Piers Courage

Piers Courage

Nation:	United Kingdom
Automobile world championship
First start:	1966 German Grand Prix
Last start:	1970 Dutch Grand Prix
Constructors
1966 Lotus  1967-1968 BRM  1969 Brabham  1970 De Tomaso
statistics
World Cup balance:	World Cup eighth ( 1969 )
Starts Victories Poles SR 28 - - -
World Cup points :	20th
Podiums :	2
Leadership laps :	2 over 12 km

Piers Raymond Courage [ piəs ˈkʌrɪdʒ ] (born May 27, 1942 in Colchester , England , † June 21, 1970 in Zandvoort , Netherlands ) was a British automobile racing driver . He came from a wealthy entrepreneurial family. The Eton graduate was considered one of the last gentleman drivers . He preferred monoposto races and from 1964 mainly competed in formula racing . Courage was close friends with the racing team owner Frank Williams , for whose team he drove for several years in the Formula 2 European Championship and the Formula 1 World Championship . At the Dutch Grand Prix in 1970 he had a fatal accident in a racing car used by Williams.

Family and personal life

Personal

Piers Courage came from a British entrepreneurial family with Huguenot roots. The family owned the nationwide famous London brewery Courage Brewery , founded in 1787 .

Piers Courage was the first of three children of Richard Courage and Jean Courage, née Watson. His first name was borrowed from the medieval story Piers Plowman . He had two younger brothers and was intended to succeed his father in the management of the Courage Brewery, but did not actually take on any role in the company.

Courage grew up in Essex . After elementary schools in Windsor and Seaford , he attended Eton College. In the summer of 1961 he tried to study at Cambridge University , but failed the entrance exam. Instead, he began an apprenticeship as an accountant at Pricewaterhouse , which he pursued negligently and finally dropped out in early 1964 to devote himself fully to motorsport. This led to a temporary break with his family.

In March 1966 married Lady Sarah Courage-Marguerite "Sally" Curzon, the daughter of Lord Francis Curzon , an officer and racers, the 1931 , the 24-hour race in Le Mans had won. The sons Jason (born 1967) and Amos (born 1969) emerged from the marriage. Jason Courage began a racing career in 1988, but never got beyond the amateur level. In 1995 he had a serious accident in a road traffic accident and has been paraplegic ever since . After Piers Courage's death, his widow married the bookmaker, arcade owner and later politician John Aspinall (1926-2000) in 1972 .

In view of his origins and his education, but also because of his habitus, Courage was considered a “real gentleman” ( Bernie Ecclestone ). According to contemporaries, he had a keen sense of style and deliberate manners that set him apart from most other racing drivers of his time. This impression was reinforced by the marriage with the British nobility "Sally" Curzon. Courage and his wife, who was well known as a model herself, were the subject of frequent reports in the British rainbow press in the late 1960s . This image carried over to his work as a racing driver. Courage was usually seen as a gentleman driver. Even a biography published in 2003 still had the term “gentleman racer” in the subtitle and said that courage was the last representative of this genre.

Frank Williams

Long-time companion Courages: Frank Williams

Courage's closest friend was Frank Williams , who had been with him since the early 1960s. Williams gave him the nickname " Porridge " (German: porridge). In the early 1960s, Williams traveled with courage as his mechanic through Europe at times, whereby, according to Williams' presentation, given his very poor technical understanding, it was less about real help and more about common pastime. Courage has been driving for the Frank Williams Racing Cars team since 1968 . It was on his initiative that Williams first rose to Formula 2 and a year later to Formula 1. "Sally" Courage described the relationship between her husband and Frank Williams as "something very special". Charles Lucas , a mutual friend and at times Courage's team boss, called the relationship “fabulous”: Williams and Courage had “rocked” each other. Both had absolute trust in each other. Courage said he and Williams understood each other without a word. The proximity to Frank Williams was also the main reason for turning down a lucrative offer from Scuderia Ferrari . Frank Williams later stated that he "worshiped" Courage ("I worshiped the guy"). In retrospect, he referred to Courage's accidental death as the "greatest emotional blow of my life." He named his first son, born in 1975, after Piers Courage.

