1949 Gardermoenracet and Fatal Accident of Selander? (VIDEO)

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Jesper Hvid
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1949 Gardermoenracet and Fatal Accident of Selander? (VIDEO)

#1

Post by Jesper Hvid »

Jesper Hvid wrote: 3 years ago
Jesper Hvid wrote: 7 years ago
Jesper Hvid wrote:There appears to be a mistake at mmorg re: the tragic Gardermoen accident in 1949.

https://lokalhistoriewiki.no/index.php/ ... ermoen.JPG

http://www.motorsportmemorial.org/query ... t_a&n=2468

The pic here IMO does not show the Selander-crash (hence vehicle number not 9). It's probably instead the previous accident of Erik Bjørnstad.

The passage in the third column is a little strange, as it says Bjørnstad was driving the "number 6 among the sportscars", which does not make sense, as there cannot have been two no.s 6, and there's a midget racer in the pic with that number, so I can only assume that the pic shows Bjørnstad's (no. 9) "crash into hay bales in the middle of the track". Which is another strange thing that I don't quite understand, as they're a direct hazard, but the numbers thing appears to have been completely garbled. As for the photo, it just doesn't fit the description of the Selander.
They agreed with me: http://motorsportmemorial.org/focus.php?db=ct&n=4314
This video possibly shows the beginning of Selander's accident:



2:13-2:31. Not sure what I'm seeing here, and if the voice-over is correct.
OK, well, this is the commentary for the relevant sequence:

"... [re: the duels in the midget/500cc/F3] particularly between Swedes [Brune] Tavell and [Sture] Selander. Here comes Tavell out of the turn, chased by Selander in the ill-fated car, which leaves the track [car then shown going onto grass, swerving back on the track, and then heading directly towards the crowds - this could be the accident! - then jump cut] ... "
The accident occurred on Sunday, 28 August 1949, during the third event of the meeting, the 500 cm3 Formula 3 race, in which nine cars were entered. Locally known as "Midgets", at the time the Formula 3 racers were very popular in Scandinavia. Selander was charging after a bad start, being the fastest on the track at the wheel of his Effyh TT13 - JAP. On the sixth of the 10-lap race, he lost control of his car on the approach to a 90-degree turn, where a large crowd of spectators were standing. Selander's car left the track and somersaulted into a public area. The driver was thrown out and got hit by the car. He was killed almost istantly, and two spectators standing inside a prohibited area, were also killed by the flying car.
http://www.motorsportmemorial.org/query ... t_a&n=8744

http://500race.org/records/500cc-formul ... ll-others/

There is a programme for sale, which I'll see if I can get my hands on. Would seem the footage shows mixed races, and I can't tell which is which.
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#2

Post by Jesper Hvid »

Also, it should identify the unrelated crashes of rider #8, and cars #6 and #2.
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#3

Post by PTRACER »

It really does look like the car loses control and heads towards the crowd. A minor mistake, but with horrific results.
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#4

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The car does not appear to slow down much, and it goes in the undesired direction with an insufficient distance to the crowds. I can't see how he could have avoided hitting them, and that is the important point, because there is no other mention anywhere of another similar accident with that type of car, under these circumstances, and at that precise race. 90-degree turn seems correct, but the perhaps somewhat too free use of words like "catapult" and "somersault" on mmorg, may not be quite the right description for what happened. If the car had somersaulted into that mass of people, there would have been more casualties. It is also suspicious in itself, that the film cuts at that exact instant.

Results were horrific, and it's the worst disaster in Norwegian motorsport.

But as with these old hilite clips, footage is mixed, as there are two #6 cars shown, Tavell's midget and an MG that rolls at 1:58. At 2:06, the #2 of Danish driver Børge Friis (not sure that's what the commentator says, and I'll have to look him up in my old who's-who booklet over Danish race drivers), goes over the hay bales, but that appears to be in a different race. The main event was the MC GP, but of course all the info for the car races is also in the programme.
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#5

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Jesper Hvid wrote: 3 years agoIt is also suspicious in itself, that the film cuts at that exact instant.
I think they did it on purpose, to avoid showing the crash.
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#6

Post by PTRACER »

Well, we now know from the photos and other source evidence, that many of the descriptions on MMorg are highly exaggerated, sensationalist, or inaccurate/borderline fictional...
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#7

Post by Jesper Hvid »

Motorsportrace wrote: 3 years ago
Jesper Hvid wrote: 3 years agoIt is also suspicious in itself, that the film cuts at that exact instant.
I think they did it on purpose, to avoid showing the crash.
It is highly likely. They censored it.
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#8

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PTRACER wrote: 3 years ago Well, we now know from the photos and other source evidence, that many of the descriptions on MMorg are highly exaggerated, sensationalist, or inaccurate/borderline fictional...
Yes, and everything else under the sun, ranging from the arbitrary to the libellious. :haha:

It's what happens when you use newspaper sources, because it is all you've got. The alternative is to leave the notes empty, or nearly so.

But everything pointed out by me in this topic actually speaks in favour of my suggestion. Reductio ad absurdum does not prove anything, and I just don't have the crucial bit. The spin could still be from another incident, but then the whole video narration and editing is a bit of a fabrication.

My money is still on the specified video section showing the crash of Selander, pre-impact. But I'll admit I don't really know.
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#9

Post by Jesper Hvid »

I was overbid on the auction, which would not have answered the most important of the questions, anyway.
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