Tom Pryce would/could have been a world champion, died far to young, would have been great to see a Welshman become world champion. Nos da, Cymru am Byth Tom...
@lanpingpug Tragically, Williamson burned alive in the fire. David Purley, the driver who tried in vain to save Williamson, later said that Williamson could be heard screaming for help and in obvious severe pain as he attempted to douse the fire and turn the car over. Had the fire and safety crews of today's racing been available that day at Zandvoort, Williamson would have very likely survived.
@rayleighbear The other drivers thought it was Purleys car that was on fire, that he had escaped from the crash and was trying to save the burning car. At the end of the day it is the race organizers who should have stopped the race and they are the ones who have to take ultimate responsibility for the tragedy that happened.
David Purley was extremely brave though and was rightly awarded the George medal for his awe inspiring attempt to save his friends life.
@rayleighbear Yup. Including "safety crusaders" like Jackie Stewart and Niki Lauda. I don't know how any of them could look him in the eye after that.
Once the car has burst into a ball of flame and slid to a halt upside down and then continued to burn for more than a few seconds. I'm afraid the outcome for the driver is already sealed.
Anything else is the emotion/adrenalin/passion etc of the rescuers. But, alas it is futile.
F1 safety standards were a joke back then, it's too easy to put the blame of Tom Pryce's death on the marshal because he did what he was told to do. He was only 19. Also the other marshal was incredibly lucky that the driver in front of Pryce (Stuck) sverved to the right before hitting him. The Williamson death is much more ridiculous. Also in the Lauda crash you can see on YouTube the people who pulled Lauda out of the inferno were 3 fellow drivers.
As for the Pryce incident, that is just an unfortunate occurence where the stupidity of one man (or two, as there were two marshalls) cost the life of another. I feel for Pryce, but quite frankly I feel no pity for the idiotic marshall.
A tribute could have been made without showing the actual accidents and deaths. Tom's was especially gruesome. The tragic irony Piers Courage and Roger died through track workers not helping, Tom died due to the over enthusiasm of a track worker.
@markf9572..and all who want to condemn the Marshals in Roger's death...The track worker couldn't have done anything...he was wearing a sports coat and tie for God's sake...Formula 1 wasn't set up then the way it was now...It's terribly wrong to blame a marshal who is unequipped to deal with a racing accident like this with a death...Shame on you...Maybe he could have loosened his tie and over-turned a burning car...?
@markf9572 If anything, the Marshal was concerned about what he did have control over which was Purley getting hit crossing the track...Once again, the Marshal was helping in the ONLY way he could..Shame on you...
@MrDBCooperstein Theres much blame to be dealt out there. The organizers of the race/series should have been criminally charged for gross negligence/ignorance. To not have some sort of safety crew wearing fire retardant gear is completely insane. it might have been 1973, but a car crashing, flipping, and catching fire was FAR from unprecedented. I find it hard to believe though, that there was only 1 extinguisher around, and absolutely nothing else. Some people would just rather save themselves.
@snappy452 Wow...Everyone seems to know what was in the heart of this poor track worker...Blaming him for a death is a very serious thing, implying he would rather save himself than a driver is foolish..It appears to me he was doing the only thing he could do at that moment which was to try to keep a distraught Purley from getting killed himself on the track...But hey, screw it, you have a gift for knowing the hearts of others simply by watching a video. What a gift...!
@MrDBCooperstein Poor track worker.......yeah, all 30 of them. Tell me there wasnt SOMETHING that could of been done.....all I see is a bunch of fuckheads standing around with their thumb up their asses, seemingly think "Well, Im shit out of ideas..." It would have been nice to see a little URGENCY in their actions, even if they could do nothing. Maybe I dont know their true intentions, but body language speaks volumes. The fact that none of them seem at all urgent or alarmed, says A LOT.
@MrDBCooperstein For Christ sake, the man with the Extinguisher was WALKING to the scene. Purley had to literally yank it out of his hands. Theres no sense of alarm/emergency in these men's actions. It doesnt take a psychologist to read body language.