In addition, Courage maintained a close friendship with Jochen Rindt from 1969 onwards .

Piers Courage in motorsport

Background and framework

Pinner Road

Pinner Road in Harrow, London: meeting point of the "circle of motor-crazy people" (approx. 1962)

During his time at Eton, Courage came into contact with motorsport through classmates. Through Etonians he met Frank Williams as well as the future racing driver Jonathan Williams - not related to Frank Williams - and the later motorsport managers Anthony "Bubbles" Horsley and Sheridan Thynne , who also drove car races at the time. At times Innes Ireland and Peter Gethin joined this "circle of motor freaks" who shared an apartment on Pinner Road in the Harrow district of London , which is very well known in the scene, for several years . In this environment, Courage developed from an amateur driver to a professional motor sportsman. The close friendships made in Pinner Road lasted well beyond the early 1960s and brought those involved together again and again professionally. So Courage and Jonathan Williams formed a racing community in 1964, later both drove (but not at the same time) for Frank Williams' racing team, whose finances were in turn managed by Sheridan Thynne for several decades.

Gentleman driver with financial difficulties

Because of his origins and his social status, courage was an exception in motorsport. Outsiders often had the impression that Courage was financially secure. Jackie Stewart , who himself came from a well-off entrepreneurial family, still considered Courage to be a “hobby racer born with a silver spoon.” The impression of financial security was, however, incorrect. As long as he pursued racing as a mere hobby, Courage received repeated support from his parents. His father bought the first two racing cars with which he competed in 1962 and 1963. However, after he had decided on a career as a professional racing driver, the parental allowances ended. Courage has had little trust fund revenue since then and has often been in financial trouble. The family earned their livelihood until 1969 through income from “Sally” Courage from her work as a photo model and decorator .

According to Jackie Stewart and Frank Williams, Courage's "privileged background" was a hindrance to his motorsport career. Some colleagues and team bosses - among them the Lotus founder Colin Chapman - said that courage could "not be tough enough" because he did not have to fight for his career. Some also believed that it was mainly his family's money that made him car racing.

Courage's development at a glance

Piers Courages helmet design

Courage began his racing career with so-called club races, i.e. H. local events for small, near-production vehicles in the British province. From 1964 to 1966 he drove Formula 3 races in Great Britain and continental Europe. After a year as a private driver, he joined a financially secure team that was supported by Lotus in 1966 and became a quasi-works team. Courage's hope of getting a Formula 1 cockpit in the Lotus factory team for the 1967 season was not fulfilled. Instead, he started in 1967 for independent teams in Formula 2 and Formula 1, but achieved little success. At that time he had a reputation for acting rashly and provoking unnecessary accidents. His team-mate Roy Pike, for example, was of the opinion that Courage was too risky and unable to correctly assess dangers, and at the end of 1967 his Formula 2 team boss John Coombs even suggested that he give up motor sport entirely. The 1967 accidents also affected Courage's self-confidence, and at the end of the year the continuation of his motorsport career was at stake. With the self-financed participation in races in New Zealand and Australia, however, he managed to restore his reputation, so that he received several offers for cockpits in various series for 1968. This year, Courage drove for the first time for Frank Williams, who sent his own team to the Formula 2 European Championship. In 1969, the collaboration with Williams expanded to include Formula 1. Observers noticed a ripening of courage during these years and saw signs of extraordinary talent. In some sources he is described as one of the surprises of 1969. Frank Williams thought Courage was "not as good as Jochen Rindt, but one of the top drivers."

Courage has largely focused on racing in open single-seaters throughout his career. Sports car and endurance races were the exception.

