Roger Williamson

Roger Williamson (2 February 1948 – 29 July 1973) was a British racing driver and a two time British Formula 3 champion , who died during his second Formula One race, the 1973 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort Circuit in the Netherlands.

Early life and career

Williamson was born in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire. He won the 1971 and 1972 British Formula 3 Championship titles. In 1973, he was offered a drive in the March Engineering works Formula One team. Williamson originally tested for the BRM team, but his manager advised him to take the March offer, as March had a slightly stronger performance in the previous season.

Williamson made his Formula One debut at the 1973 British Grand Prix, the ninth round of the season, in which he was involved in a lap one nine car pileup resulting in his retirement. His second appearance came just weeks later at Zandvoort for the Dutch Grand Prix. Furthermore, the track marshals were wearing normal blazers and not the fire-resistant overalls which the drivers wore, and thus were not able to go near the large flames.

Purley was later awarded the George Medal for attempting to rescue Williamson. A series of photos of the incident won that year's World Press Photo award for Photo Sequences.

Williamson's body was later cremated with his ashes being taken to an undisclosed location. In the years following the accident, fire-resistant clothing would become mandatory for all trackside marshals so that they would be able to assist in the event of a fire. The next few years also saw an increase in drivers stopping at accident sites to assist in rescue efforts, notably at the 1976 German Grand Prix. Williamson was 25 years old at the time of his death.

In 2003, on the thirtieth anniversary of his fatal crash, a bronze statue of Williamson was unveiled at the Donington Park circuit in his native Leicestershire. Then-owner Tom Wheatcroft had provided financial backing to Williamson, and described the day Williamson died as "the saddest day of my life".

Racing record Complete Formula One World Championship results (key) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 WDC Pts. STP March Racing Team March 731 Cosworth V8 ARG BRA RSA ESP BEL MON SWE FRA GBR NED GER AUT ITA CAN USA NC 0

Non-Championship Formula One results (key) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 Roger Williamson Kitchmac (F5000) Chevrolet V8 ROC BRA INT OUL REP VIC