This week there will copious amounts written about the death of Ayrton Senna twenty years ago at the San Marino Grand Prix, and rightly so, for he was both a legendary talent on the track and quiet humanitarian off of it.
In all of that remembrance, let us not forget that two drivers died that fateful weekend at Imola and though he was in only his third Grand Prix, Roland Ratzenberger left behind many fans, myself included.
He started racing at the relatively late age of 23 and although his talent rose quickly to the top in Formula Ford, he did not get the breaks (or sponsorship) to put him in a top car in the higher single-seater formula but he impressed in touring cars and sports cars, competing at Le Mans five times with the likes of Toyota and Brun Porsche.
When Nick Wirth offered him a drive with his new Simtek team in the 1994 F1 Championship, Ratzenberger joined the elite club at the age of 33. The car was not good but the always smiling Austrian had attained his dream. Unfortunately it would only be a few months before he joined a far more ominous club – Austrian drivers who died at the wheel: Jochen Rindt, Helmuth Koinigg, Markus Hottinger and Jo Gartner.
Roland Ratzenberger lived life to the fullest – his talent for wooing women was possibly even bigger than his talent on the track – and left behind a lot of friends.
I was fortunate enough to have witnessed one of his greatest races in person, the 1986 Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch, where he battled Phillipe Favre the entire race. Enjoy watching the 60’s style drifting, the beautiful wheel-to-wheel racing and the defensive driving class – plus a great finish!
– MCZF1
