In a tragic accident during the Saturday afternoon Good-wood Festival practice runs, the 4-wheel drive Lotus 63 driven by the Hon. John Dawson-Damer, suddenly veered left into the hay bales and then slammed into the finish line gantry, killing the driver, and seriously injuring two marshals \u2013 one of whom, Andy Carpenter, later died.<\/p>\n
Dawson-Damer was a leading Lotus collector and was the Australian representative of the FIA Historic Car Commission. Born and educated in Britain, Dawson-Damer was a life-long motorsport enthusiast. In addition to his historic racing activities, Dawson-Damer was also a well-known rally driver and navigator, having won a national championship in a Ford Escort in 1979.<\/p>\n
Dawson-Damer was an experienced hillclimber at Goodwood, having run his Lotus 25 and 79 at previous meetings. Recent evidence suggests that the accident may have been caused by Dawson-Damer suffering a heart attack, though the matter is currently being investigated by Sussex Police and the Motor Sport Association. Regardless of the outcome, the findings are bound to have long-term implications for Goodwood, one of the few events where spectators are afforded close access to the action \u2013 though, thankfully, the fatal crash took place in a non-spectator area.<\/p>\n
Of the unsuspecting corner marshals also involved in the incident, 41-year-old Andy Carpenter was a seasoned official with 12 years experience. His colleague Steve Tarrant was seriously injured and lost one of his legs as a result of his injuries when the finish line gantry collapsed on him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In a tragic accident during the Saturday afternoon Good-wood Festival practice runs, the 4-wheel drive Lotus 63 driven by the Hon. John Dawson-Damer, suddenly veered left into the hay bales and then slammed into the finish line gantry, killing the driver, and seriously injuring two marshals \u2013 one of whom, Andy Carpenter, later died. Dawson-Damer was a leading Lotus collector and was the Australian representative of the FIA Historic Car Commission. Born and educated in Britain, Dawson-Damer was a life-long […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":686064,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[260,16932,13063],"tags":[432,16936,447,15234],"class_list":["post-459300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-car-events","category-festivals-shows","category-vintage-car-racing","tag-events","tag-festivals-shows","tag-goodwood-festival-of-speed","tag-events-vintage-racing"],"yoast_head":"\n