Rowan Atkinson, comedian and car collector extraordinaire was released from hospital today with no serious injuries after losing control of his maroon McLaren F1 and crashing into a telephone pole, setting the car alight in the process.

Atkinson apparently walked away from the wreck and sat on the side of the road with another motorist, waiting for emergency services. He has hurt his shoulder but no long term injuries are expected.

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There have been some stunning incidents this week, ranging from the hilarious video of a Formula 1 marshall rolling under Luizzi’s car in Malaysia, to this horrifying footage of a race car completely clearing the concrete barrier at Brands Hatch, UK. We’ve got a second video of that horror smash, in which both drivers walked away, as well as a few you might have missed, including Jason Plato’s high speed bender in the British Touring Car Championships.

More videos after the jump

BMW is thinking more seriously about the safety of its cars and the passengers in cases of a collision, hence why they have resorted to anticipatory assistance systems.

Once such technology is preventive brake intervention and the German premium automobile manufacturer has successfully crash tested this system on the new 5 series (530d) model in collaboration with DEKRA. The intervention of this technology helps a 64km/h impact reduce to 40km/h as the automobile senses danger and applies automatic brakes not waiting for the driver to respond in such cases. The car’s advanced sensors first sense a probable collision and issue a warning to the driver and then the automatic brakes kick in. This may impress NCAP but what is ironical is that NCAP crash tests cars without applying the brakes.

I’ve never driven a Nissan GTR, but I’ve heard that it is so good and that the driver is probably the worst link in the car. Some say it’s so good that you have to try really hard to lose control.

We can only assume that the driver of this unfortunate GTR tried really, really hard to lose control because as you can see it looks like he succeeded. Apparently he drove into the back of another car.

Glad this didn’t happen to me.

Usain Bolt is the Olympic Champion and the fastest man on earth. Not with a car though. World 100m and 200m record holder, Usain was “running” his 309kW (420hp) BMW M3 Coupe (given by his sponsor, Puma) on Wednesday afternoon, and because of a wet road surface, his M3 skidded off the road. He got minor injuries to the ball of his feet from thorns, but he walked on right after. Not the same could be said about the car though, which had the front tyres were punctured, the front left wheel almost torn off, a destroyed windscreen and a dislodged rear window. The 22-year old sprinter said “Me good man. Me all right, a just few cuts man, me all right”. So it’s good that only the car got wrecked in here … [via edmunds.com]

UPDATE:

The helicopter’s crash near his home in Lanark, Scotland caused the death of four people: 39-year-old champion along with his five-year-old son Johnny and six-year-old friend of McRae’s son and family friend Graeme Duncan aged 37.

Speaking on behalf of the whole family, Colin’s father, Jim McRae, said today:

“It is with much sadness and regret that we have to make this statement. It is unbelievable that Colin and Johnny’s lives have been taken so prematurely and in such a tragic manner.

Colin was a great son, a loving husband to Alison and a fantastic father to Johnny and his big sister Hollie. Johnny was a great wee guy, spending every spare minute with his dad, and even at this early stage it looked like he had the potential to carry on the family dynasty.

Our thoughts are also very much with the families of Ben Porcelli and Graeme Duncan. Ben was a great buddy of Johnny’s and they had always spent a lot of time together both in and out of school. Graeme, who now resides in France, had been a close friend of Colin’s since their schooldays and was back in Lanark on holiday.

We are thankful for the overwhelming number of messages of support we have received from all around the world. Colin was very much an inspiration and role model to motorsport fans the world over. As you can imagine this is a very difficult time for the family and we would ask that our privacy be respected and we be allowed to grieve in private.” (Colin McRae web page)

“He was a great character outside the car and a tremendous driver inside the car,” his former co-driver Nicky Grist told. “He had so much commitment and oozed talent. f it had an engine and wheels he would get in it and drive it to the maximum. When it came to cars Colin had that little something extra special.”

David Richards, said McRae was a “legend” of the sport. “He was competitive and extreme in everything he did but also so much fun,” he told reporters at the weekend. It’s ironic that he walked away from so many accidents only for this to happen.”

Formula One driver David Coulthard said McRae was “blindingly quick” in a car while another Scottish motor racing great, Jackie Stewart, said: “It’s a sad loss for Scotland, a real hero and an immensely popular friend.”

“He was always my favourite driver, I followed him a lot and went to see him in Monte Carlo and San Remo… everyone is very sad, he was the most spectacular and drove at 100 percent,” Valentino Rossi.

Mcrae became the first British world rally champion in 1995 while driving for the Subaru team. McRae was also runner-up in a Subaru in 1996 and 1997 and narrowly missed the title for Ford in 2001. He won 25 times in the World Rally Championship from 146 starts and picked up 477 individual stage victories.

RIP Colin McRae!

source: reuters
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