McLaren F1 GTR’s Surprising Hay Encounter
This year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed proved to be more than just an act of acceleration, as it featured its fair share of collisions. Two of the most renowned race vehicles of modern times happened to run into a bit of hay during their attempt at conquering the hill climb. Attendees managed to capture visuals depicting both the Porsche 911 GT1 and the McLaren F1 GTR being subjected to negligible damage caused by drivers’ misplaced control over the infamous 1990s endurance race cars. It’s worth noting that these are indeed the genuine machines, not replicas.
Carrying the racing number 26, the 911 GT1 is none other than the triumphant Le Mans-winner of 1998. Laurent Aïello, Allan McNish and Stéphane Ortelli were the first to reach the finish line after a 24 hour long dash, completing a total of 351 laps – one more than its rival 911 GT1. Recently, to honour the centenary anniversary of the renowned sports car event at Goodwood, the endurance vehicle made an appearance. Unfortunately, much to everyone’s disappointment, the driver ended up having an unfortunate loss; both literally and figuratively, when attempting to race the car.
At the outset, it only had its wing knocked off after colliding with the hay bale; however, further on in the video we can observe the 911 GT1 actively devoid of its engine cover. Both bulky components were afterward loaded onto a Toyota Proace van’s trailer. Judging by the imagery, Porsche should have no difficulty attaching them back to the competitive automobile.
By chance, another long-lasting vehicle from the same period also experienced a minor mishap. In question was the McLaren F1 GTR bearing competition number 60, and it was owned by Team Lark. The car was driven by Naoki Hattori and Ralf Schumacher in theJapanese Grand Touring Championship (JGTC) during its heyday. Even more remarkable, in the 1996 campaign the F1 GTR achieved the top two spots at Suzuka as part of its debut race, thus leading to subsequent victories at Sportsland SUGO and Mine Circuit.
The BMW V12-enginered competition vehicle demonstrated its inclination towards back-endfish antics at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Although the actual destruction is likely to be slight, fixing it up will still very likely be a costly business given the unique specs of this ride. It’s highly probable that we will glimpse more of this honourable race car at subsequent expositions; however, suffice it to say, the insurance corporation isn’t exactly delighted.
It is unmistakable that there were a variety of mishaps at this year’s prestigious Goodwood Festival of Speed. A second-generation Mercedes-AMG GT Coupe that had yet been divulged, a traditional Jaguar, and a Hyundai RN22e all became embroiled in the events; thankfully, however, no one acquired an injury.
Sources: Johnny’s Travel / YouTube, FROGEA / YouTube
