Zef was one of us, say motorsport community
THE motorsport community has been paying tribute to one of its biggest characters, who was killed on Thursday.
Businessman, racing enthusiast and ITV’s Speed Freaks presenter, Zef Eisenberg, died at Elvington Airfield, York, when his high performance Porsche 911 turbo S crashed while he was attempting to set another land speed record.
In 2016, Mr Eisenberg broke 11 bones, including his pelvis, at the same venue after crashing a motorbike and he returned to racing the following year, despite fears he might never walk again.
Guernsey Motorcycle and Car Club president Ian Le Page said Mr Eisenberg not only entered the club’s events but he was an ambassador for local motorsport generally.
‘He entered our last Vale Castle meeting on his quad bike and when he saw we were low on entries and risked losing money he gave us some sponsorship to help,’ he said.
‘He was always keen to show his unique machinery to the public, particularly at things such as Seafront Sundays and he was quite happy to talk to people about it.
‘It’s a big blow for us and our thoughts are with his family at this time.’
Guernsey Kart & Motor Club president Karl Marshal echoed the sentiment.
‘Zef put a lot into motorsport and put Guernsey on the map with his land speed records.
‘He raced bikes for so many years then turned to cars after his [2016] accident. It’s a bit ironic that he died on four wheels and not two.
‘We didn’t always know when he was attempting land speed records and when we first heard that somebody had been killed on Thursday we were instantly worried that it might have been him.
‘It’s a big shock to us.’
Bill Cohu said Mr Eisenberg had a good sense of humour and he would join in the banter among competitors sitting on the bank at the top of Le Val des Terres after completing hill climb runs.
‘He was just as happy having a bacon roll with people in The White Rock Cafe as he was mixing with TV stars,’ he said.
‘He was just one of us. He never presented as someone with a lot of money and you could never say he was snob. He earned every penny he got and he did a lot of good on the island. He was a fantastic rider on his quad bike too.’
