Credit: YouTube/Goodwood Road & Racing
A racing driver was lucky to escape unscathed from a frightening accident after being launched from a 120-year-old car at Goodwood.
Mark Walker was thrown from the Darracq 200hp, which set the land speed record in 1906, when he lost control coming out of the final corner at Sunday’s 82nd Members’ Meeting.
Walker was chasing down leader Julian Majzub in a Sunbeam Indianapolis in the SF Edge Trophy, an event specifically for cars from the Edwardian era that were raced up to 1918, when he ran wide onto the grass at the final chicane.
The error sent Walker into a spin and careering into the barriers on the opposite side of the track, destroying the Darracq in the process. Unfortunately for Walker, the car was still in its original specification, meaning there were no safety belts to keep him secured and so the impact sent the British driver hurtling into the wall.
Marshalls rushed to his aid, but Walker was able to get up soon after the impact, allaying immediate fears for his condition.
The Darracq was used to set a new land speed record of 122.45 mph in 1906 and was sold at auction by Bonhams in 2006 for £200,000, yet was reduced to a crumpled wreck by the collision.
The accident cost Walker what looked likely to be a second win of the weekend, having emerged victorious in Saturday’s first race, with Majzub taking the chequered flag on Sunday.
However, as Majzub failed to finish Saturday’s opener he missed out on overall victory, Ben Collings claiming the spoils behind the wheel of a 1907 Mercedes 120hp.
The Goodwood meeting is an annual event that features several different races involving historic racing cars as well as demo runs by modern-day supercars and grand prix racers.
The 27-car SF Edge Trophy is also believed to have been the largest collection of Edwardian cars to race together since the First World War, having been restricted to pre-war cars for the first time in the event’s history.