The individual years in monoposto sport

The beginnings: club racing

Lotus Seven

Courage drove his first automobile race in April 1962 at Brands Hatch . In contrast to his friends, who still started with modified series sedans, he began his career in a Lotus Seven designed for racing , which his father bought. As a result, he was perceived as an elitist among his friends. His debut race was a privately organized sprint race, which he finished third in his class. In retrospect, Courage claimed that he had contested about 20 club races in 1962; however, there is only evidence of participation in six races. In 1963 he drove about a dozen club races in a Merlyn sports car. This was the last racing car his father financed.

1964: Formula 3 with its own team

In 1964, Courage made his debut in Formula 3, which was newly introduced by the FIA . For lack of sufficient own funds, he could not buy a new car for this class. Instead, he had a freelance mechanic build a car with the chassis of a Lotus 31 and technical components from different origins. According to Courage, the car was two-thirds cheaper than a new Lotus car. Jonathan Williams, who competed with Courage this year, acquired a comparable vehicle. In order to make their motorsport involvement appear more professional, Courage and Williams did not register the cars under their own names in 1964 - as was customary in the 1960s among independent drivers - but for an Anglo-Swiss Racing team that only existed by name . This supposed team was supposedly based in Lausanne . In fact, it was just a friend's garage that they only visited once during the year. In reality, Courage and Williams operated their missions from a racing truck, which also served them as living quarters that year. Frank Williams, who accompanied Courage from time to time, described this year in retrospect as a “gypsy existance”. The season was marked by financial difficulties and improvisation: Courage and Jonathan Williams were their own mechanics, but had little technical understanding.

Courage focused on continental European races in 1964 because the entry fee here was ten to twenty times higher than in Great Britain. Between April and October 1964 he drove 26 Formula 3 races, mostly in Italy, but also in the Federal Republic of Germany and the GDR . Courage achieved his first podium place in Formula 3 at the Coupe Internationale de Vitesse in Reims-Gueux , which he finished in third overall and at the same time as the best private driver behind Jackie Stewart in the works-supported Cooper of the Tyrrell Racing Organization and Lucien Bianchi in the works Alpine . After he had badly damaged his “Lotus clone” in a race at Brands Hatch, he entered two Dutch and one British races in August 1964 with a borrowed Brabham BT9 . These operations were financed by the pirate radio station Radio Caroline . Courage achieved his best result of the year in the Caroline-Brabham: At the Zandvoort Trophy he finished second behind Jackie Stewart, 22 seconds behind.

1965: Charles Lucas Engineering

In 1965, Courage and Jonathan Williams joined the amateur racing driver Charles Lucas, who built his own motorsport project on the basis of an inheritance. In contrast to Courage's formation last year, the newly established Charles Lucas Engineering team was financially well-funded and, alongside The Checkered Flag, was the only British Formula 3 racing team that “did not live from hand to mouth” but focused on developing a professional infrastructure could invest. The team was housed in the premises of the former Formula 1 racing team British Racing Partnership in Highgate and had two Brabham BT10 chassis that Jochen Rindt and Alan Rees had driven last year. Charles Lucas Engineering became one of the most successful competitors of the year. Courage contested 35 races this year. In May 1965 he won his first Formula 3 race at Silverstone ; by December 1965, eleven more victories followed.

Courage first appeared in a Formula 1 race in 1965. The private team Bob Gerard Racing reported him to the 1965 edition of the Gran Premio del Mediterraneo in Enna , which had no world championship status. With his badly maintained and underpowered Formula 2 Cooper T71 , which was equipped with a weak 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine from Ford , Courage already failed in the qualification.

1966: Formula 3 with the support of Lotus

A Lotus 41 from Charles Lucas Engineering

In 1966, Courage stayed with Charles Lucas, whose team drove with the support of Lotus that year and was regarded as a quasi-works team. This development increased the pressure on Courage: While the fun of the race had previously been the focus, it now had to prove itself above all in front of Lotus boss Colin Chapman, because his team was now in direct competition with The Checkered Flag, which was made by the factory Lotus competitor Brabham was supported. Charles Lucas Engineering and “The Flag” thus represented the rivalry between Lotus and Brabham in Formula 3. Courage's team-mate became the American Roy Pike.

