A TARGA Tasmania rally car driver was going too fast and positioned incorrectly on the road before a fatal crash, a Launceston coronial inquest has heard.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Competitor John Ernest Mansell, 71, of New South Wales, died at the scene on April 17, 2013, near Exton, after he drove over a crest at 200 km/h, became airborne, veered off the road and hit a tree.
His navigator Tristan Catford was seriously injured.
It was the first day and the first stage of the event.
On the second day of a coronial inquest into his death, First Class Constable Nigel Housego gave evidence about the investigation he carried out after the death.
Barrister Dan Coombes, for Targa and event organiser Octagon, asked the witness about the contents of his crash investigation report.
Constable Housego, of Northern Crash Investigation Services, confirmed that in his opinion, Mr Mansell's car was travelling at an inappropriately high speed, while he had allowed the vehicle to drift towards the left road edge.
"So your opinion as to the cause of the crash was one, he was going too fast?" Mr Coombes asked the policeman.
"Yes," Constable Housego replied.
"And you also say his car was positioned incorrectly on the road?" Mr Coombes asked.
The constable also confirmed that was correct.
The inquest, before Coroner Simon Cooper, is expected to run for a week and hear from 10 witnesses.