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A flat picture converted to a 3D anaglyph--requires red/cyan glasses free at this site:

http://www.rainbowsymphony.com/freestuff.html

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Finish driver Hans Laine started his racing career in rallying, finishing 7th at the 1967 Acropolis Rally and getting very close to winning the 1969 1000 Lakes rally before dropping out with transmission failure.

Aarno Wihuri, the Volkswagen and Porsche importer for Finland decided to go Sportscar racing in 1970 and Hans got his big chance in curcuit racing, signing for the AAW Team.

Paired with Dutch driver Gijs van Lennep, Laine drove their Porsche 908/2 to an excellent fourth place in terribly wet conditions at the April BOAC 500. Laine's rally experience allowed him to shine in the terrible conditions at Brands Hatch. At the next round at Monza he drove a Porsche 917 for AAW. Laine drove magnificiently at the 1970 Targa Florio to earn another fourth place. After six years of racing, his career was now beginning to blossom and it was rumored Hans Laine had already signed for John Wyer Automotive to drive a works Gulf Porsche 917K at Mans. Hans was certainly seen as one of the most promising young racers around at the time.

For the ADAC 1000 km round at the Nürburgring, Laine and van Lennep would race the 908/2 which was better suited for the Nordschleife. During practice Hans clipped a hedge and damaged the front winglet on the left hand side of the car (see picture one), he may not have been aware of this but it would have upset the aerodynamics of the car, namely that it would lose downforce.

When Laine reached the famous hump at the Dottinger Höhe straight near the bridge, the same spot where Henri Grandsire suffered a terrible accident two years earlier, the combination of a broken front spoiler, strong headwinds and over-inflated tyres proved to be disastrous. Going at full throttle, the Porsche lacked the required downforce to stick to the track at the hump; it lifted its nose from the ground and took off. Just as an out of control speed boat, it flew high and flipped backward, executing a perfect flip-over. The car then crashed heavily against the pavement and rolled. The 908 came to rest upside down with Hans trapped in the cockpit.

This piece is from Anthony Pritchard's review of the season,

'Just as Saturday's practice was coming to an end, there occured one of the most horrible motor racing accidents in a very long time. Hans Laine, an exceptionally promising young Sports Car driver, was scrubbing in some new tyres on the AAW 908 which had lost one of it's front spoilers. Although the car was travelling comparatively slowly, it took off on the bump at the bridge on the main straight and, probably because the driver did not keep the steering dead straight, landed on one wheel and rolled sideways along the track before coming to a rest. The driver struggled to escape from the up-turned car, but no sooner had marshalls come to his assistance than the car burst into flames and Laine perished in the inferno. This was a tragic blow to Sports Car racing, but for those on the scene, none were more effected than his close friend, Leo Kinnunen.'

This next piece is from the excellent Motorsport Memorial website,
'Van Lennep recalls that Laine was alive and conscious when the rescue team and fellow driver Gerhard Koch reached the Porsche. They worked frantically to get him out of the 908/2 as fuel was leaking. Unfortunately, though, a fire broke out before they succeeded. The marshals' firefighting equipment, made only of small extinguishers, was not able to extinguish the fire. The poor young Finn pushed the door of the Porsche with his shoulder but was unable to open it. Only after fifteen minutes was the fire finally put out; Laine had perished in the flames. Hannu Kahi, manager of the AAW Racing Team, tells a different story: according to him the race doctor informed that Laine had died of a broken neck. Amidst the tragic loss of such a enormous talent, Laine's precise causa mortis seems an insignificant detail. Laine's death deprived the Finnish racing scene of one of its most brilliant drivers.'

Hans left a wife and a five month old daughter.

There are very few photo's of the incident, none of the actual accident and these are the only ones of the aftermath that I've seen. These are basically the same, the car has been turned over and Laines body removed after the fire was extingushed.

A truly tragic and horrible crash.

[BELEIVEIT]

I have some pictures from Earnhardts car he died in. Hope its ok to post them here. I thought I got them from DR but did a search and could not find them. I don't know where I got them now.

[BELEIVEIT]

Some More:

[BELEIVEIT]

Seat belt exam photos:

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Belts and steering wheel

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Bloody belts and seat:

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Very interesting (and very sad) pictures BELIEVEIT, I've never seen these before, thanks.

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Archie Scott-Brown's fatal Sportscar crash at Spa in 1958 in a Lister-Jaguar. He lost control on the damp track while battling with Masten Gregory. His car went into a field and rolled, bursting into flames, he died of his injuries the following day.

Archie took part in one GP, the British GP in 1956, driving a Connaught.

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The only photo's I've seen of the aftermath of Italian born rally, sportcar and F1 racer Lucien Bianchi's fatal crash in 1969 during practice at Le Mans in an Alfa T33. Lucien lost control on the Mulsanne straight at very high speed and hit a telegraph pole, the car disintegrated and burst into flames, leaving him with no chance of survival.

Lucien finished 3rd at the Monaco GP in a Cooper in '68 and 6th in Belgium the same year. He competed in 17 GP's. He won the 1968 Le Mans in a Gulf Ford GT40. Bianchi was leading the London-Sydney marathon in '68 when near to the end he had a crash with a non-competing vehicle and broke his ankle (last photo).