Zef Eisenberg, the millionaire sports nutrition company founder and television presenter, has been killed during an attempt to break the British land speed record at the same airfield where he almost died four years ago.
The 47-year-old, who founded fitness firm Maximuscle, died at Elvington airfield, east of York, on Thursday afternoon. Elvington is where the fellow TV presenter Richard Hammond was involved in a near-fatal accident while filming for BBC’s Top Gear in 2006.
Eisenberg was also known as a TV presenter on the ITV4 series Speed Freaks, which was broadcast last year, and held more than 50 British and world land speed racing records.
Emergency crews were called to the airfield after reports of a “serious vehicle incident” at around 4.30pm on Thursday.
North Yorkshire police said: “The incident occurred during a British Land Speed record attempt and the driver, 47-year-old Zef Eisenberg tragically died at the scene. Officers attended with the ambulance service and an investigation is ongoing.”
Motorsport UK also said an investigation into the circumstances has begun.
After leaving school at 15, Eisenberg competed as a bodybuilder and went on to launch Maximuscle in 1995. He sold the business to GlaxoSmithKline for £162m in 2011.
The Guernsey-based businessman had been involved in a “near-death” 230mph crash at Elvington in 2016, breaking 11 bones including his pelvis.
Before that crash Eisenberg had set other speed records at the airfield. He ran the Madmax Race Team, which attempts speed records with motorcycles and cars, and holds the Guinness World Records’ fastest turbine-powered motorbike run of 243mph, a feat he achieved in 2015.
Eisenberg returned to racing in 2017, despite concerns he might never walk again, and in 2019 he broke Idris Elba’s world record for the “flying mile” at Pendine Sands in Wales, setting a new record of 201.5mph.
Elvington was an RAF station until 1992 and has been a popular motorsports venue since it became privately owned. An active airfield, the facility has hosted dozens of world record attempts and is frequently used for driving, driver training, filming and other testing purposes for professional organisations.
In 2006, Hammond was left in a coma for two weeks with serious brain injuries after crashing a jet-powered car at almost 300mph. He went on to make a full recovery.