At the beginning of the year, Lucas registered his two drivers for the Temporada Argentina in South America, organized by Juan Manuel Fangio . Courage didn't race here, however. After a training accident before the first run, he had to end his participation in the Temporada due to injury. In the further course of the year Courage took part in 31 Formula 3 races in Great Britain and Europe, whereby the team, unlike in the previous year and contrary to his preferences, primarily reported him to British races. Courage initially struggled with the Lotus 41 , which was generally believed to be the weaker car compared to the Brabham, but after some modifications won a total of seven Formula 3 races. The only British Formula 3 championship of the year was the BRSCC Les Leston British F3 Championship . Courage only took part in three races of this championship and was not counted.

In parallel to his Formula 3 involvement with Charles Lucas, Colin Chapman enabled Courage to compete in the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring in the summer of 1966 , a Formula 1 world championship race to which Formula 2 cars were also permitted. Courage started here with a Lotus 44 from the formally independent Formula 2 team Ron Harris Racing , which was supported by Lotus . He came off the slope after four laps and fell out.

1967: Crisis year in Formula 1 and Formula 2

formula 1

Courage's competitor in the first year of Formula 1: Chris Irwin

For the 1967 season , Courage tried to get a Formula 1 cockpit in the Lotus works team, but received no support from its boss Colin Chapman, who at the end of 1966 settled in a dispute between Courage's Formula 3 team at the end of 1966 after disagreements about the allocation of victory bonuses had separated. Instead, Courage entered into a connection with the privately organized racing team Reg Parnell Racing , which was considered the junior partner of the British racing car manufacturer BRM and its works team. Here he was in competition with Chris Irwin . The team management pitted both drivers against each other: The one of them who would achieve the better results in the course of the season should receive a cockpit in the BRM works team in the following year.

The first Formula 1 world championship race that Courage contested in a Formula 1 car was the South African Grand Prix on January 2, 1967. His racing car was not competitive: In an environment that was predominantly made up of 3.0-liter cars Capacity, Courage drove a two-year-old Lotus 25 , conceptually dating back to 1962 , which, depending on the source, was equipped with a 1.5 or 2.0-liter eight-cylinder engine from BRM. Courage qualified for last place on the grid at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit . He was more than 5.5 seconds behind pole sitter Jack Brabham . In the race, aided by several failures by drivers in front of him, he moved up to fifth position before he damaged the fuel line of his car on the 52nd lap due to a driving mistake and failed. In retrospect, he justified the mistake with the fact that he was "still very exhausted" after the previous New Year's party and was accordingly inattentive during the race. In the months that followed, Courage competed in individual championship-free Formula 1 races in Europe , initially with the Lotus and later with a BRM P261 . He did not achieve the results that his team boss Tim Parnell expected and instead attracted attention with slow lap times and repeated driving errors. After Courage was eliminated early in Monaco due to a lack of concentration, Parnell replaced him on the instructions of BRM boss Raymond Mays with Chris Irwin, who achieved better results. Courage no longer got a Formula 1 cockpit this year. For the Grand Prix of Great Britain although he was reported and participated in the training; but he had to hand over his car to Irwin, who in turn had to cede his car to the BRM works driver Jackie Stewart.

Tim Parnell and most observers attributed Courage's poor performance to his lack of maturity; Jonathan Williams, on the other hand, saw the main reason in the outdated material of the Parnell team: Courage was over-ambitious in the attempt to "tease out performance from a garbage truck".

