Engine shutdown caused Leslie crash

Former British Touring Car race-winner Leslie, Apex Motorsport team boss Lloyd and engineer Christopher Allarton were travelling to Pau to test the team's Jaguar XKR at Nogaro when the Cessna Citation 500 crashed shortly after take-off from Biggin Hill in March 2008.

The Air Accident Investigations Branch (AAIB) reported that a "missing rivet head on the left engine fuel shut-off lever" may have contributed to the engine shutdown, and that 70 seconds prior to impact neither of the aircraft's engines were producing any thrust.

One of the two pilots, Mike Roberts and Michael Chapman, also reported engine vibrations - probably caused by a "failure within the air cycle machine" - shortly after take-off and indicated that they were returning to land the plane immediately, but crashed on approach as one of the pilots reported a "major problem".

Leslie's racing career spanned more than 30 years and he was best remembered for his nine wins in the BTCC for Vauxhall, Honda and Nissan during the super-tourer era of the 1990s. But he was also responsible for the development of several Scottish drivers including David Coulthard, Dario Franchitti and Allan McNish.

Lloyd also raced in the BTCC in the 1970s but achieved his greatest successes as a team owner - running Audi's factory BTCC effort and guiding Frank Biela to the 1996 title. His Apex Motorsport outfit also oversaw the Bentley sportscar project at the start of this decade which finally achieved Lloyd's dream of winning the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2003.