Three crashes involving vintage race cars occurred at the 74th Goodwood Member's Meeting; a Lola T70 driven by Michiel Smits, an incident between a Cooper T51 and a Lotus Climax 18, and finally a 1963 Shelby Cobra. Thanks to proper safety measures and flawless performance by the track crew, none of the drivers involved suffered serious injuries.  

The number 63 Cobra was driven by Karsten Le Blanc, an experienced Dutch driver who has been known to participate in such events. The car is an authentic 1963 model fitted with a Le Mans-style hardtop.

Approaching the end of the Lavant Straight, the Cobra appears to have lost control under braking and crashed face-first into the tire wall. The Cobra’s aluminum bodywork absorbed the impact fairly well, but was left in a pretty sad state afterwards. While Le Blanc was able to walk away from the incident, the Cobra was not. The number 63 car will no doubt be rebuilt, but will surely suffer from a noted accident on its CarFax history report.

Photos courtesy of Dave Rook