Formula 2

Piers Courages McLaren M4A / 2

In addition to his Formula 1 involvement, Courage took part in the Formula 2 European Championship in 1967 . That year he was a regular driver in the team of John Coombs , a Jaguar dealer from Guildford . Unlike Reg Parnell's Formula 1 Team Courage had contemporary in Formula 2 material available, because Coombs put a newly established, by a Cosworth - FVA driven -Motor McLaren M4A (VIN M4A / 2), which was factory-assisted. Courage contested all championship races of the 1967 season and also some races without championship status. His best result was second place at the Zandvoort Grand Prix , and there was another podium finish with third place at the Germany trophy at the Hockenheimring . However, courage also caused “many accidents” in Formula 2, which damaged his reputation. In Pau he had an accident out of his own inattentiveness on the slowdown lap after qualifying and damaged his car so badly that it could not be repaired for the race the following day. His accident at the Guards Trophy at Brands Hatch four and a half months later was similarly serious . Courage attributed his accidents to technical deficiencies in the McLaren, which was difficult to drive. At the end of the year, he finished fourth in the drivers' standings with 24 points.

1968: Consolidation

The accumulation of accidents in the 1967 season meant that no team was prepared to give Courage a Formula 1 or Formula 2 cockpit for 1968. This jeopardized the continuation of his motorsport career. With the aim of improving his reputation, he decided in the fall of 1967 to participate in the 1968 Tasman series , which preceded the start of the European Formula 1 and Formula 2 seasons. He saw it as one last chance to find a permanent place in motorsport and, in the event of failure, considered ending his career as a racing driver. Courage's Tasman missions were a success. They received positive coverage in the UK media and attracted the attention of several team bosses. This resulted in obligations for Formula 1 and Formula 2 for the new season.

Tasman series

The 1968 Tasman Series consisted of eight races held between January 6 and March 4, 1968 in Australia and New Zealand . BRM, Lotus and Scuderia Ferrari were represented by works or quasi-works teams. Courage started as a private entrant with its own team. He financed the races with his own funds, a bank loan and a loan from his father. For the Tasman races, he bought the Formula 2 McLaren from Coombs, which with its 1.6 liter four-cylinder was one of the weakest in an environment that mainly consisted of Formula 1 vehicles with 2.5 liter engines belonged to motorized vehicles. Despite this bad starting position, Courage achieved a few places in the points. He caused a particular sensation by winning the South Pacific Trophy , the final race in Longford . The street circuit, which had a few long straights, did not meet the weak McLaren. However, due to very heavy rainfall, the competitors' Formula 1 cars were unable to use their performance advantage. Courage took the lead early and crossed the finish line first, leaving riders like Jim Clark and Graham Hill behind. The press compared Courage with Stirling Moss after the race and spoke of the “race of his life.” In the overall ranking of the Tasman Series, Courage came third with 34 points behind Jim Clark and Chris Amon .

formula 1

BRM P126

Courage's successes in Australia and New Zealand led to his “rehabilitation.” While still in Australia, Courage and his last year's team, Reg Parnell Racing, agreed to be a regular driver for the remainder of the 1968 season . In April 1968, Colin Chapman also offered him the second Formula 1 cockpit in the Lotus works team alongside Graham Hill, which was vacant after Jim Clark's death. Courage declined, however, because Lotus had a reputation for equipping its number two drivers with poorer material and neglecting the maintenance of the cars. On the other hand, Courage's hope to join the BRM factory team after Mike Spence's accidental death was not fulfilled; BRM chose its rival last year, Chris Irwin, and later, after Irwin had also had an accident, Richard Attwood , whose family were friends with the owners of BRM.

Reg Parnell gave Courage a newly built BRM P126 with a 3.0 liter twelve-cylinder engine. This was the first time that he had a Formula 1 racing car that was up to date. However, the car proved to be unreliable over the course of the season: in six races, technical defects on the chassis ( Monaco ), the engine ( Belgium and Mexico ), the transmission ( Canada ) or the suspension ( Spain and USA ) led to early failures. Courage only crossed the finish line four times during the season. He reached his first finish in a Formula 1 world championship run in France , where he finished sixth and also scored his first world championship point. He finished fourth in Italy . At the end of the season he finished 20th in the drivers' championship with four points.

