By JOSHUA HAINING, NEWS REPORTER Published: 11:31 BST, 18 May 2026 | Updated: 11:39 BST, 18 May 2026
A Silverstone security boss is suing the home of British racing for £200,000 after a crash on the circuit left him with brain damage and a fractured skull.Peter Holdsworth, 66, was driving the rented John Deere Gator 4x4 utility buggy on the track in Northamptonshire when it flipped throwing him from the vehicle.Mr Holdsworth from Market Harborough, Leicestershire, suffered a traumatic brain injury and a fractured skull in the crash on August 4, 2024. He is now is suing his employer of five years for £200,000 in the High Court, claiming the buggy was not suitable for road use and Silverstone should have trained him to use it.But Silverstone blamed Mr Holdsworth for not wearing a seatbelt and not keeping both hands on the steering wheel of the off-road vehicle when he hit a kerb while speeding.Mr Holdsworth's barrister said: 'He was intending to drive down a slope and through a tunnel which passes underneath the racetrack.'As the claimant turned down the slope leading into the tunnel, he lost control of the vehicle and it overturned, landing on its side.'The claimant was thrown out of the open driver's side of the vehicle during the accident and he suffered serious injuries.' Peter Holdsworth suffered a traumatic brain injury and a fractured skull in the crash. He is suing his employer, Silverstone Circuits Limited, for £200,000 in compensation Mr Holdsworth was driving a rented John Deere buggy on Silverstone when it flipped throwing him from the vehicleHe was then taken to hospital where he spent two months recovering from his injuries. Mr Holdsworth has still not returned to work or to driving, according to his barrister.His barrister claimed that the accident was caused by Silverstone's failure to train him to use the John Deere buggy and that its tires were not designed to be used on the road.'The vehicle was not suitable to be driven in the location of the accident. 'It was designed for off-road use only, it was dangerous to use it on a paved road, dangerous on a slope, and accidental contact with raised kerbs may cause it to overturn.'But Silverstone's barrister said Mr Holdsworth was to blame for the crash.'The accident was caused by the claimant driving too fast and colliding with a kerb, thereby causing the Gator to roll.'Mr Holdsworth was seen to travel towards Copse Tunnel at excessive speed and without wearing a seatbelt.'CCTV footage suggests that he was not holding the steering wheel with both hands.'Having turned towards Copse Tunnel and as he drove down the slope into Copse Tunnel, the claimant clipped the kerb of the lane divider causing the Gator to roll onto its nearside. The claimant was ejected from the Gator. 'If the claimant had been wearing a seatbelt, he would not have been ejected from the Gator.' The barrister denied Mr Holdsworth's claim that the buggy was not suitable for the roads, describing it a 'road legal'.'A Gator is suitable for any person with a driving licence and it is not necessary to provide specific training to any qualified driver to drive a Gator.'He also said if Mr Holdsworth was wearing a seatbelt, he would not have been thrown from the vehicle.The case has not yet gone before a judge, but will be listed for a full trial of Mr Holdsworth's claim at a later date, unless the parties settle outside court.
