Ending up in the lake

Andrew Kitson · 10 Dec 2003, 07:53 (Ref:808074)

Looking for some research material yesterday, I came across a fascinating story in the 1977 Nick Brittan book 'Formula Ford'.

Tony Dron recalled the scene at Oulton in 1968 when he lost his FF Alexis at the exit of Cascades on a patch of oil. As he was about to rejoin the circuit, James Hunt lost it too, flew over Dron's car and into the lake!
Tony abandoned ship, ran to help James and on the way found bits of Alexis including a very bent roll over hoop from James' car. The sight of his car upside down two feet below the surface of the water did not bode well, but James soon appeared, a few feet the other side of the car, goggles full of water and weed all over his face!
Tony got the staggering James out of the water and laid him on the bank, all James did was proceed to tell Tony a dirty joke! The marshals then arrived and took over.

I remember Keith Holland losing his F5000 car and ending up in the Mallory lake ( also a Eurocar a few years ago) and the Alberto Ascari and Paul Hawkins visits to the Monaco harbour are well documented. Any more 'watery' shunt memories anyone?

Darren Galpin · 10 Dec 2003, 09:11 (Ref:808102)

How about Louise Aitken-Walker losing it in her Vauxhall Astra on the Portuguese Rally one year, disappearing down a 200 foot cliff and into a lake? Both her and her co-driver escaped OK.

jminsh · 10 Dec 2003, 09:54 (Ref:808135)

1987 BTCC round at Oulton same place as Dron & Hunt,Both in BMW M3's Alan Minshaw had Frank Sytner boxed in behind a class C Toyota Corrola pulled along side as Alan was on intermediat tyres and Sytner on slicks with rain starting to fall, Alan was about to put one over on the works team at his home track untill Mr sytner decided no way and turned hard left into Alan and sent him into and over the barrier ending up on top of a marshalls fire extinguisher (must have been a close shave for the marshall!!) almost in the Lake .

Could be a slightley biased view but iam sticking to it.

JimW · 10 Dec 2003, 10:14 (Ref:808152)

Quote:

Originally posted by jminsh
1987 BTCC round at Oulton same place as Dron & Hunt,Both in BMW M3's Alan Minshaw had Frank Sytner boxed in behind a class C Toyota Corrola pulled along side as Alan was on intermediat tyres and Sytner on slicks with rain starting to fall, Alan was about to put one over on the works team at his home track untill Mr sytner decided no way and turned hard left into Alan and sent him into and over the barrier ending up on top of a marshalls fire extinguisher (must have been a close shave for the marshall!!) almost in the Lake .

Could be a slightley biased view but i am sticking to it.

And that's what my report of the incident said. I had a grandstand view from Hilltop.

Regards

Jim

MikeM · 10 Dec 2003, 10:49 (Ref:808175)

Sounds right too, I was at Cascades

**Peter Mallett** · 10 Dec 2003, 11:15 (Ref:808188)

I can't believe Frank would do such a thing.

(OK nursey I'll take those pills now).

Maisie · 10 Dec 2003, 11:27 (Ref:808196)

Alain Menu also stopped feet away from a watery end at Oulton a few years ago.

graeme · 10 Dec 2003, 12:17 (Ref:808219)

Some of the offs I've had at Pembrey probably count as "going into the lake" - the track is actually several inches (feet?) below sea level, so the runoff doesn't drain.

jminsh · 10 Dec 2003, 13:17 (Ref:808277)

I believe the Eurocar at Mallory was Kevin Clarke

Sheila M · 10 Dec 2003, 13:19 (Ref:808280)

Quote:

Originally posted by jminsh
I believe the Eurocar at Mallory was Kevin Clarke

No it wasn't - it was car 44 - Paul Eaton

jminsh · 10 Dec 2003, 13:23 (Ref:808287)

Good Grief finger on the pulse there!! i'm impressed

jminsh · 10 Dec 2003, 13:23 (Ref:808288)

Good Grief finger on the pulse there!! i'm impressed

Sheila M · 10 Dec 2003, 13:29 (Ref:808297)

Quote:

Originally posted by jminsh
Good Grief finger on the pulse there!! i'm impressed

Why thank you, kind person! The reason I know is that I was there at that meeting and the following meeting the Eurocars turned up at Mallory we pit marshals presented Paul with some rubber ducks and flippers. He suffered a sense of humour breakdown at that!