Formula 2

Piers Courages Brabham BT23C

After Courage's previous team had given up Formula 2 involvement at the end of 1967, he convinced Frank Williams to set up his own team for him for the 1968 Formula 2 European Championship . Williams, who had been a racing car and accessories dealer since 1966, then reported a newly built Brabham BT23C with a Cosworth FVA engine. Frank Williams Racing Cars , the predecessor of today's Formula 1 team Williams F1 , was a "tiny unit" ("miniscule structure") that consisted only of Courage, Williams and a mechanic. The financing of the Formula 2 program was not secured at the beginning of the season. Since the income from entry and prize money was not enough, Williams was dependent on renting a second chassis to Paydriver . Courage's teammates who paid for their efforts included the future FIA ​​President Max Mosley , who drove the last races of his active career here.

Courage started at all championship races as well as some races without championship status. He did not achieve an overall victory. Although he won the second run of the Zandvoort Grand Prix , in which he also achieved his only pole position in a championship run; in the final run, however, after falling back due to a brake defect, he only crossed the finish line in tenth place. Courage's best result was second place at the Gran Premio del Mediterraneo , in which Courage, Jochen Rindt, Ernesto Brambilla and Clay Regazzoni were classified with the same times. The stewarts then made a gradation based on visual inspection. At the end of the year, Courage finished sixth in the drivers' standings with 13 points.

After completing the championship, Courage took part in all races of the Temporada Argentina in December 1968 for Williams . After failing twice in the first three races, he won the fourth and final run in Buenos Aires . In the drivers' standings of the Temporada, he finished third behind Andrea de Adamich (works Ferrari) and Jochen Rindt (works Brabham).

1969: Frank Williams Racing Cars

From 1969 onwards, Courage started in all single-seater series exclusively for Frank Williams.

Tasman series

In January and February 1969, Williams and Courage took part in the new edition of the Tasman series at the invitation of the organizers . Lotus (Graham Hill and Jochen Rindt) and Ferrari (Chris Amon and Derek Bell ) were represented by factory-supported teams. The remaining competitors were private teams, of which Frank Williams Racing Cars was considered to be the best organized. With Williams' Brabham BT24, Courage had a pure Formula 1 car available for the first time in this series. In four New Zealand races in January 1969, Courage succeeded in putting the favored factory drivers Amon and Rindt "under pressure:" Courage came third in Pukekohe , second in Levin and he finished first in Teretonga , ahead of Graham Hill and Chris Amon; so he had a chance to finish the series as the overall winner before the final three Australian races. Courage then failed both in Brisbane and in Warwick Farm after driving errors or collisions; in Melbourne, finally, a technical defect occurred early on. In the end, Courage took third place in the drivers' standings behind Chris Amon and Jochen Rindt.

formula 1

Piers Courage at the Dutch Grand Prix in 1969

Training for the 1969 German Grand Prix

In the 1969 season , Frank Williams reported his team to the Formula 1 World Championship for the first time. After the successful collaboration in Formula 2 last year, Courage joined the project, which was made possible by sponsorship payments from tire manufacturer Dunlop in the amount of 10,000 US dollars. Courage's accidents in the second half of the Tasman series had temporarily jeopardized the conclusion of the sponsorship agreement; Ultimately, Williams was able to dispel Dunlop's concerns.

Frank Williams Racing Cars also started in Formula 1 as a pure customer team. However, Frank Williams managed to buy a current Brabham BT26 "in a roundabout way" . In doing so, he circumvented the manufacturer's specifications, who usually only passed a model on to customer teams when a further developed successor was available for the factory team; In this way, Williams ensured that Courage had the same material as factory drivers Jack Brabham and Jacky Ickx .

