The driver of the red-and-white, Lark cigarettes-liveried March-BMW lay injured in his cockpit, in severe pain.
Seventy laps of the short circuit at Donington Park was hard work for anyone, let alone a 35-year-old for whom this had been the first race in Europe for five years.
That driver, 10 to 15 years the senior of most of his opposition, had just finished fourth in the latest round of the European Formula 2 Championship.
Marcus Simmons is the deputy editor of Autosport magazine. As a child he was a regular on the chalk banks of Thruxton, before becoming an MSA timekeeper at the age of 17. Shortly afterwards, he started reporting for Motoring News and joined the staff in 1990.
After abandoning a parallel Formula First career – which had been as incident-packed as his childhood equestrian exploits – he moved to Autosport in 1996. Since then he has had two stints as a freelance and a brief spell as editor of Motor Sport magazine, during which the revered green cover was revived, before rejoining Autosport in 2008. He lives in Teddington with his wife, stepsons, dog, cat and guitars, and has two daughters.
Why a 2019 BTCC tail-ender is now a serious contender It was at the back of the 2019 BTCC grid with its outdated MG6s, but this weekend Excelr8 Motorsport starts its second season by bringing Hyundai to the series. The all new i30 Fastback N has those involved in the project excited for an upturn in fortunes BTCC
Why the 2020 BTCC season can still be a corker The season is late starting and some of the leading contenders, including the championship's very own Mr Marmite, are missing. But BTCC pundit Tim Harvey reckons there's still plenty to get excited about ahead of this weekend's first round BTCC
Why "whirlwind" Tauranac's legacy will stand the test of time The passing of Ralt boss Ron Tauranac last week drew tributes from around the world, not least from the bosses of three prominent teams on whom the Australian designer made a lasting impression F3
The quintet giving Ferrari a tough decision to make The Ferrari Driver Academy earned a podium sweep in the first Formula 2 race of the new decade in Austria last weekend. The battle between 'the FDA five' is set to be one of the major subplots of the season, but who has the best F1 prospects for 2021? F2
Why 2020 offers a second-generation racer his best Indy 500 shot Al Unser Jr managed to emulate his father by winning the Indianapolis 500 in 1992. Michael Andretti came close several times, but never did. Now could be the best chance yet for another son of a previous Indy 500 winner to join that exclusive club IndyCar
The unseen challenges of making F1 cars look fast Fans don't have the luxury of watching Formula 1 cars trackside during the COVID-19 pandemic, so are indebted to TV crews to portray their spectacular performance. Fortunately, the team led by F1's director of broadcast is constantly innovating F1
Why a Le Mans winner is heading into the “unknown world” of NASCAR Comparing Porsche's 919 HYBRID LMP1 to NASCAR is motorsport's equivalent of apples and oranges, but this weekend one of Weissach's top works aces will pit his skills against the regulars and revive the tradition of the 'road-course ringer' NASCAR
How Hungary's tortoise and hare grand prix was won Car-management is common parlance for modern Formula 1 drivers, but 30 years ago today the Hungarian Grand Prix was won by a driver purposefully driving slowly to preserve worn tyres, as a snarling pack tripped over themselves F1
Highlights
Series
Explore
