[DeTomaso] A demonstration of character....
MikeLDrew at aol.com
MikeLDrew at aol.com
Tue Jul 10 11:25:38 EDT 2012
Hi guys,
I'm winding down from the Le Mans Classic tour, hanging out at Stephane and
Michelle Bergeron's house outside of Paris, and will be heading home in a
couple of days.
There are a million stories to tell about the remainder of Charlie's LMC
tour, and the event itself, but one of them deserves to be told above all
others.
There was a very sad incident on Saturday morning during the touring laps
of the circuit (no helmets). Anybody who wanted to could pay a fairly steep
price (200-250 Euros or something like that), and tour the circuit for
about a half hour. One of those who took part was Tim Hobley, originally from
Australia but a long-time resident of Denmark (actually he just moved across
the bridge to Sweden, but still works in Denmark and is in the Danish
club). Tim has a USA-model '74 GTS.
He was minding his own business, running down the Mulsanne straight, and he
came to one of the chicanes. He slowed appropriately and turned in, and
WHAM!
A Frenchman in a late-model (2008 or so?) Mustang convertible was flying
down the straight and apparently forgot (!) that there was a chicane! He
romped on the brakes, but far too late. As Tim turned right, the Mustang
crashed full-tilt into the right rear corner of Tim's Pantera, caving in the
fender, then the Mustang left front tire mounted the right rear tire of the
Pantera (shattering the 10-inch Campagnolo wheel in the process), drove up the
side of the Pantera, and smashed down onto the top of the front fender.
The suspension etc. got tangled up with the fender, and as the Mustang fell
off the Pantera, it smashed the fender down several inches, and left huge
gouges in the sheetmetal, and destroyed the headlight bucket along the way.
Sad photos here:
http://www.poca.com/index.php/gallery/?g2_itemId=36432
Most of us can imagine how we would react if we were totally clobbered this
way. Violence might ensue, and justifiably so, or at least some very
harsh words would be exchanged.
But this is where character comes into play. Tim was able to restart his
car and back onto the grass to get out of everybody's way, and afterwards, a
flatbed tow truck picked it up and hauled it to the designated De Tomaso
parking area, and unceremoniously dumped it in the grass.
When I got to the scene a short time later, the owner of the Mustang was
sitting down with Tim and they were discussing the matter in what appeared to
be a very calm manner. The Mustang owner took full responsibility, and
under the circumstances, it seems that insurance will be available to either
pay for the repairs, or total the car out.
I later saw Tim return to the wreck to open the decklid. He got out a
bottle of wine, and walked back in the direction of the negotiations,
apparently to share it with the fellow who had just demolished his car!
In speaking with him afterwards, he was smiling, philosophical, and
apparently determined to enjoy the rest of the weekend in spite of what had
befallen him. He showed no ill will towards the driver of the Mustang, and merely
shrugged his shoulders and smiled when discussing the incident.
I have never been so impressed with somebody--so much so that I made a
point of pulling him aside and telling him how much I admired him for his
ability to take the high road and not resort to childish tantrums. I seriously
doubt that I would be able to resist that urge if the same thing had happened
to me. He rightly pointed out that it was an accident, and that nobody
had been hurt (in fact he had picked up a hitchiker, a 18-year-old French kid
who had been standing by the track entrance hoping to hitch a ride around
the circuit--although the roof partially caved in on him when the Mustang
drove over the top of them and the windshield and door windows both shattered,
he was totally unhurt).
Anyway, my hat is off to Tim and I think we would all do well to follow his
example in the event that a similar fate would befall us.
The car was towed to a garage in Arnage while Tim's insurance company mulls
it over. It will probably get hauled up to Roland Jackel's shop in
Hamburg, and then the decision will have to be made, whether to salvage the car or
part it out.
Too, Tim was now left stranded, with no way back to Copenhagen. Since
Roland drove his Longchamp, he agreed to give Tim a ride back to Hamburg, and
he'll then take a short train ride the rest of the way.
Mike
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