Because the car was not yet ready for use in early March 1969, Williams skipped the first world championship run of the year in South Africa . Courage and Williams made their debut two weeks later in the Race of Champions at Brands Hatch, which had no world championship status. Courage failed here after a technical defect. At the following, also championship-free BRDC International Trophy in Silverstone, Courage crossed the finish line in fifth place. The world championship debut took place five weeks later in Spain . Courage qualified for eleventh place on the grid at the race in Montjuïc , for which only nine teams with a total of 14 drivers registered. He retired in the race with engine failure. At the following events, technical defects were repeated, which Williams, in retrospect, attributed mainly to the fact that he did not employ a race engineer for financial reasons. In the Netherlands , the BT26 suffered a clutch failure , in France the chassis broke and in Canada it failed prematurely after a fuel leak. Only at the German Grand Prix did a driving mistake Courages lead to an early retirement. In the course of the year, Courage crossed the finish line five times, twice on a podium: He was second in the second World Championship run in the Monaco Grand Prix . He achieved the same result at the season finale in the USA : Here he pushed Jack Brabham into third place in the identical works car. Together with the results of other placements, Courage finished the Formula 1 season with 16 championship points in eighth place, ahead of Jack Brabham. Courage's good results are partly attributed to the Dunlop tires; their grip was better than that of the Goodyear tires used by the Brabham factory team.

Formula 2

Because Courage scored world championship points in the 1968 Formula 1 season, he was considered a so-called graded driver in Formula 2 in 1969 , who was allowed to drive but did not take part in the European championship. Nevertheless, he went to the start in 1969 for Frank Williams' team, which, alongside him, reported Alistair Walker , Malcolm Guthrie and Graham McRae , among others . Courage crossed the finish line third in Williams' Brabham T23C at the Germany Trophy and then again achieved third place. His most successful Formula 2 race was the Gran Premio del Mediterraneo in August, which he won by a narrow margin over Matra and Tecno drivers Johnny Servoz-Gavin and François Cevert . At the last championship run of the year in Vallelunga , Courage, mediated by Jonathan Williams, competed once with a De Tomaso ; The Italian racing and sports car manufacturer started again in 1969 after several failures with the development of a motorsport program. The car was very small and gave Courage little room for movement; he started the race from second, but retired due to an electrical problem.

1970: De Tomaso instead of Ferrari

De Tomaso 505: Courage had a fatal accident in a car of this type

"Tomato": De Tomaso 505

Before the start of the 1970 season , Enzo Ferrari tried to sign Courage for his Scuderia. He offered him ten times what he could earn at Williams for his work in Ferrari's sports car and Formula 1 works team. Courage's family recommended that he sign a contract with Ferrari for economic reasons, while Jackie Ickx, who was to become his teammate there, advised against a change because of the difficult internal climate at Ferrari. Courage ultimately remained with his previous team, on the one hand because he wanted to avoid the intrigues that were to be expected at Ferrari, and on the other hand out of loyalty to Frank Williams. According to "Sally" Courage, both were enthusiastic about the success of their first Formula 1 year together and wanted to "show Ferrari, Lotus and the world what a small team can achieve." In addition to Formula 1 with Williams, Courage started in this year in sports car races for the Alfa Romeo works team , whose fee payments almost approached those of Scuderia Ferrari.

In 1970 Frank Williams used the De Tomaso 505 designed by Gianpaolo Dallara , which Courage commonly called "Tomato". The car was largely a copy of Courage's Brabham BT26 from last year, but had a few chassis parts as an independent design feature that were made of a magnesium alloy to save weight . The 505 suffered from technical deficiencies at the start of the season.

At the first World Championship run in South Africa , before which the De Tomaso was not tested due to lack of time, Courage had to give up after 39 laps due to a jammed gas cable. Courage saw a considerable need for changes after the race, which Dallara took up and gradually fulfilled over the next few weeks. In a serious training accident at the Spanish Grand Prix , Courage damaged the chassis that was already used in South Africa, but improved in details so much that it could not be rebuilt for the race. At the third world championship round in Monaco , a new, significantly lighter chassis with revised suspension and stronger brakes appeared. With him, Courage qualified for ninth place on the grid. In the race he was in the points for a few laps before a defect in the steering forced him to stop for repairs. At the end of the race he was not counted because the driving distance was too short. At the fourth race of the season in Belgium , where De Tomaso again delivered a revised chassis, Courage failed again after engine problems. Courage's last race was the Dutch Grand Prix; here he had a fatal accident. Despite the accident, the race was not abandoned. The winner was Jochen Rindt, a close friend of Courage, who died eleven weeks later in a training accident in Monza .

