A driver crashed at more than 200mph – and walked away with a cut finger and this awesome footage.
David Tremayne is attempting to beat the UK land speed record at Elvington Airfield near York, as part of Team Duo Stay Gold.
On a practice run in the build-up to the record attempt he reached speeds of more than 296mph.
But then something went wrong…
‘I knew we were in trouble’
David said that the run was going well when he deployed the primary parachute to help bring the car to a stop.
“The chute deployed well and immediately started to slow the car, but without any warning the vehicle then rotated as the rear end yawed to my right,” he said.
“I knew immediately that we were in trouble, but watched with detachment as the left front wheel lifted as the car rolled on to its right-hand side.
“It was impossible to regain control at the speed we were going.”
When it came to a halt David detached the steering wheel, loosened the seat belts and calmly climbed out before the medics arrived.
“The whole accident occupied around 12 seconds, and apart from a bruised left knee my only injury was a slightly scraped finger on my right hand.”
They go again
Before the accident, the car had averaged more than 275mph over 500 metres. That put it within 30 mph of their ultimate target speed of 305 mph – the current UK land speed record is 301.670 mph.
Team Duo Stay Gold said they will “now regroup and repair the car, which sustained remarkably little significant damage given the high-speed nature of the accident.
“We will also conduct an intensive investigation into the cause of the accident and continue the search for funding, and intend to run again and finish what we started once our financial situation enables us to.”
Not as bad as the Hamster’s smash
The events brought to mind the crash on the same airfield when Radio York presenter turned Top Gear star Richard Hammond was seriously hurt.
Richard was being filmed at the wheel of the jet-powered Vampire car at Elvington on September 20, 2006, when a front tyre burst.
He was travelling at 288mph at the time. The car crashed into a field. Richard was taken to hospital in the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, and stayed in a coma for two weeks.
But he went on to make a full recovery.