Fatal Accidents
In the history of the circuit, several fatal accidents have occurred.
| Name | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Wim Gerlach | June 10, 1957 | The corner in which he died was named after him. First fatality on the circuit. |
| Werner Engel | May 1, 1958 | Crashed his Mercedes 300SL cabriolet during the final stage of that year's Tulip Rally. As was usual at the time, the Tulip Rally's final stage was run as a race at the Zandvoort Racing Track, but in anti-clockwise direction, so as to counter unfair advantages for local (Dutch) drivers with racing experience of the track. Engel's car crashed and overturned on the back-stretch of the track, on the short straight leading away from Tunnel-Oost (in the direction of Scheivlak Corner) and came to rest upside down on the track. |
| Chris Lambert | July 28, 1968 | British driver Lambert and a female spectator were killed when Lambert and Clay Regazzoni collided during the Dutch round of the European Formula 2 Championship, launching Lambert's Brabham BT23C over the guardrail and onto the pedestrian path below. |
| Piers Courage | June 21, 1970 | His car's suspension or steering broke on the flatout 'Tunnel Oost'-bump. Instead of rounding the bend, the car went straight on into the steep dunes, disintegrated on impact and caught fire as the engine broke away from the monocoque; automatic fuel-sealing equipment was not yet being used. During the impact one of the front wheels broke loose and hit Courage's head, taking off his helmet (wheel and helmet came rolling out of the cloud of dust simultaneously). It may safely be assumed that Courage was killed instantly (or at least severely wounded and knocked unconscious) when the wheel hit him, moments before the car burst into flames (instead of being killed by the fire). This is in accordance with the fact that the monocoque was upright [not upside down, as is often stated by those who confuse the Courage and Williamson accidents) when it came to rest and did not seem to trap its driver in any way. |
| Roger Williamson | July 29, 1973 | He lost control of his car due to a suspected tyre failure during the F1 Dutch Grand Prix and crashed into the barriers, spun upside-down and caught fire. David Purley stopped his own race and tried unsuccessfully to save Williamson. The circuit was poorly prepared and not enough extinguishers were on hand. |
| Rob Slotemaker | July 29, 1979 | He broke his neck and died during a non-F1 event. |
| Hans-Georg Bürger | July 20, 1980 | Crashed fatally in his Tiga F280-BMW at Scheivlak-Corner during the warm-up for the Grote Prijs van Zandvoort, the Dutch round of the European Formula 2 Championship. He succumbed to his head injuries in hospital two days later. |
Read more about this topic: Circuit Park Zandvoort
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