Jean-Pierre Wimille's Fatal Crash @ Parque Palermo 1949 (Aftermath)
- 3 months ago
At 06h00 on Friday, 28 January 1949 morning, started the first practice session for the Grande Premio General Perón. More than 50,000 spectators that had arrived from everywhere lined the 4.865-kilometer Palermo circuit of Buenos Aires. Jean-Pierre Wimille entered the track at about 06h30. Two warming laps and in the third he tried to drive harder his French-blue 1430 cm3 Gordini 10GC T15-Simca. Passing on the main straight he indicated with a wave of his hand to his people in the pits to take the time. The car passed at speed along the straight in front of the Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima, then it followed docile the race line through the esses and bordering the lake it took the wide Golf Club Argentino street. While approaching the left turn "Curva de los Ombúes" at a speed of 140 km/h (87 mi/h), Wimille lost control of the car which went off the road on the right side. The blue Gordini rolled over several times, hit the straw bale barrier and overturned, landing on the other side of the track. He was immediately taken by ambulance to the Hospital Fernández in Buenos Aires, where he succumbed to his injuries soon afterwards.
According to eyewitnesses, it was reported that the accident occurred because Wimille was blinded by the rising sun, or he suddenly decided to swerve to avoid spectators on track, this has not yet been clarified. Less than one year before, the Argentine driver Pablo Luis Pesatti crashed with fatal consequences almost at the same spot as Wimille's car had, during the VIII Gran Premio Otoño, held on 21 March 1948 at Parque Palermo, Buenos Aires.
After the tragedy, the Friday practice session was annulled. Wimille's car had no racing number on its bodywork at the time of the accident, but it was listed as number #16 in the race program. Wimille had also entered a model 7GC T15 as a reserve-car for the race; this vehicle was listed as number #3 in the program.
R.I.P
According to eyewitnesses, it was reported that the accident occurred because Wimille was blinded by the rising sun, or he suddenly decided to swerve to avoid spectators on track, this has not yet been clarified. Less than one year before, the Argentine driver Pablo Luis Pesatti crashed with fatal consequences almost at the same spot as Wimille's car had, during the VIII Gran Premio Otoño, held on 21 March 1948 at Parque Palermo, Buenos Aires.
After the tragedy, the Friday practice session was annulled. Wimille's car had no racing number on its bodywork at the time of the accident, but it was listed as number #16 in the race program. Wimille had also entered a model 7GC T15 as a reserve-car for the race; this vehicle was listed as number #3 in the program.
R.I.P