Another sad loss to motorsport

[Matra et Alpine]

David Leslie, an excellent Scottish driver in FF and BTCC was killed today in a plane crash in Farnborough.
David Leslie (racing driver) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia




Richard Lloyd was also killed. He also had a driving career but is perhaps more knwon for RLR development in Audi Sport UK entries in BTCC and the Bentley 8 program.
Richard Lloyd (racing driver) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2 flight crew and a third person were also killed.

Thoughts go out to all friends and families.

[adamfraser]

Saw this on PistonHeads too, RIP to them both.

[Dantera22B]

Former British Touring Car racer David Leslie and sportscar team boss Richard Lloyd were among five people killed in a plane crash in Kent this afternoon, according to sources close to Autosport.

Their private Cessna Citation 501 aircraft was headed for the south of France where Leslie was due to drive Lloyd's Apex Motorsport Jaguar XKR in an FIA GT3 equalisation test at Nogaro tomorrow.

The pilot made a mayday call to Biggin Hill Airfield, near Farnborough, reporting severe engine vibrations, but the plane crashed into the corner of a housing estate seconds later. The plane's two pilots and three passengers were killed, but nobody on the ground was injured.

A pilot who was flying a small aircraft just ahead of Leslie and Lloyd's plane told Sky News: "I was on final approach to Biggin Hill and I heard the pilot declare mayday and I could hear alarms in the cockpit.

"The pilot said 'We're going down, we're going down.' The radio stayed live and as I turned off the runway I looked back and saw the plane drop out of the sky. The radio went dead and black smoke came up from over the hill."

Leslie, who was 54, was best known for his wins in the British Touring Car Championship at the height of the super touring formula's popularity in the late 1990s, but he had also enjoyed a long and successful career in single-seaters and sportscars.

Lloyd, who was 63, founded Richard Lloyd Racing, who ran Porsche 956s and 962s in the World Sportscar Championship. He also successfully ran Audis in the BTCC and at Le Mans, and managed Bentley's victorious return to Le Mans in 2003. More recently he developed the Jaguar XKR for the FIA GT3 Championship.

Authorities have not confirmed the identity of plane's occupants.

A statement from the Metropolitan Police read: "We haven't confirmed the identity of any of the victims. Until we know that all of the next of kin have been informed, we can't make any further comment."
Taken from autosport.com

A real shame. R.I.P. David

[jugga]

RIP i remember david fighting it out with john cleland in the btcc wen i was a kid

[john14]

My thoughts go to David Leslie's family and Richard Lloyd's family.

[carbrochuretom]

So sad, I saw the plane coming down about 1 minute before it crashed. I knew it was in trouble when It went over my house. RIP

[SlickHolden]

Best wishes too everyone's family's..

When i first seen BTCC back late 80's or early 90's on TV here i remember David Leslie in the Nissan i think he was driving then..

[MadMax13]

Anyone notice that for driving around a track at excessive speed these guys seem to get killed in flying accidents a lot???...

[LotusLocost]

Sad news.
Thoughts goes to family and friends.
May they rest in peace.

[carbrochuretom]

An early report from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch have suggested that birds flew across the runway at take-off and were sucked into the engines.