[AlvinKarpis]

Pics

[Viking64]

Montreal is the only F1 race I have been to. (1999) I had seen these pictures before but I wasn't aware of where this happened.

[AlvinKarpis]

Originally Posted by The Dark ↗

Jo Schlesser?

[B.T.]

Alvin, thank you for all the time and effort that has gone into your posts. I've been reading off and on for three days now to get caught up and I am truly humbled as a young(er) fan of motor sports to see the history and to be able to read the back story to some of these events. It's honestly been a history lesson for me, and I thank you. Now I'm going back to the first post to re-read, because I know I've missed things.

[windowlicker]

AlvinKarpis beat me to it, but the Jo Schlesser crash is a particularly horrific one.

Jo was 40 years of age when he got his first chance in Grand Prix Racing. He was a well respected sportcar and F2 driver and when Honda France decided to debut their brand new air-cooled RA302 at the 1968 French GP at Rouen he was the obvious 'home' driver to hire.

Lead Honda driver John Surtees was unhappy about this as he felt the car was under developed and not ready for racing.

In the opening laps of the race in pouring rain the car crashed into an earth bank, and rode high up it rolling down and bursting into flames. The fire burnt uncontrollably and by the time he was pulled clear and laid onto the track by the wrecked car, Schlesser was a burnt husk.

There were also a number of spectators on top of the banking that were burnt. Eyewitness stated that they had heard Jo's engine cut out and this was the reason for his loss of control. Also I have read that spectators had seen Jo half out of the car (no belts in 1968) as the car went up the bank. It seems very likely that he was dead on impact and thankfully not burnt to death in the terrible inferno.

Schlesser's wife and young daughter were at the race and for some time did not know the fate of their loved one, wether he was alive or dead, or even what hospital he had been taken to....

The second photo is particularly interesting, Jo's car (circled) can be seen spinning towards the bank.

[windowlicker]

As in a number of photo's posted by AlvinKarpis you can see Schlesser's terribly burnt body was pulled from the wreck and for a short time simply laid out on the track.

The race was not stopped and a number of cars drove through the sheet of flame that covered the road.

If you look through the smoke in this picture you can see Jo laid out on the track...

[windowlicker]

The first picture shows the scale of the bank that Schlesser crashed into although the picture is not from that race, it's bloody huge.

Eyewitness reports were that Jo's car rode up the bank and actually above spectators heads before coming down and rolling down the incline. You can see just how high the Honda flew.

Also note how the Honda RA302 gives the driver very little head protection...I don't think Jo survived the initial crash and roll.

I've added some pictures of the French veteran in happier times...

[windowlicker]

This is practice for the French GP 1968, the race in which Schlesser died.

Jackie Oliver in only his fourth GP, in his first year driving for Team Lotus had a very lucky escape. Something on the rear of the car broke, possibly the wing, sending the car out of control. It demolished a large wrought iron gate and completely destroyed the Lotus 49.

Jackie walked away with no injuries, he can be seen in the first picture wearing white overalls casually standing by the wreckage.

Oliver completed in 50 GP and won Le Mans in 1969.

[windowlicker]

David Purley's practice crash in the British GP 1977 is one of the most violent accidents in motorsport. His LEC CRP-1 decelerated from 173 kph to 0 kph in 660cm generating 178g, he sustained horrific multiply injuries. This is one of the greatest g force generated in a motorsport crash where the driver has managed to survive.

Purley was awarded the George medal for his bravery in attempting to save Roger Williamson during the Dutch GP 1973.

David recovered from his terrible injuries and raced in club events until in July 1985 when he crashed his aerobatic biplane into the sea off Bognor Regis and was killed instantly.

[Norwegian1]

wow, how is it even possible to survive something like that? 178 G is 59 times the g-force during main engine ignition during a space shuttle launch...