10 Mar 2014

Vintage racer dies at Hampton Downs

12:49 pm on 10 March 2014

Three investigations are under way into the death of a 68-year-old taking part in a vintage car racing event at Hampton Downs on Saturday.

Police say the man died after his 1961 Cooper open-wheel formula car failed to negotiate a bend and crashed into a wall at about 1.30pm. No other vehicles were involved in the accident.

The race meeting was run by the Waitemata branch of the Vintage Car Club.

Steward Tony Haycock says the club, police and Hampton Downs racing circuit managers are looking into what happened. He says the club has been running motorsport events since 1948 and this is the first fatal accident.

People at the scene of the crash say the driver did not appear to make any attempt to slow down or steer his car, before he hit a wall.

The chair of the Waitemata branch of the Vintage Car Club, which runs the event, Ian Bradley, says a medical incident may have been a factor in the crash. Mr Bradley says the man is well known at the club, which will be offering support to his family.