The accident that claimed the life of Dr. Albert "Al" Fleming, 69, a well-known chemical engineering boss and motor racing enthusiast, occurred at Hockenheim, Germany, on Friday, 11 April 2014, during qualifying for the Bosch Hockenheim Historic, a vintage car meeting titled as "The Jim Clark Revival".

A Liverpool native, Al Fleming moved with his family to Scotland as a child. He was co-founder of chemical firm Alval Engineering in Leven, Fife, Scotland. Al Fleming had a racing experience of more than four decades, being involved in racing since his Edinburgh University days, when he took part in rallies, co-driven by his wife Val, whom he married in 1969. He had competed in many historic events since the 1990s, alongside his son Nick, 38, also a successful racing driver. The family owned many classic racing cars, including two 1963 Lotus Elans, a 1969 Chevron B8 and a 2-litre Chevron B36 sportscar from the 1970s, and a Ralt RT1 Formula 2 single-seater from 1977.

At Hockenheim Albert Fleming was at the wheel of his yellow and green Lotus Elan #1, which went out of control and flipped in the long Parabolika stretch of the circuit. It is believed that the accident was caused by a technical defect. The car was losing oil along the track, before crashing.

Owing to the accident the qualifying session was immediately stopped and the organizers announced that the Revival was cancelled. It was only at the express request of the Fleming family that the event resumed on the Saturday.

R.I.P