Saddest Moments in Motorsport History

Here is a list of heart-breaking moments ever recorded in racing history. Have some tissue on your side :(

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1. Le Mans 2012 : Satoshi Motoyama’s 2 Hours of Struggle

Satoshi, himself a childhood friend of MotoGP Legend Daijiro Kato, was appointed by Nissan -the marque he always drove for- to compete in Le Mans. Together with Michael Krumm and Marino Franchitti, the 3 times Super GT champion drove the unique and radical Nissan-powered DeltaWing. 

On lap 75 Satoshi hit the wall when trying to avoid a Toyota from LMP1 class. The car sustained severe damages. In accordance to the rules, when a competitor’s car is being towed or handed by the stewards, the competitor would be automatically classified as retired from the race. Knowing that leaving the car to the stewards wouldn’t be a good choice, Satoshi had to pull over to fix the car as the pit was far away.

Some of his team crews came to the location to help Satoshi fixing the car. Wrenches, screwdrivers, and other tools had to be delivered through the gates as the crews were not allowed to touch the car outside the pit. Satoshi kept fixing the damage on the DeltaWing, ignoring his position in the race and he was working on the car very hard. The crew gave him hints and helped him how to fix despite being separated by the gates. 

For two hours with the help from the crew Satoshi had tried to get the car back into the race, but eventually he had to let it go. The damage on the car was very severe that it could not be done by himself. It was impossible for him to push his car to the pit. He opened the gate and left his car. Some of the people watching applauded him as he hopped on a scooter with his team crew. He might have abandoned the race, but he had tried to get himself back into the race.

2. Le Mans 2016 : Catasthropy on The Last Minutes

Still from Le Mans, the most prestigious endurance racing was coming to an end for the 2016 event. First position for the LMP1 class was still held by Toyota Gazoo Racing with their number 5 car driven by Kazuki Nakajima at that time. The car had been leading the race for hours and still there were 3 minutes left on the clock. As the track was long, the time remaining should be covered within just one lap. This put Toyota on the brink of their first Le Mans win after trying in the 1980s, 1999, and 2015 but they always failed. 

Nobody had ever thought that Kazuki Nakajima lost power from his Toyota TS-050 engine and stopped after the crossing the finish line, but the race was not over yet! At Porsche team’s paddock, the drivers of No.2 car Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb were rolling on the floor when they saw their car driven by Neel Jani took the lead. Toyota team found it hard to believe of what happened to their number 5 car. Tears began to flow, sadness from Toyota team and happy from Porsche team. The number 5 Toyota stopped for 2 minutes before the engine restarted and finally managd to finish the final lap. The lead they had been built and the glory they almost achieved perished in the last minutes. Clearly number 2 Porsche car won the 2016 Le Mans in an unexpected way.

The Japanese TV commentator was also emotional in the last three minutes. Although I don’t understand a single word he said, his voice was quite revealing how hurt that was. Just watch it :

3. 2011 Valencian Moto2 : From Michele for Marco

Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia was where the final race of 2011 season took place. In the Moto2 class, the chequered flag was taken by Michele Pirro from Gresini Team. When Michele crossed the finish line, he pointed the 58 logo on his helmet. While the crew and other team members were cheering over Michele’s victory, the team boss Fausto Gresini could not hold back his tears. He had just lost Marco Simoncelli, his beloved rider in the MotoGP class who died in the Sepang Tragedy two weeks earlier. He was weeping as it remembered him of the deceased rider with SuperSic moniker.

During the victory lap, Michele got off his bike and pointed his finger to the sky as a mark of respect and tribute to Marco. He dedicated his only victory in the Moto2 class for his late bestfriend. 

4. 1999 F1 European GP : Luca Badoer’s Collapse

Luca Badoer is not a big name in F1 universe. The Italian pilot only joined several weak teams in the 1990s like Scuderia Italia, Forti and Minardi. During 1999 European GP at Nurburgring circuit, Germany, he was running in fourth place. It all felt real for him as he had never scored a single point in his whole F1 career. He just had to finish all the laps remaining and took the car to the finish line to live his dream.

In all of a sudden the hope of achieving the best result of his career was shattered and perished without a trace. The gearbox of his Minardi ceased functioning in the middle of the race. Luca threw his steering wheel in anger, stepped out of his car and was out of his almost-heroic race. There came a steward who helped him putting back the steering wheel into its place. Luca was looking disenchanted and desperate. The Italiano cried and regretted over his failure on his car. Here, the heart-breaking moment got deeper as the steward helped him to stand up. Luca failed to finish the race in what would have been his best finishing position ever in F1.

5. 2008 F1 Brazilian GP: 39 Seconds World Champion

 

Felipe Massa must win the last race of 2008 F1 season in order to clinch the title in the front of his crowd at Autodromo Interlagos, Brazil. He was untouchable in the first place in the whole rain-soaked race and became the first to finish. Everyone was cheering and singing loud to celebrate the Ferrari driver’s home race victory, including Felipe’s dad, Luis Massa.

In the other parts of the track, Lewis Hamilton who at that time was racing for McLaren found himself in 6th position and there were only 2 corners left before the finish line. He really needed a miracle on his way to the finish line. Timo Glock was struggling so hard to steer his Toyota into the right direction. He was stucked with the slick tyres on the wet track as the result of strategy error. 

39 seconds later Lewis Hamilton crossed the finish line. Ferrari were still in euphoria of Felipe’s victory. At the McLaren box the team were also cheering happily. Why?  Because Lewis had passed Timo Glock and achieved 5th position, the minimum he needed to do to become world champion with just one point lead over Felipe. As Lewis approached the first corner, everyone at Ferrari paddock fell silent and stopped shouting and cheering as they looked at Lewis’ position on the TV. All the celebrations had gone away in the nick of time. Felipe finally arrived at the parc ferme and he had already known from the team radio that Lewis finsihed 5th. Inside the cockpit he could only wipe his tears. He stood up and stepped out of his F2008 car, pounding his chest in the front of his fans. Felipe won the race, but he failed to become world champion. It all disappeared in just 39 seconds.

 

6. 1973 F1 Dutch GP: The Last Scream for Help

Imagine in the middle of dangerous race with hot air, you’re in a life and death situation. This had been through by Englishman David Purnell at Zandvoort Circuit, 44 years ago. He saw Roger Williamson had an accident. His car rolled caused by a tyre failure and finally stopped on the trackside. Unfortunately, Roger’s car landed upside down; moreover, the fuel was leaked and it caught fire. 

David immediately left his car, sacrificed his race for helping his fellow driver. Two track marshalls rushed to get to the scene. Alas, without wearing proper safety equipments, they were just standing and watching the tragedy happening. Initially, David was trying to push the car to save Roger, but it was too heavy for him. He only used racing gloves for rescuing the young English driver. Next, using a fire extinguisher, David was putting up the fire as it was getting heavier and torturing Roger even worse inside the car. He was extremely upset and furious. His solo effort left him in desperation. The two track marshalls offered very little help to him. The audiences were showing their willingness to offer any necessary help, but the security guards with dogs deterred them from approaching the perilious race track.

Finally, albeit being late to the rescue, firefighters managed to extinguish the fire after a very hard struggle. It was all too late. Roger had already been dead inside the ill-fated car when the fire was put up. He died of burns and asphyxiation caused by the smoke. Later, David was honoured the highest civilian medal for his attempt to save Roger courageously that put his life on the line.

vdeo source : youtube.com

Disclaimer :  these videos I attached are not mine, they belong to their uploaders or their rights owner