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VIDEO: One of the most chilling crashes caught on video. It’s incredible that this guy fully recovered


VIDEO: One of the most chilling crashes caught on video. It’s incredible that this guy fully recovered

You’ve probably never heard of Nigel Corner, but he’s a British driver mostly known now for racing vintage cars. In this absolutely amazing video from the old Speedvision — when they used to show cool stuff like “racing” and “cars” — we get a cockpit view of one of the most horrific crashes in vintage racing. Nigel_Corner_Goodwood_Festival_of_SAlain De Cadenet, who you might remember as the British guy from the viral video who narrowly missed being decapitated on a low pass by a Spitfire, is the narrator here. He was a Speedvision regular in the late 1990s and early 2000s, with fantastic shows like Victory by Design.

He’s also a world-class driver. He raced 15 times at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and ran his own Formula 1 team, with Graham Hill at the tiller. He knows cars, and he’s a hell of a driver.

In this footage from the 2000 Goodwood Revival, De Cadenet dumps the clutch in a Cooper Climax T-51 as the green flag drops, hoping to get to the front of the pack before the first corner.

Suddenly, Nigel Corner comes in from the left in a Ferrari 256 Dino and makes contact with De Cadenet’s Cooper. The Ferrari’s rear wheel rides up on the Cooper’s front wheel and calamity ensues, with Corner’s car barrel-rolling on the infield.

On the first roll, Corner was ejected, flying 20 feet in the air. It looks horrific, but given the alternative, Corner was probably better off away from the rolling Ferrari. He dropped from the air and landed on the tire wall, which probably went a long way toward saving his life.

In the end, Corner only suffered cracked ribs and a broken collar bone.

Image Source: Jeff Bloxham


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4 thoughts on “VIDEO: One of the most chilling crashes caught on video. It’s incredible that this guy fully recovered

  1. john

    In the year 2000 those crazy Brits would still race without safety belts or roll bars. Should be “Wooden Head” not “Goodwood”.

    1. Rik in Malta

      It’s classic, historical racing, chap; you can’t go welding bits of ironmongery and such crap to classic, vintage racing cars. Besides, where’s your damned sense of adventure, man?! :p

  2. Jay Bree

    Yes, it’s much better to destroy vintage pieces of history by playing with them than to attempt to modify them for safety.

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