Jaguar Wheel Flies Off Into Crowd at Goodwood Festival of Speed, Spectators OK

A Jaguar Mk1 race car lost a rear wheel that subsequently flew into the crowd during a run at the Goodwood Festival of Speed Hillclimb Thursday. Thankfully, those in the crowd were mostly OK.

"Following the incident on the hillclimb we're pleased to confirm that there were no serious injuries and those involved were able to go back to enjoying the event,"
the Festival of Speed said in a statement.

It was a scary sight though. The Jaguar lost its left rear wheel right near the Goodwood House, and after bouncing a few times on the grass, the wheel bounced on a hay bale at just the right angle and into the crowd behind. Thursday is typically the quietest day for the Festival of Speed, and at most parts of the hillclimb, spectators are fairly far back from the course, but this is one of the areas where attendees are relatively close to the action. After a delay, runs up the Goodwood hill resumed and at the time of writing, the hillclimb program has finished today.

A wheel flying at motorsports events is particularly dangerous, if uncommon these days. After all, it's a heavy object moving at high speed. This mirrors a scary incident at this year's Indy 500 where one of the wheels off Kyle Kirkwood's car flew over the catch fencing and destroyed a spectator's car.

You Might Also Like

• You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox

• Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners

• The Man Who Signs Every Car