The motorsport world is paying tribute to former British Touring Car Championship driver David Leslie and Richard Lloyd, boss of Apex Motorsport, who were among five people killed when a Cessna Citation 1 jet crashed in Kent yesterday. Their plane struck a house and exploded shortly after taking off from Biggin Hill airport. Pilot Mike Roberts, 63, had put out a mayday call reporting “engine vibrations” and is today being hailed as a hero for avoiding a playing field full of children. There were no casualties on the ground. The occupants of the house, which was destroyed, were on holiday. It’s understood that Leslie, 54, and Lloyd, 63, were on their way to the Pau circuit in France where they were due to test Apex Motorsport’s Jaguar XKR GT3 car. Veteran racer Leslie will be remembered for his competitive BTCC career. He last raced for Proton in 2003, but also drove for Honda and Nissan, memorably hauling an uncompetitive Primera to second place in the BTCC championship in 1999. More recently he commentated on World Touring Cars for Eurosport.Sir Jackie Stewart led the tributes to his countryman. "Scotland has been sorely hit over the last 12 months with the deaths of Colin McRae and now David Leslie,” he said. “David was a highly skilled and talented racing driver.”Father-of-three Lloyd also came second at Le Mans in 1985. He was boss of Apex Motorsport, which runs Jaguar’s development team for the XKR in the GT3 Championship. BTCC boss Alan Gow said, “The BTCC is a close-knit community and we mourn the tragic loss of both David and Richard. However our sense of loss is nothing compared to those of their families and our thoughts go out to them at this terrible time."
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