Jo Gartner's fatal crash, Le Mans 1986

No footage of the actual crash.

From wikipedia:

At 2:10 am of the Sunday, as the Porsche 962C of Gartner, suffered from a mechanical failure, causing it to swerve into the left, head first onto the barrier at 160mph, scaling it and sheared through a post, before being flung back onto the road and turned over as it hit a right hand guard rail. The car caught fire as it rested on the barriers. Gartner died instantly from a broken neck.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo_Gartner
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_24_Hours_of_Le_Mans_fatal_accidents

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[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...).

[gelar27]

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

[bastianoreddigo]

R.I.P.

[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?

[altroval]

@BadErnest Yes, that is correct.

[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.

[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

[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

[heinedenstore]

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

[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.