a matter of seconds. It is worth noting the courage of the Austrian - after the accident, the rider personally went on the track and warned his rivals about the wreckage on this section of the track.
8. Rally. 2011. Italy. Robert Kubica
Polish racer Robert Kubica, who competed in Formula 1 for Renault, became a victim of his own hobby. One of the athlete's favorite hobbies is rally performance, to which the pilot devotes almost all his time, free from performances in "big prizes". Having taken part in the Italian stage of the rally, the Pole's car was torn off at the entrance to the turn, as a result of which the car hit the track fence. The pilot received severe hand injuries, which practically put an end to Kubica's "formula" career. IN this moment, almost two years later, the rider continues the process of rehabilitation and still, from time to time, returns to the wheel of a rally car.
9. "IndyCar". 2011. Dan Weldon
One of the worst and most massive accidents occurred in 2011 during the legendary Indianapolis 500. The mistake of one pilot in the peloton caused a massive blockage on the track and ended the life of two-time champion Dan Weldon.
10. Formula 1. 1978 Grand Prix of Italy. Ronnie Petersen.
The accident at the Italian Grand Prix in 1978 was a record for the number of cars involved in the blockage, resulting in the death of one of the riders. Chaos and confusion in the peloton at the start of the race led to the fact that 11 riders were involved in a huge accident. Ronnie Petersen's car, as a result of collisions, flew off the track fence and caught fire. The pilot was pulled out of the burning car, but the next day the athlete died in the hospital.
