Pink Floyd’s Drummer Wrecks McLaren F1 GTR at Goodwood, He's Unharmed

The 73-year-old artist was attending the 75th Members’ Meeting on Sunday, 19 March. He was driving a McLaren F1 GTR on a parade lap, which was being done after he had spoken with the commentators of the event. Mason stated that he does not drive the F1 GTR that often, but he hoped to “stretch its legs” on the circuit.

Unfortunately for artist, the McLaren F1 GTR proved too much to handle, and the drummer lost control and hit the wall (no pun intended). The impact was more severe for the vehicle than one would expect, but this is caused by the fact that the black wall was not made of tires.

It is unclear if the driver made an operating error, or if there was a malfunction with the car that made it suddenly lose grip. Mid-engined cars are prone to what is known as “snap oversteer.” The latter happens when the driver lifts his or her foot off the throttle during a corner.

This situation happens to inexperienced drivers, but it can affect experienced ones if they do not drive a particular automobile too often. Mid-engined vehicles have a lower rotational inertia than other configurations, which makes them handle better than others, but also more prone to a spin if the input unsettles its balance.

The most important thing about this crash is that the artist escaped unscathed. He walked out of the car, which is not the first thing that people would expect when learning that a 73-year-old crashed a McLaren into a wall on the track.

This was a fortunate incident, and we can safely presume that Mr. Mason can afford to have McLaren Special Operations fix the automobile.

Regarding the wall in the video, you would expect it to be made of tires, but it is just a decorative cover for elevated ground. Goodwood’s tire walls are not as soft as one might imagine them, but the wall in the image is nothing close to soft either.