Zef Eisenberg had been traveling at speeds of more than 240mph in a modified Porsche 911 at Elvington Airfield near York, but when he lost control of the vehicle, it flipped over and caught fire.
An inquest in Northallerton today heard that the 47-year-old man suffered multiple injuries following the crash on October 1, 2020, and was pronounced dead at the scene at 4:33pm.
The father of two, from Guernsey, was best known for launching the sports nutrition firm Maximuscle, but also ran the Madmax Race Team, which attempts motorcycle and car speed records.
The accident occurred at the same airfield where Richard Hammond was nearly killed in 2006 while driving a jet car at speeds of over 300 mph and losing control while filming an episode of Top Gear.
Eisenberg suffered a fractured pelvis and other serious injuries at Elvington Airfield in 2016, when he collided with a gas turbine-powered motorcycle while traveling at around 230mph.
But he returned four years later with his modified car to set several land speed records within a specific classification, including the fastest mile with a “quick start”.
Graham Sykes of Straight Liners Ltd was one of the stewards who oversaw the record attempts and spoke to Mr Eisenberg about the use of the parachute braking system before the crash.
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He explained that the driver must always deploy the parachute before applying the brakes, otherwise the weight of the vehicle would be transferred forward and the rear end would lift off the ground.
He told the inquest that Mr. Eisenberg completed five “perfect” runs as the parachute deployed at the right time and the “car stopped dead, straight and under control”.
But when the driver applied the brakes at the end of his attempt to complete the fastest mile with a quick start, Sykes said the rear of the Porsche “seemed to lift up and turn to the right because the air had gotten under the car.”
He added: “In my opinion, he got the parachute and braking sequence wrong.
“He didn’t pull the parachute until he was through the final time beam, as opposed to a couple of seconds earlier like in previous races that day. He also hit the brake before the parachute was fully deployed.”
Trevor Duckworth, the event’s timekeeper, also said that Eisenberg appeared to brake before the parachute deployed.
During the investigation, the family asked Mr. Duckworth if he was aware that the seat belt buckle and anchor points had broken during the crash.
He said: “Obviously something drastic had happened for that kind of injury to occur. I’ve been in motorsport for 50 years and I’ve never seen anything like it.”
However, event coordinator Malcolm Pittwood claimed the car “jerked” and turned right at the end of the one-mile run, but “had nothing to do with the parachute.”
He added: “At the time, the parachute was not fully deployed. It had not opened and flourished as it had in previous runs.”
Andrew Bush, a Motorsport UK scrutineer, told the inquest that he inspected the car, which had been fitted with a roll cage and safety harnesses, before the record attempt and “did not identify any issues or safety concerns”.
He also said there were some problems with the car’s engines during its early runs, including the turbocharger hose coming off, but these were fixed.
The investigation has been deferred until a date, to be announced in the coming weeks.
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Source: www.yorkshirepost.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-05-18 16:38:21
