Driver ‘showed off’ when he plowed into pavement and smashed ‘Dragon’s Den’ star’s £100,000 Ferrari as he pleaded guilty to careless driving

A driver was “showing off” when he drove onto the pavement and crashed a £100,000 Ferrari owned by a Dragon’s Den star, a court heard.

Joey Baptiste, 41, pleaded guilty to careless driving after crashing a Ferrari F430 in Norwich, Norfolk last year.

A supercar owned by ex-Dragon’s Den contestant Ross Mendham crashed into a bike rack and narrowly missed a runner.

Baptiste appeared at Great Yarmouth Magistrates’ Court on January 2, where he pleaded guilty to careless driving.

He previously denied driving the car without due care and attention, claiming the car had suffered a “mechanical fault”.

Baptist changed his plea because he had “lost contact” with Mr Mendham so the vehicle could not be inspected. The Ferrari was written off after the accident.

Mendham was a passenger in the car at the time of the crash, which happened shortly before 5pm on March 17 last year.

CCTV footage shows the car, worth more than £100,000, smashing through four bike racks before coming to a halt with plumes of smoke.

Joey Baptiste (pictured) appeared at Great Yarmouth Magistrates’ Court on January 2, where he pleaded guilty to careless driving.

CCTV showed the Italian sports car smashing into a curb, sending a cloud of debris before careening down the road

The supercar owned by ex-Dragon’s Den contestant Ross Mendham (pictured) crashed into a bike rack and narrowly missed a runner

Holly Davies-Regan, of the Crown Prosecution Service, read a witness account of the incident, which said Baptiste was “revving the engine” while waiting for the red light.

Witnesses said they had “never seen driving so bad and so fast on that stretch of road” and they believed the driver was “showing off”.

Another witness said that as Baptiste accelerated, he “lost control of the rear of the vehicle” and “collided” with the bike racks.

Neither Baptiste nor Mr. Mendham were injured in the accident.

Rachel Buck, Baptist’s barrister, told the court he was insured to drive the car and was doing so because the owner was “not feeling well”.

She said that minutes before the crash, Baptiste accidentally hit the accelerator in an attempt to break.

She added that “witnesses think he was speeding because the car has a loud engine”, before her client muttered that it was a “4.7-litre V8 engine”.

This is the moment the Ferrari goes out of control and crashes into a bike rack

He then turned onto the opposite side of the road, onto the pavement again, before stopping in the centre

Mendham has won £60,000 investment for his noodle and pasta business, Naked in the Dragon’s Lair

Miss Buck said Baptiste received four points on his license for an unrelated speeding incident that followed the Ferrari crash.

Magistrates in Yarmouth said they intended to award him at least another seven points for the incident.

Miss Buck asked for an “exceptional hardship claim”, arguing that Batista needed a full driver’s license to do his job as a ground worker.

She added that he has a son who lives in Fakengham and needs a driving license to pick him up at weekends.

Baptiste will appear at Norwich Magistrates’ Court on February 19 for sentencing.

Ross Mendham, owner of Ferrari, appeared on Dragons’ Den in 2013.

Entrepreneur Peter Jones has invested £60,000 in his low-calorie venture, now called Barenaked Foods.

Last year, he also launched a fashion brand called God of Design (GOD) that revamped vintage and designer clothing.