Martin Donnelly nearly fatal crash at Jerez (29 September 1990) ALL ANGLES & PICS
- 6 years ago
Martin Donnelly (born 26 March 1964) is a racing driver from Northern Ireland. During qualifying for the 1990 Grand Prix of Spain, at Jerez, Martin suffered a huge racing accident which is only thanks to luck was not fatal.
When Martin Donnelly’s Lotus 102 speared off into the barrier at 140mph (225kmh) it exploded into pieces. The chassis tore in two and Martin Donnelly was thrown across the track with his seat still strapped to his back. Thanks to the quick reactions of F1’s medical team, and months of intensive treatment, Donnelly is still around to talk about what happened dat day.
Martin’s injuries were grave. X-rays showed he had bruising on his lungs and brain. The impact was so violent it cracked his racing helmet. He also had severe breaks to both legs and lost a lot of blood. After being treated by Professor Sid Watkins at the track Donnelly was transferred to a hospital in Seville. During a long recovery he suffered kidney failure and was on dialysis for weeks. For a while it looked as though his right leg might have to be amputated, but luckily it wasn’t. The only lingering signs of his terrible injuries was a limp in his leg.
He was also reasonably positive about the car despite the compromises involved in its development, as he explained: "The cockpit was designed for 1989 season drivers Satoru Nakajima and Nelson Piquet, who were about five foot six. But when Derek Warwick and myself got involved, because the regulations said the pedal box had to be in front of the axle line, when we got into the car our knees were on the bulkhead. So we ended up getting cramp in our legs. We fixed it by bonding this thing on top of it here (he points at the V-shape structure on top of the nose) to give us room and ease the buffetting." said Martin, adding: "Also, because we’d done a contract with Lamborghini, we had to put a big V12 engine in the back, where they’d had a Judd before. They had to extend the back end of the car. Before I had my crash we’d signed the option for 1991. I was going to be the number one driver with Mika Hakkinen as number two. But we never got that far."
Hugh Peter Martin Donnelly (born 26 March 1964) is a motor racing driver from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He raced in Formula One in 1989 and 1990, until a serious crash during qualifying at the Jerez circuit ended his Formula One career. He competed in Formula Three and Formula 3000 where he won 3 races. In the 1988 International Formula 3000 season he placed third despite only competing in the final five rounds of the championship.
When Martin Donnelly’s Lotus 102 speared off into the barrier at 140mph (225kmh) it exploded into pieces. The chassis tore in two and Martin Donnelly was thrown across the track with his seat still strapped to his back. Thanks to the quick reactions of F1’s medical team, and months of intensive treatment, Donnelly is still around to talk about what happened dat day.
Martin’s injuries were grave. X-rays showed he had bruising on his lungs and brain. The impact was so violent it cracked his racing helmet. He also had severe breaks to both legs and lost a lot of blood. After being treated by Professor Sid Watkins at the track Donnelly was transferred to a hospital in Seville. During a long recovery he suffered kidney failure and was on dialysis for weeks. For a while it looked as though his right leg might have to be amputated, but luckily it wasn’t. The only lingering signs of his terrible injuries was a limp in his leg.
He was also reasonably positive about the car despite the compromises involved in its development, as he explained: "The cockpit was designed for 1989 season drivers Satoru Nakajima and Nelson Piquet, who were about five foot six. But when Derek Warwick and myself got involved, because the regulations said the pedal box had to be in front of the axle line, when we got into the car our knees were on the bulkhead. So we ended up getting cramp in our legs. We fixed it by bonding this thing on top of it here (he points at the V-shape structure on top of the nose) to give us room and ease the buffetting." said Martin, adding: "Also, because we’d done a contract with Lamborghini, we had to put a big V12 engine in the back, where they’d had a Judd before. They had to extend the back end of the car. Before I had my crash we’d signed the option for 1991. I was going to be the number one driver with Mika Hakkinen as number two. But we never got that far."
Hugh Peter Martin Donnelly (born 26 March 1964) is a motor racing driver from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He raced in Formula One in 1989 and 1990, until a serious crash during qualifying at the Jerez circuit ended his Formula One career. He competed in Formula Three and Formula 3000 where he won 3 races. In the 1988 International Formula 3000 season he placed third despite only competing in the final five rounds of the championship.