Pryce, Tom

[ianric]

Let's not forget Tom Pryce who would have been the first Welsh World Champion if he hadn't lost his life in that freak accident whilst driving the Shadow.

I knew him from the Formula Three days and we used to drink at the bar at Brands Hatch together on Wednesdays and Fridays. He wasn't a very regular drinker, he was too professional, but he was a gentleman.
I am sorry I don't have any stats for him, I hope somebody else can fill those in.
It was just a great loss to the motor racing world.

[John Turner]

Tom Pryce was born 11 June 1949 in Denbighshire, North Wales and died at the South African GP, Kyalami on 5 March, 1977.

He competed in 42 GPs.

[chunterer]

Mind boggles at that he might have gone on to achieve.

Such a huge talent.

Career could have gone into the mid 80's judging by how long drivers of a similar age managed with half as much ability.

[hicklingmick]

Helped to get started in his motor racing career by Chris Meek.

[coppice]

I saw Tom race a number of times in period , including his pole at Silverstone and his non championship win at the Race of Champions at Brands, both in the Shadow in 1975. I also found myself next to him in the queue for a bacon sandwich at Oulton to him and regret I was then too shy to say hello to the guy who was then winning in Formula Atlantic .



But I wouldn't assume he was destined for world championship victory - such assumptions are almost invariably wrong. Look at Hunt (who few rated very highly until he made the March 731 fly , Lauda , who didn't make the March 721 fly or Jackie Ickx , who often looked invincible in his Ferrari and Brabham years ) .



I attended a lovely exhibition to Tom's life at Denbigh town hall museum in 2018 - low key , but deeply moving .



His life , along with those of Tony Brise and Roger Williamson was beautifully portrayed in David Tremayne's masterpiece , The Lost Generation , which is essential reading for students of that era .



Of the three , I felt Brise was possibly most likely to go on to great things as he had more killer instinct than Tom or Roger -not that it matters now , of course , and the best testament to Tom was that nobody ever had a bad word to say about him .

[S griffin]

From what I have read about Brise he seems to have been fast in a Prost way and of course his approach to racing was very professional. Considering he beat his team mate Jones at Hill, it does make you wonder what he would have achieved had fate not intervened. How good would have the Hill GH2 have been in 1976 for example? I definitely could see him in the Williams team rather than Jones.

Pryce OTOH was fast in the Peterson mould, but then that’s what got the Shadow higher than it perhaps should have been. If he had been in a top car, he would have been a champion. In my view like Villeneuve and Peterson, his hang it out style was just him trying to get the best out of a bad car