Jo Gartner's fatal crash, Le Mans 1986

[altroval]

Terribly sad. Jo Gartner was a very, very good driver. If he had got his opportunities in F1 earlier (I think he was 30 when he drove in F1) he might have done very well there.

He scored a 5th place in an *Osella*, of all things. Unfortunately, he was not on the F1 entry list at the start of the year, so he was ineligible to be awarded points.

Enzo Osella desperately appealed to the FIA to have Gartner awarded the points, posthumously, but the appeal was denied.

[BadErnest]

Also, this accident and that of Stefan Bellof pretty much put an end to active F1 drivers being allowed by their teams to compete in sports cars...

[deggis4]

@BadErnest Really? You'd think there were other reasons too (tougher competition, expanding calendar...).

[BadErnest]

@deggis4 I'm certain there were other reasons, including those you mentioned. I'm just regurgitating facts and tid-bits that I've picked up over the years.

[BadErnest]

I had read somewhere that a gearbox failure caused him to engage two gears simultaneously as he was upshifting, immediately locking up the rear wheels. This was the first thing I thought of when I saw Mike Rockefeller's crash this year. Fortunately, today's racing chassis is much stronger. RIP

[altroval]

@BadErnest Yes, that is correct.

[bubblegum0912]

what actually happened? and where is the chassis of the car? R.I.P

[heinedenstore]

@bubblegum0912 well... according to wikipedia: Whilst contesting the 1986 24 Hours of Le Mans at 2:10 am on the Sunday, Gartner's car suffered a mechanical failure and turned hard left into the barriers on the Mulsanne Straight at 160 mph (260 km/h). The car somersaulted down the track and caught fire resting on the barriers on the opposite side of the track. Gartner was killed on impact.

i would imagine that tha car was broken in to a lot of pieces after hitting a telegraph and trees.

[LegoRacer41]

@heinedenstore I looked up this race on Wikipedia as well and it says "The accident was caused by gearbox failure, locking up the rear wheels and sending the car into the armco."

I think 2 different people wrote those reports. Which one is right I dont know

[ddweigel]

@LegoRacer41 LegoRacer??? This could only be Robin? You and I worked with Jo?! If it is Robin, that bumper sticker of "the car is handbuilt out of lego" got put in many magazines. lol. the picture was taken in Belgium, I got it a American Magazine set to me in England. I think I might still have a copy. Is Bubblegum, Dutchy? Also from Jo's team?

[heinedenstore]

@bubblegum0912 also at : 1:00 you see parts of the roof and most of the left over bodywork

[fly5155]

Sarel van der Merwe was the 2nd driver for this car, he went on to compete in a Winston Cup Series race in 1990 subbing for Darrell Waltrip.

[BlueFox284]

Such an erie shot of the abandoned, busted up bodywork with the drivers names on it :( R.I.P

[diveplane]

jesus nothing left of that car wow.

[gelar27]

Jo Gartner, Jo Bonnier, Jo Siffert. Jo Sclesser.... R.I.P Jo's

[Spidergeise]

RIP Jo!!!

[RockinRedRover]

I still can't believe we were asleep in our tents in the little field behind the restaurant and didnt get woken up. We'd only got to sleep a few minutes b4 it, too much beer I guess.

Very sad news indeed.

[edkev94]

That must have been an awful crash... from the description I can't even picture it, unimaginable.

[TheColinChapman]

Has anyone come to a conclusion what the cause of the accident had been? I've heard of two theories so far, either a broken rear suspension or an evasion manouver to avoid a track marshall who was allegedly crossing the track. As far asI know, a driver's fault can be excluded. Does anybody know more?

[SetsunaTheAngel]

I Think it was ruled A Suspension failure.

If it was a track marshall there would be hell to pay though.

[soulwaxer]

We saw him leave the pits it was creepy to think it was his last time.

[dilbert1967]

I remember hearing about it when we were at the fairground on the other side of the track - RIP

[dontbecutk]

R.I.P

[cerbaiolo]

r.i.p. jo gartner

[bastianoreddigo]

R.I.P.