Roland Ratzenberger
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| Roland Ratzenberger | |
 |
|
| Formula One Career | |
| Nationality |  Austrian |
|---|---|
| Active years | 1994 |
| Team(s) | Simtek |
| Grands Prix | 3 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podium finishes | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First Grand Prix | 1994 Brazilian Grand Prix (DNQ) |
| First win | - |
| Last win | - |
| Last Grand Prix | 1994 San Marino Grand Prix (DNS) |
Roland Ratzenberger (July 4, 1960 – April 30, 1994) was an Austrian Formula One driver who died during qualifying for the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, the same race that took the life of three-time world champion Ayrton Senna, and seriously injured Rubens Barrichello (in practice).
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[edit] Background
Born in Salzburg, Austria, Ratzenberger often claimed 1962 (rather than 1960) as his birth year, wanting to appear younger to extend his racing career. He first came to prominence in 1986, winning the prestigious Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch. This led to campaigns in the European Formula 3 and touring car championships. He briefly gained fame in the UK for the similarity of his name to that of British TV puppet Roland Rat, appearing alongside him on an edition of TV-am. Later he forged a successful career in the Japanese Formula 3000 series.
Ratzenberger was plucked from Japan as a surprise choice by Nick Wirth's new Simtek team to drive in the 1994 Formula One season. After failing to qualify for the 1994 Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos, Ratzenberger made his only F1 Grand Prix start two weeks later at the 1994 Pacific Grand Prix at the TI Circuit in Aida, Japan.
[edit] A fateful weekend at Imola
He was killed in qualifying for the ill-fated third race of the season at the Imola circuit, ploughing into a concrete wall at the Villeneuve corner at over 300 km/h after a front wing failure, apparently caused by an off-track excursion on the previous lap. The impact caused the car to receive irreparable suspension damage to two wheels and sent him down to the apex of the next corner of the track where, upon rolling over the apex, his car spun around revealing a lolling head in the cockpit. Once professor Sid Watkins arrived at the scene, his medical team cut the chin strap from the helmet and Watkins could see from the driver's pupils that he had sustained massive head injuries. A time he had achieved earlier in the session would have been sufficient to give him a place on the grid. The force of the head-on impact was enough to break his neck, which could have been protected if the HANS device was implemented into Formula 1 at the time as it is now.
Ratzenberger was the first driver to perish at a Grand Prix meeting in twelve years following the death in 1982 of Riccardo Paletti, and the first to die in an F1 car since Elio de Angelis during testing in 1986.
[edit] Complete Formula One results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Team | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Simtek | BRA DNQ |
PFC 11 |
SMR DNS |
MON |
ESP |
CAN |
FRA |
GBR |
GER |
HUN |
BEL |
ITA |
POR |
EUR |
JPN |
AUS |
Simtek | - | 0 |
[edit] External links
- Roland Ratzenberger - Memorial website (German)
- F1 Rejects - a further tribute to Ratzenberger
| Preceded by Elio de Angelis |
Formula One fatal accidents April 30, 1994 |
Succeeded by Ayrton Senna |