The thing that amazed me was that on the several re-runs on telly, we kept seeing the trainee marshal rushing to the incident carrying a fire extinguisher - like it was going to burn much that deep in the lake?!!

Sheila

Dave Brand · 10 Dec 2003, 15:05 (Ref:808371)

Quote:

Originally posted by Sheila M
The thing that amazed me was that on the several re-runs on telly, we kept seeing the trainee marshal rushing to the incident carrying a fire extinguisher - like it was going to burn much that deep in the lake?!!

Now there's somebody who was listening at the IO's briefing - 'bottle to every incident'!

**Craig** · 10 Dec 2003, 16:34 (Ref:808458)

I believe that Roy Salvadori ended up in the Oulton Park lake in his Jag at the 1962 Gold Cup meeting.

jminsh · 10 Dec 2003, 16:50 (Ref:808480)

Correct but a different lake it was when the track went right half way down casscades where the wrecker trucks wait nowadays .The E type went straight on into the pond ,they dragged it out ,dryed it out and raced it the next day!!

**Craig** · 10 Dec 2003, 17:05 (Ref:808497)

Well you learn something new everyday

Was it an E Type though? I believed it to be during the British Saloon Car Championship race :confused:

jminsh · 10 Dec 2003, 17:47 (Ref:808523)

Theve got pics of it in the new 50 years of Oulton park book
it was a low drag bodied 'E'.
Some poor soul had to dive in to attach the rope, for about 30 blokes to pull it out.

diz · 10 Dec 2003, 18:01 (Ref:808528)

Quote:

Originally posted by jminsh
Theve got pics of it in the new 50 years of Oulton park book

I can recommend Derek Lawson's "Sun, Rain ... and even Snow" A History of Motor Car Racing at Oulton Park, 'the Drivers Circuit' since 1953.
520 pages, lots of photos, a brief report on every car meeting ever held at Oulton, the early history, etc, etc. And it was all put together by Derek, who is an ex club racer and for the last few years a regular marshal.
I know his print run was 1,000 and he has less than 200 left. Contact him via email.
dereklawson@ntlworld.com

stroller · 10 Dec 2003, 18:35 (Ref:808552)

Quote:

I remember Keith Holland losing his F5000 car and ending up in the Mallory lake

Somewhere in my negative "archives" I have a 3 shot sequence of the said event taken from the main spectator bank.

I just wish that I had used some sort of filing system

Was it really about 30 years ago.

If I can I will try to dig them out & publish

TimD · 10 Dec 2003, 21:16 (Ref:808683)

Craig's absolutely right - Salvadori dropped a Mk2 3.8 saloon in the lake, and scarily it wound up on its roof.

Worrying to think that he had such an affinity with the lake that he put an E-Type in there as well!

David Beard · 10 Dec 2003, 22:13 (Ref:808759)

I once exchanged an E Mail with Mike Lawrence ...I was asking something about Bruce Halford. His reply was that he first saw him at Oulton Park, dripping wet, because he had crashed into the lake. Any ideas when that mighthave been?

diz · 10 Dec 2003, 23:05 (Ref:808804)

Quote:

Originally posted by jminsh
Theve got pics of it in the new 50 years of Oulton park book
it was a low drag bodied 'E'.
Some poor soul had to dive in to attach the rope, for about 30 blokes to pull it out.

Jason,
I've just had a quick flick through the book. Dave Rees stuck a Terrier in the water [I think in 1961] There is a photo of Salvadori in an E Type at an earlier meeting, but the report of the 62 Gold Cup refers to him getting wet in practice for a saloon car race in a 3.8 Jag - but not starting the race. There is a photo sequence of the 62 Saloon Race with Alan Hutcheson rolling into the water in some kind of saloon [something like a Sunbeam Rapier - but I'm not much good with car makes at my age]
I hope this clears up, or muddies the water even further.

Andrew Fellowes · 11 Dec 2003, 01:10 (Ref:808854)

Quote:

it was a low drag bodied 'E'.

That sounds like CUT7 to me, took my brother John's farm mechanic all night to get the fresh water shrimps out of the carbs, and it did race again next day!
(John was not the guilty party)

IANHEB · 11 Dec 2003, 15:15 (Ref:809318)

Andrew,
The Tony Dron car over which Hunt "flew" his Alexis was actually a Titan Mk4.I am going to make a real effort to re-unite car and driver at Oulton in 2004,but then again i've said that for the last 2 years and failed.
Cheers
Ian