Roland Ratzenberger – 24 Years On

[ibsey]

Willem Toet has kindly shared this Roland Ratzenberger article on his Linkedin page;https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/rolan...s-willem-toet/

[Fiorentina 1]

It's sad....even 24-years later. on youtube I watched the qualifying session from eurosport. I was surprised that eurosport showed as much as they did and also massively surprised that the session continued afterwards. it was obvious to the TV viewers that the situation was critical.

[S griffin]

What a waste of a great person who had finally got his chance after so long of trying. David Brabham really showed a lot of character to race the next day.

[BSchneiderFan]

Well, let’s be honest, Ratzenberger was never going to be World Champion, but he seemed like a nice guy who’d earned his crack at F1 after some solid pedalling in Group C. Unfortunately he’s doomed to suffer from Mother Teresa/Diana syndrome.

[ibsey]

A great article commemorating Ayrton Senna which Williem Toet adds some insight to; https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ayrto...s-willem-toet/

[coppice]

I think that's unfair on him . But the attention devoted to his death is interesting and I think is down to several factors-

- we all love an underdog and I am sure , every time Senna's death is mentioned , there's a perverse delight in saying 'don't forget Ratzenberger '

- for many who watch F1 , that weekend was the first time they had been exposed to death on the racetrack and hence it made a huge impression on them .

For me, being older, I am afraid I became immune to getting upset a very long time ago. Of course I remember 7 April when Jim Clark was killed , and for that reason alone I remember Mike Spence , Ludovico Scarfiotti and Jo Schlesser who died on the 7th of successive months in 1968.

But as for the other drivers I admired, I'd have to google the month and sometimes even the year too, for such as Jo Siffert ,Peter Revson, Tony Brise, Tom Pryce , Roger Williamson , Ronnie Peterson, Ignazio Giunti , Helmut Koinigg, Mark Donohue and far too many more .And that's just the Grand Prix drivers.

Ask not for whom the bell tolls ....

[Aysedasi]

I always remember Le Mans 1994 and the car Roland should have been driving. Like many others, I so wanted that car to win for him. Which is one reason why I so hate the 'imposter' Dauer Porsche.......

[S griffin]

Yes, that was something taken away from him. But it wasn’t to be

[mountainstar]

Hard to believe all this is nearly a quarter of a century now.

I remember it all very vividly and was watching the race live early in the morning here in the USA. This was pre internet days so I had no idea Ratzenberger had been killed on Saturday and then of course saw everything with Senna unfold in due course.

The whole thing was a life changing experience for me because I was at a young enough age that it was easy to have a utopian, naive view of the world and that things would be easier than they really are. It smacked me upside the head good and whether you were the journeyman up and comer trying to get in the sport or a multiple world champion, the big foot could come down and squash you like a bug and it would be all over in an instant. It shows the thin line in many cases between life and death, both accidents related to aerodynamic instability issues and/or broken parts.

I give Ratzenberger a lot of credit for what he did. He came in at the end of an era where an ordinary Joe could hardscrabble his way in. In the end to me, he made it to F1 and did what few have done.

[Richard C]

Originally Posted by mountainstar

I remember it all very vividly and was watching the race live early in the morning here in the USA. This was pre internet days so I had no idea Ratzenberger had been killed on Saturday and then of course saw everything with Senna unfold in due course.

Mirrors my experience exactly.

Richard

[ibsey]

Originally Posted by mountainstar

Hard to believe all this is nearly a quarter of a century now.

I remember it all very vividly and was watching the race live early in the morning here in the USA. This was pre internet days so I had no idea Ratzenberger had been killed on Saturday and then of course saw everything with Senna unfold in due course.

The whole thing was a life changing experience for me because I was at a young enough age that it was easy to have a utopian, naive view of the world and that things would be easier than they really are. It smacked me upside the head good and whether you were the journeyman up and comer trying to get in the sport or a multiple world champion, the big foot could come down and squash you like a bug and it would be all over in an instant. It shows the thin line in many cases between life and death, both accidents related to aerodynamic instability issues and/or broken parts.

I give Ratzenberger a lot of credit for what he did. He came in at the end of an era where an ordinary Joe could hardscrabble his way in. In the end to me, he made it to F1 and did what few have done.

Thanks for sharing :-)

I always wonder how many safety changes would have been implemented in F1 had Senna not been killed the following day?

[S griffin]

Originally Posted by ibsey

Thanks for sharing :-)

I always wonder how many safety changes would have been implemented in F1 had Senna not been killed the following day?

Well the GPDA had been reformed in the morning and had already discussed changes. Also don't forget the big crashes didn't end on that weekend. We had Wendlinger's crash at Monaco which left him in a coma. Then Lamy's accident in Silverstone where he ended up in the pedestrian tunnel, then Montermini's accident at Barcelona too. Not sure if as many circuits would have been changed though

[FIRE]

[Mekola]

Roland was an excellent guy, and I have to thank Max Mosley because he attended his funeral - Max was very responsible about the matter, being Simtek his team, albeit can't manage it due to his FIA duties.

Regarding Lady Di, did you know she sang in a chorus for Argentinian composer and orchestral director Waldo de los RÃ*os in 1974??? Just noted it because I'm working on Waldo's biography.