Rear Wing Failure In Historic Formula 5000 Is Predictably Messy

The recent New Zealand Formula 5000 race at Pukekohe Park Raceway was red flagged following a massive shunt involving Ken Smith. The 75-year-old, who’s been racing for 60 years (hero), thankfully walked away from the wreck, despite it being a 120mph+ accident. And yes, those are indeed his feet you can see exposed at one point. Yikes.

Smith had lost control of his 1970s Lola T332 after the rear wing failed, and as we’ve seen before, when a car that relies on downforce to go fast loses downforce, the results can be rather dramatic.

When the race resumed, spectators were treated to a tight battle between Clark Proctor and Mike Collins, with the former taking the win by just 0.07 seconds and the latter spinning out on the cool-down lap…