Man Dies of Injuries in Car Club Race Crash

One of two men critically injured during a car club race in Irvine over the weekend died Monday, authorities said.

John Hartley Clark, 52, of Rolling Hills Estates was pronounced dead at 12:15 a.m. after undergoing surgery at Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center here, spokeswoman Nancy Gasho said.

Clark’s passenger, Eric Karl Lindquist, 37, of Riverside, suffered head injuries and remained in critical condition at the hospital.

Irvine police were investigating the cause of the accident, which occurred shortly after 4 p.m. Sunday in the parking lot of Lion Country Center, where a race sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America was being held.

Police Officer Bob Richardson said mechanical failure apparently caused Clark’s car to veer from the track and crash into a tree.

“It’s the first accident that I’ve heard of (at a Sports Car Club race),” Richardson said. He added that such races are generally safe because they are held in large parking lots, and drivers do not usually exceed 70 m.p.h.

Clark was driving a Lotus Elan in a two-person slalom race when he failed to make a turn on the course. The car went off the paved area and struck a tree, police said.

Both Clark and Lindquist were wearing helmets and seat belts when the accident occurred, police said.

“We’re absolutely devastated at what happened,” said Kay Kelly, a spokeswoman for the Sports Car Club of America. “It’s really a rare occurrence. We have so many rules and so much effort goes into conducting an event safely that we rarely have accidents.”

Kelly said her organization sets guidelines and rules for car club races.

About 2,000 sanctioned races are held around the country each year, she said.