@snappy452 You exaggerate the circumstances to try to make a case. Simply put, even if there were 30 track workers running urgently to the scene they did not have what was needed to do the job...That's not there fault, it's the systems fault which is much better today. You can use all the foul language you want condemning these men to hell but I believe they shouldn't be judged for the circumstance they found themselves in...Maybe I'm being unreasonable but I don't believe so...
@MrDBCooperstein I think its pretty hard to exaggerate the circumstances of a man trapped in a burning car which is upside down. Obviously youre right, they did not have the proper equipment to do the job, which is entirely the fault of the course management/event organizers. However, their seemingly non-chalant reactions to the situation at hand doesnt lead me to believe they reacted in any proper manner. As I said, the man with the extinguisher seemed in no hurry to arrive on the scene.
@MrDBCooperstein Also, I do hope you realize that it is hard for a person not to react emotionally to this. I dont understand how in the very least, the track president/head of safety werent charged with some sort of criminal negligence. As I said, its not as if a car flipping over and bursting into flames was unprecedented in 1973.
Tom Pryce would/could have been a world champion, died far to young, would have been great to see a Welshman become world champion. Nos da, Cymru am Byth Tom...
pentre1230 7 months ago
@pentre1230 yes. and it's been a LONG wait for another cymro to grace an f1 car. but i hope for good stuff from hywel lloyd.
disjoinedchip2 4 months ago
Did Williamson die before the fire started? It's horrible to think about but I hope to God he was dead before the flames got to him.
lanpingpug 8 months ago
@lanpingpug Tragically, Williamson burned alive in the fire. David Purley, the driver who tried in vain to save Williamson, later said that Williamson could be heard screaming for help and in obvious severe pain as he attempted to douse the fire and turn the car over. Had the fire and safety crews of today's racing been available that day at Zandvoort, Williamson would have very likely survived.
indyblimp1 3 months ago
Roger Williamson, the better. If he had not died, would have been world champion Niki Lauda instead. VIVA WILLIAMSON, RIP
peruanito1948 9 months ago
Re All the comments below, its a shame only David Purley stopped to help his fellow driver, all the others continued. shame on them.
rayleighbear 11 months ago 4
@rayleighbear They all thought that the car on the fire was Purley's and that he was fine they had no idea that Roger had crashed.
ShadowFenrir2 9 months ago
@rayleighbear The other drivers thought it was Purleys car that was on fire, that he had escaped from the crash and was trying to save the burning car. At the end of the day it is the race organizers who should have stopped the race and they are the ones who have to take ultimate responsibility for the tragedy that happened.
David Purley was extremely brave though and was rightly awarded the George medal for his awe inspiring attempt to save his friends life.
MeMeMeMeMeMeMeMeAndU 8 months ago
@rayleighbear Yup. Including "safety crusaders" like Jackie Stewart and Niki Lauda. I don't know how any of them could look him in the eye after that.
U5ERNAMEINVALID 2 months ago
Once the car has burst into a ball of flame and slid to a halt upside down and then continued to burn for more than a few seconds. I'm afraid the outcome for the driver is already sealed.
Anything else is the emotion/adrenalin/passion etc of the rescuers. But, alas it is futile.
STILLAVRIL1 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
F1 safety standards were a joke back then, it's too easy to put the blame of Tom Pryce's death on the marshal because he did what he was told to do. He was only 19. Also the other marshal was incredibly lucky that the driver in front of Pryce (Stuck) sverved to the right before hitting him. The Williamson death is much more ridiculous. Also in the Lauda crash you can see on YouTube the people who pulled Lauda out of the inferno were 3 fellow drivers.
Corbon440 1 year ago
Comment removed
Corbon440 1 year ago
search for roger willimason page on facebook
/pages/Roger-Williamson/123064444411563?v=wall
95115964 1 year ago
I know David (author of "The Lost Generation." Very nice chap and he even gave me an autographed copy of his book.
