Worst of Molecomb at Goodwood Festival of Speed

By now, most people following the Goodwood Festival of Speed will have seen the footage of Pat Doran putting the side of a Ford RS200 Evo 2 into a row of bales.

There was some criticism of the crash, though most enthusiasts defended the driver saying the corner is tricky, and that crashing is an acceptable risk of using cars as they were intended.

Doran wasn’t the only one to bite it there, however, as that corner is known as the infamous Molecomb.

It’s best explained by Koenigsegg factory driver Robert Serwanski:

“Molecomb corner is a 90deg left hander which you reach at very high speed after being flat out.

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“The tarmac has some dips and small bumps, which often can be felt quite significantly during braking.

“This corner is the one that catches quite a few drivers out since you must brake before you actually can see the corner itself.”

Which is how Doran’s incident came to be. Even a seasoned driver can’t see the corner coming, they have to anticipate it.

The same happened to three-time Formula Drift champ Chris Forsberg, who did some nasty damage to a Nissan 370Z. Those bales aren’t light.

Want to see a Ferrari eat hay? That happened too.

In a rather spectacular fashion, a 458 GT2 put its tail end into the bales.

There was one more car we thought it worth mentioning that couldn’t quite handle the intricacy of Molecomb at high speed. A 1935 Frazer Nash Monoposto.

With seasoned driver of vintage racers Patrick Blakeney-Edwards at the wheel, the 82-year-old car tried – successfully – to stick its back end out mid-corner.

He managed to save it, and slowed the car enough to result in a relatively gentle reverse nudge into the bales, which didn’t damage the Nash much at all.

Well played, Molecomb. Well played.