A plane crash in the UK this past week killed the five people on-board the business flight, and three of those were figures in world motorsports. Two of them, David Leslie and Richard Lloyd, were well-known. Also killed were the craft's pilot and co-pilot and Christopher Allarton, 25, a race team data engineer. With reports culled from several sources, we're able to report this sad story. Although not well-known to most American racing fans, Leslie, Lloyd and Allarton were on their way to test a Jaguar racing car in France when their plane crashed shortly after takeoff on Sunday afternoon, March 30th. The pilot and co-pilot, Mike Chapman and Mike Roberts, were also killed. The house the plane hit was unoccupied as the owners were on vacation; they arrived home just hours after the crash occurred, unaware of the event until they saw their ruined house. (Photos --- Above, Crash site in the UK; Below, Bentley "Speed 8" at the 2003 "24 Hours of LeMans").
Former Grand Prix racing champion Damon Hill knew Leslie and Lloyd for many years through their involvement with motor racing, and described them as "lovely guys".
The twin-engined Cessna Citation I crashed on Sunday at Farnborough, about 25 km (15 miles) southeast of London, and burst into flames. Nobody on the ground was injured as the couple who lived in the house were on holiday.
Mr Leslie was best known for his wins in the British Touring Car Championship at the height of its popularity in the 1990s, and more recently he was working as a racing commentator on Eurosport. The 54-year-old, from Banbury, Oxon, leaves behind a wife, Jane, and two sons.
Mr Lloyd ran the Bentley Le Mans 24-hour team earlier this decade and helped Audi win saloon car and 
touring car championships in the 1990s.He was also once a former driving partner of Sir Stirling Moss.
The 63-year-old was principal of Apex Motorsport, based in Buckinghamshire, and also once worked for Decca records in the 1960s, managing Cliff Richard and the Shadows. He lived with his wife Philippa, 56, and three daughters close to Silverstone race track in Northamptonshire. (Photo --- From upper left and clockwise, Richard Lloyd, Mike Chapman, Mike Roberts, David Leslie).
Hill, the 1996 Formula One World Champion, is now president of the British Racing Drivers' Club of which Mr Lloyd and Mr Leslie were members. He said: "I knew them both and I raced for Richard Lloyd at Le Mans". The racing driver lost his father Graham Hill in a plane crash when he was 15-years-old. (Photo --- Bentley "Speed 8" which won the 2003 "24 Hours of LeMans").
Former Formula One driver David Brabham, who raced with Mr Leslie, said: "David was a great guy. He was a very good driver and a distinguished gentleman. It is the saddest news, both for his family and for the racing community."
A minute's silence was held for the men in Nogaro, France at the test session they had been traveling to attend. Mr Leslie's helmet and overalls were placed on the Jaguar XKR he would have driven during the FIA GT3 European Championship. The pilot, Mike Roberts, has been hailed as a hero for steering the aircraft away from more populous sites.
Formula One legend Sir Jackie Stewart said Mr Leslie's death was "a great loss to Scottish motorsport". (Photo --- A tribute: David Leslie's helmet and driving suit are draped over the Jaguar racing car he was flying to France to test).
He said: "Scotland has been sorely hit over the last 12 months with the deaths of Colin McRae and now
David Leslie Jr." Mr McRae died in a helicopter crash in September 2007 which also claimed the life of his son and two family friends.
Sir Jackie added: "David was a highly skilled and talented racing driver who was also an excellent engineer and technical expert within the sport. A proud Scot who represented our country internationally in a dignified and stylish fashion. The Stewart family send deepest condolences and sincere sympathy to his family."
The business flight had taken off from Biggin Hill Airport and was heading to Pau, in south-west France, near the LeMans circuit. The plane was only five miles from Biggin Hill when the pilot put out a Mayday call, and it was just two miles north of the airport when it crashed. Aviation experts said the pilot had desperately tried to steer into a gap between the houses in Romsey Close, Orpington, Kent, before the crash.
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