Dietpepsivanilla 1 year ago
They were all good,but Tony Brise was truly special but all tragedies.
daccord1853 1 year ago
As for the Pryce incident, that is just an unfortunate occurence where the stupidity of one man (or two, as there were two marshalls) cost the life of another. I feel for Pryce, but quite frankly I feel no pity for the idiotic marshall.
snappy452 1 year ago
Comment removed
MrDBCooperstein 1 year ago
@snappy452 We agree on that one... :-)
MrDBCooperstein 1 year ago
A tribute could have been made without showing the actual accidents and deaths. Tom's was especially gruesome. The tragic irony Piers Courage and Roger died through track workers not helping, Tom died due to the over enthusiasm of a track worker.
markf9572 1 year ago
@markf9572..and all who want to condemn the Marshals in Roger's death...The track worker couldn't have done anything...he was wearing a sports coat and tie for God's sake...Formula 1 wasn't set up then the way it was now...It's terribly wrong to blame a marshal who is unequipped to deal with a racing accident like this with a death...Shame on you...Maybe he could have loosened his tie and over-turned a burning car...?
MrDBCooperstein 1 year ago
@markf9572 If anything, the Marshal was concerned about what he did have control over which was Purley getting hit crossing the track...Once again, the Marshal was helping in the ONLY way he could..Shame on you...
MrDBCooperstein 1 year ago
@MrDBCooperstein Theres much blame to be dealt out there. The organizers of the race/series should have been criminally charged for gross negligence/ignorance. To not have some sort of safety crew wearing fire retardant gear is completely insane. it might have been 1973, but a car crashing, flipping, and catching fire was FAR from unprecedented. I find it hard to believe though, that there was only 1 extinguisher around, and absolutely nothing else. Some people would just rather save themselves.
snappy452 1 year ago
@snappy452 Wow...Everyone seems to know what was in the heart of this poor track worker...Blaming him for a death is a very serious thing, implying he would rather save himself than a driver is foolish..It appears to me he was doing the only thing he could do at that moment which was to try to keep a distraught Purley from getting killed himself on the track...But hey, screw it, you have a gift for knowing the hearts of others simply by watching a video. What a gift...!
MrDBCooperstein 1 year ago
@MrDBCooperstein Poor track worker.......yeah, all 30 of them. Tell me there wasnt SOMETHING that could of been done.....all I see is a bunch of fuckheads standing around with their thumb up their asses, seemingly think "Well, Im shit out of ideas..." It would have been nice to see a little URGENCY in their actions, even if they could do nothing. Maybe I dont know their true intentions, but body language speaks volumes. The fact that none of them seem at all urgent or alarmed, says A LOT.
snappy452 1 year ago
@MrDBCooperstein For Christ sake, the man with the Extinguisher was WALKING to the scene. Purley had to literally yank it out of his hands. Theres no sense of alarm/emergency in these men's actions. It doesnt take a psychologist to read body language.
snappy452 1 year ago
@snappy452 You exaggerate the circumstances to try to make a case. Simply put, even if there were 30 track workers running urgently to the scene they did not have what was needed to do the job...That's not there fault, it's the systems fault which is much better today. You can use all the foul language you want condemning these men to hell but I believe they shouldn't be judged for the circumstance they found themselves in...Maybe I'm being unreasonable but I don't believe so...
MrDBCooperstein 1 year ago
@MrDBCooperstein I think its pretty hard to exaggerate the circumstances of a man trapped in a burning car which is upside down. Obviously youre right, they did not have the proper equipment to do the job, which is entirely the fault of the course management/event organizers. However, their seemingly non-chalant reactions to the situation at hand doesnt lead me to believe they reacted in any proper manner. As I said, the man with the extinguisher seemed in no hurry to arrive on the scene.
snappy452 1 year ago
@MrDBCooperstein Also, I do hope you realize that it is hard for a person not to react emotionally to this. I dont understand how in the very least, the track president/head of safety werent charged with some sort of criminal negligence. As I said, its not as if a car flipping over and bursting into flames was unprecedented in 1973.
snappy452 1 year ago
I hate how the track workers provide zero help.
jaydbaltimore 2 years ago
very sad
alanamp18 3 years ago
I Think you can warn people, becouse there's shocking material in Tom Pryce's accident. Terrible.
Oltsuh 3 years ago