Martin Raymond

24/10/1943 - 16/3/1980

Record updated 16-Mar-23

Martin Raymond was a well known amateur driver who did very well in the European 2 Liter Sports Car Championship. He was killed after retiring from the 6 Hour race at Brands Hatch in 1980. He was inspecting his Chevron when he was hit by two other cars that had tangled on the exit of Dingle Dell.

Martin Raymond was a financial advisor and a well known amateur driver. He started racing at the age of 22 driving a Mini Cooper. In the early 1970s he became one of the best drivers in the European 2 Liter Sports car Championship, finishing 4th in 1973 and 3rd in 1975 driving a Chevron.

In 1979 he finished 3rd overall in the Brands Hatch 6 Hour race in his 2-litre Chevron B36 Ford sharing the driving with Tony Charnell.

During the 1980 Brands Hatch 6 Hours race, Raymond and the Lombardi/Rocca Oscella had already collided twice. Once when Raymond hit the Osella after Rocca had parked it beside the track after spinning in practice and again shortly after the start of the race when Lella Lombardi tried to overtake Raymond and the cars touched on the start/finish straight.

Then on lap 103, three hours into the race Raymond parked the Chevron with a seized gearbox at Dingle Dell. Raymond got out of the car and was inspecting it when Marco Rocca slowed down to let Carlo Facetti's Lancia Beta Monte Carlo Turbo lap him. Paul Edwards, who was closely following Facetti in a Porsche 911 Carrera RSR, didn't see Rocca slow down and crashed into the Osella at about 180 kph. The two cars crashed and slid down the Armco into the Raymond's stranded Chevron catapulting him into the trees some distance from the circuit. He was killed instantly. Edwards suffered a broken arm and Rocca sustained injuries to his feet.

There was much debate after the race as to why the car was not moved from a dangerous place and why Raymond was allowed to stay with the car for so long.



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