By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline SurferDAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- During the 2011 running of the 24 hours of Le Mans, driver Allan McNish destroyed his No. 3 Audi RB early on in a spectacular crash early on, careening into a retaining wall, and though some debris from the shattered car, which fortunately did not injure nearby spectators nor the driver himself.
Luckily.
Here is a synopsis of what happened as described by All Racing Legends: Within the first hour of the race, the Audi R8 No. 3 driven by Allan McNish hit the barrier and rolled over near the Dunlop Bridge after a collision with the No. 58 GTE Pro class Ferrari 458 Italia, driven by Anthony Beltoise, after it had rejoined the track from the pit lane and was passing the slower Ferrari just after the Dunlop Bridge.
McNish had started from fifth on the grid and by the second lap and was running second. The crash was severe and threw the Audi into the air after hitting the crash barrier beyond the gravel trap. The Audi was effectively destroyed, but McNish walked away from the accident, while Beltoise, after assistance, rejoined the track with his car having sustained bodywork damage.
Here is a synopsis of what happened as described by All Racing Legends: Within the first hour of the race, the Audi R8 No. 3 driven by Allan McNish hit the barrier and rolled over near the Dunlop Bridge after a collision with the No. 58 GTE Pro class Ferrari 458 Italia, driven by Anthony Beltoise, after it had rejoined the track from the pit lane and was passing the slower Ferrari just after the Dunlop Bridge.
McNish had started from fifth on the grid and by the second lap and was running second. The crash was severe and threw the Audi into the air after hitting the crash barrier beyond the gravel trap. The Audi was effectively destroyed, but McNish walked away from the accident, while Beltoise, after assistance, rejoined the track with his car having sustained bodywork damage.
At the 2012 LeMans, McNish made a driving error and cost himself and his No. 2 Audi team an almost-certain first place finish by crashing by the car a few hours before the finish. McNish fared better earlier in the 2012 racing season, when he co-drove the No. 8 Starworks Motorsport Riley-Ford to a second place finish at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona at Daytona International Speedway.
FAST FACTS: McNish retires in 2013
Motorsports fans are drawn to racing for different reasons: The excitement of speed, skill of drafting & passing; strategies on when to pit for fuel, tires or repairs; the will to win and so forth. Ultimately, though, it's the big crashes like the one here at left from Daytona that fans seem to like more than anything. And though nobody wishes serious injury or death to drivers, crew members, emergency personnel & especially spectators, the sad reality is carnage is always lurking. Despite the latest technology & improvements in aerodynamics of vehicles, driver equipment and enhanced track safety features, the fine line between life & death is always at play in any given sanctioned motorsport. Given that Headline Surfer® puts such an emphasis on racing with Daytona Beach International Speedway, the 24/7 internet news outlet is counting down its listing of the top 1,000 Worst of the Worst motorsports crashes. While on the surface it may come across as gratuitous gore to critics, there can never be enough discussion about the need for constant vigilance in looking at safety improvements.
Henry Frederick is publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched 12 years ago that serves greater Daytona Beach, Sanford & Orlando, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed more than a hundred journalism industry awards in print & online -- more than all other members of the working press combined in Central Florida since the mid-1990s. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism with academic honors from Full Sail University in 2019. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and other high profile cases, Frederick has appeared on national crime documentary programs on Discovery ID and Reelz for his investigative reporting and cops & courts breaking news stories.