On This Day: Frank Lockhart dies while attempting land speed record

APRIL 25, 1928: American race ace Frank Lockhart died while trying to break the land speed record in the smallest-engined car ever to attempt the feat on this day in 1928.

He spun out of control at Daytona Beach, Florida – after a tyre was burst by a seashell – and was thrown from his three-litre Stutz Black Hawk Special, killing him instantly.

Lockhart, 25, a gifted mechanic who began racing his own cars five years earlier and achieved instant success as a pro in 1926, was travelling at more than 200mph.

Silent British Pathé footage captures his fatal bid to smash the 207.5mph record that was set a year earlier by Ray Keech in massive 81-litre-engined Triplex Special.

Lockhart is shown going so fast that he overtakes the biplane filming him from the air and temporarily disappears from view as the camera pans along the wing.

Then, suddenly, the tiny-but-rapidly-moving object that his car has become begins zigzagging in the sand.

A camera on the ground captures his vehicle somersaulting through the air with terrified onlookers running out of the way and only narrowly avoiding being killed.

The Black Hawk Special – named for the town of Blackhawk, Indiana, where it was built – eventually came to a halt.

Shocked witnesses are then filmed gathering around the twisted wreckage.

Lockhart was rushed to hospital in an ambulance - but it was already too late and he was pronounced dead on arrival 15 minutes after the crash.

[On This Day: First driver to die in Formula One championship]

He died only two years after winning the prestigious Indianapolis 500 at his first attempt.

The feat ensured that he remains one of only eight rookies to win the traditionally 500-mile event, which in 1926 was shortened to 400 miles due to rain.

Lockhart, who until then had only raced on California dirt tracks, was leading by an astonishing two-lap margin when the race was stopped at Lap 160.

Incredibly, he almost did not compete at all since he had only been signed by Team Miller as the relief driver for their star Peter Kreis.

But, after convincing Kreis to let him warm the car up, Lockhart clocked a faster lap time than the seasoned professional and so was allowed to race instead.

However, despite setting an unofficial track record, he struggled with mechanical problems during qualification and only secured 20th place on the grid.

[On This Day: Formula One champion Jim Clark killed in car crash]

Yet, when race day came, his performance was blistering.

By lap five, he had reached fifth position after passing 14 drivers in that circuit alone.

He moved into second on lap 16 and eventually took the lead from Dave Lewis on lap 72, and remained in first place until the end, despite dogged battles early on.

He joined an elite band of victorious first-timers, including Formula One aces Graham Hill and Juan Pablo Montoya, who won the Indy 500 in 1966 and 2001 respectively.

The feat ensured Lockhart’s instant stardom and enabled him to gain sponsors to help him set a world speed record, which was his greatest ambition.

[On this day: The Sky at Night first airs in 1957]

With backing from the Stutz Motor Company, Lockhart devised a vehicle that would combine two 1.5-litre engines.

But, despite his display of engineering prowess, Lockhart’s bid to break the record ended in tragedy.

He reached 203.45 in his the first of two legs at Daytona Beach, four miles behind the previous record.