'Probe goes on into double-death tragedy'
A
major investigation was still under way today into an horrific 100mph crash
which killed a driver and a race marshal at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on
Saturday afternoon.
But
a claim in one national newspaper on Monday that the future of the huge event
could be now in doubt was firmly rejected by organisers, who pledged that it
would continue.
Thousands of people saw the accident on television monitors, as a 1969 Gold Leaf
Lotus 63 Formula One car, driven by the Hon. John Dawson-Damer, 59, brother of
the Earl of Portarlington, went out of control and smashed into a marshals' post
at the finishing line.
Mr Dawson-Damer, from Sydney, Australia, was killed instantly. Marshal Andrew
Carpenter, 40, of Polegate, East Sussex, died later in St Richard's Hospital,
Chichester. A second marshal, Steve Tarrant, 40, of Poole, Dorset, whose lower
right leg was sheared off by the car, was later said to be "stable" in
St Richard's.
There was speculation this week that the driver could have suffered a heart
attack moments before the accident, but after a post-mortem examination at the
hospital on Tuesday, police said death was caused by injuries received in the
accident. Officers took away the car for examination, and a Sussex police
spokesman said details of their findings would not be revealed until an inquest
into the deaths of the two men was held.
Chichester District Council said the accident was also being investigated by its
environmental health officers. "The investigation will be thorough and
conducted alongside that of the police and the coroner's officer," a
spokesman added. The council would be discussing the matter with the Motor
Sports Association and the British Automobile Racing Club, which are involved in
the investigations.
The Earl of March told the Observer this week; "We will of course listen to
all of the organisations involved in the investigation. We have worked very hard
in the past to make sure the event is as safe as it possibly can be. We will
consider any recommendations."
The crash cast a shadow over the biggest and most spectacular Festival of Speed
since the event was founded by Lord March eight years ago. The attendance of
109,280 for the three days broke all previous records, topping the 1999 figure
by more than 8,000. Mr Dawson-Damer's wife, Ashley, was among horrified
spectators who saw the live television pictures of the crash, just after 4pm on
Saturday. Spectators saw ambulances and police cars race to the scene as
paramedics tried to help Mr Dawson-Damer and the marshals.
There has been one other fatality at the Festival of Speed - a motor-cyclist was
killed in its first year in 1993.
The tragedy on Saturday happened while Mr Dawson-Damer's car, one of ten in the
time trial, was speeding towards the end of the track. An immediate inquiry was
launched into whether he lost control, or whether the vehicle had any defects.
The remainder of the day's hill climb events were cancelled, but resumed on
Sunday, Lord March considered calling off all of the rest of the programme, but
revealed that Mr Dawson-Damer's family wanted it to go ahead.
Formula One star Johnny Herbert spoke of the dangers of motorsport when he paid
a tribute to John Dawson-Damer at Sunday night's Festival of Speed prize giving.
"He was a good friend of mine, a Lotus fanatic who told me at the beginning
of the year that he was going to rebuild the Lotus 63," said the Jaguar
driver. "He did it and took his life. John knew the risks because
motor-racing is dangerous, and it can catch you out.
Canon Lionel Weber chaplain to the British Racing Drivers' Club, led prayers for
the two men who died in Saturday's accident.
