Speed record horror
Fitness firm millionaire dies after Porsche flips at 200mph
A MILLIONAIRE businessman has been killed in an horrific crash while trying to break the British land speed record.
An eyewitness said Zef Eisenberg’s car ‘veered off the runway and flipped’ as he tried to go faster than 205mph for a mile at Elvington airfield in North Yorkshire.
Mr Eisenberg, 47, devoted much of his time to building and driving ultra-fast motorbikes and cars, after making his fortune as the founder of sports nutrition firm Maximuscle.
A colourful character and self-confessed ‘speed freak’, the father-of-two also made his name on television programmes about his dangerous exploits.
The fatal accident on Thursday ay came four years after he almost died in another high-speed crash at the airfield – also the scene of a near-fatal crash by former Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond in 2006.
Mr Eisenberg had amassed more than 70 speed records on various bikes and cars and was yesterday described as a ‘much-loved member of the motorsport community’ by the sport’s governing body. He lived in Guernsey with partner Mirella D’Antonio.
Mr Eisenberg was driving a Porsche 911 Turbo S and trying to beat the ‘flying mile’ record of 205mph – the average speed over the distance – set in 2013.
A spokesman for Motorsport UK said the car ‘went out of control at high speed at the end of a run’, adding: ‘Police and ambulance crews attended – however, the driver tragically died at the scene.’
A security guard at the airfield said: ‘I have seen a lot of these record attempts. This is the worst crash I have seen here for years – worse than Richard Hammond.
‘The car just veered off the runway and flipped. The next thing I knew was all these police cars rolled up.’ Health and safety officials from the local council were at the scene yesterday. One official said: ‘These are the risks you take when you take things to extreme. I guess some people are addicted to it for the adrenaline buzz.’
In 2016, Mr Eisenberg nearly died in a 230mph crash at Elvington
on his Madmax race team’s gas turbine motorbike. He broke 11 bones and spent three months in hospital but soon returned to breaking records.
Recalling the accident last year, he said: ‘You go through some pretty dark days when you’re stuck in a hospital bed being told you won’t walk again.
‘My light at the end of the tunnel was: “I’m going to race the same motorbike on the anniversary of the crash.” The medics that saved me were amazed. They said: “When we found you, you weren’t alive.” I’d stopped breathing.’ Just 18 months later Mr Eisenberg set a land- speed record on sand by clocking 201mph.
Talking about his speed obsession, he once joked: ‘We’ve all got a bolt loose in the head! Seeing the number on the speedo doesn’t do anything for me – it’s the icing on the cake of everything you’ve done. Projects like this can take up to five years, so when you get that speed, it’s the ultimate pat on the back: “We’ve overcome the laws of physics and maths, you’re still alive, Zef, brilliant, let’s go to the pub”.’
Mr Eisenberg’s family said last night he was a ‘true genius with unique talents’, adding: ‘His parents and four siblings all adored him and followed his progress with great admiration.’
Originally a gym instructor and herbalist, Mr Eisenberg started Maximuscle in 1995 after writing a book about sports nutrition. The company became Britain’s largest supplier of sports nutritional products before he sold his stake for a reported £162 million.
‘The worst crash I have seen’