Nick Mason’s McLaren F1 GTR Crashes at Goodwood Members’ Meeting
The Goodwood Motor Circuit, established on a former military airfield in 1948, has served as a venue for vehicle testing and fine-tuning since the mid-1960s. During the recent 75th Goodwood Members’ Meeting, Pink Floyd’s drummer, Nick Mason, was present with his prized McLaren F1 GTR. Unfortunately, he lost control of the vehicle at the challenging St. Mary’s corner, crashing into the tire wall. Fortunately, the 73-year-old Mason emerged from the incident without any injuries.
St. Mary’s corner has a history of mishaps; in April 1962, legendary F1 driver Sir Stirling Moss suffered a career-ending crash at nearly 100 miles per hour in the same location. Moss spent nearly five weeks recovering in the hospital following his accident. In light of this history, Mason can consider himself lucky to walk away unscathed.
The damaged McLaren F1 GTR, valued at $3.7 million, was removed from the track as the red flag was raised to halt the race. It’s disheartening to witness any rare car sustain damage, especially one as exclusive as this. Produced between 1994 and 1998, the McLaren F1 GTR saw only 28 road-legal variations (with Mason’s being chassis #10 of 28). This chassis, built in 1995, was the first to be updated to the more powerful 1996 specifications, achieving a top speed of 330 km/h (205 mph), a significant increase from the earlier model’s 175 mph. This particular car was a development prototype and did not compete in 1996, although it did participate in the Le Mans qualifying round.
Mason is also known for being a significant collector of supercars, which includes iconic models like the Ferrari 250 GTO, Ferrari 599 GTO, and Ferrari F40 among various Aston Martins, Jaguars, and Maseratis. One can only imagine the emotional impact if the McLaren had been replaced by the rare Ferrari 250 GTO in the crash.
While not all of the accident was captured on film, footage of a stunning Ferrari F40 effortlessly maneuvering the corners before Mason’s crash is available to watch.
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