Further series

Sports car racing

Courage took part in the Le Mans 24-hour race four times . He felt an aversion to this event, but went to the start for reasons of publicity and, among other things, because good performance in long-distance races was an opportunity to recommend himself to team bosses in single-seaters.

Le Mans 1966: Ferrari 275 GTB / C

He contested his first race at Le Mans in 1966 when he was still mainly involved in Formula 3. Courage drove a Ferrari 275 GTB / C together with Roy Pike for Maranello Concessionaires , the private racing team of the British Ferrari importer Ronnie Hoare, which this year brought four cars to the start. Courage and Pike finished eighth overall and achieved victory in the GT car class 3001–5000 cm³. The following year, Jonathan Williams tried to convey Courage a Ferrari factory cockpit for the 1000 km race at Monza ; However, Ferrari preferred Günther Klass . Courage therefore stayed with Ronnie Hoare's private racing team in 1967, who registered him with Richard Attwood for a fee of £ 300 for the now reduced to one vehicle program for the 1967 Le Mans 24 Hours . Hoares Ferrari 412P crashed after 14 hours of courage at the wheel due to engine failure. Then in 1969 he drove a Matra MS650 for the Matra Sports factory team at Le Mans together with Jean-Pierre Beltoise . They finished the race dominated by Ford and Porsche four laps behind the winners Jacky Ickx / Jackie Oliver in fourth place and were the best Matra pairing.

In 1970, Courage expanded his sports car involvement for economic reasons. For a fee of £ 22,500 he joined Alfa Romeo's works team Autodelta and competed in the sports car world championship as a partner of Andrea de Adamich in the Alfa Romeo Tipo 33/3 . In preparation for the season, the team took part in two races in Argentina at the beginning of the year that did not have world championship status. Courage and de Adamich won the 200-mile race in Buenos Aires here . Autodelta's first world championship race of the season was the Sebring 12-hour race , which Courage and de Adamich finished eighth. They finished 13th at the 1000 km race in Monza . After that, there were no more finishings. In the 1000 km race on the Nürburgring , in which Courage shared a car with Rolf Stommelen , the Tipo 33 failed after eleven of 44 laps with broken rear shock absorbers. His last endurance race two weeks later was the Le Mans 24-hour race , which again ended with a technical retirement.

CanAm

In 1969, Courage tried to get involved in the North American CanAm series. He did not succeed in getting a cockpit in a manufacturer's factory team. He was temporarily in contact with a Canadian entrepreneur who wanted to build up a customer team. However, the project failed early on due to funding.

Accident in Zandvoort

Start of the Dutch Grand Prix in 1970, Ickx No. 25 in a Ferrari in front of Rindts Lotus No. 19

Circuit Park Zandvoort route map up to 1972

Courage had a fatal accident at the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort in 1970 .

Course of the accident

In training, Courage qualified for ninth place on the grid with the 505/02 chassis already used in Belgium. On lap 23 of the race, in seventh place, he lost control of his car on the high-speed passage in the Oost Tunnel section . In this section there were safety fences on both sides of the route, which were woven from metal elements. Courages De Tomaso broke through one of these fences at about 225 km / h, hit a dune behind it, bounced back and, after breaking through the safety fence again, threw it back onto the track with several overturns. Only a few hundred meters later did it come to a stop at the edge of the road. The force of the impact tore off the driver's front suspension and helmet, and a loosened tire or part of the suspension hit Courage's unprotected head. While the vehicle was still moving, one of the gas tanks broke. The leaking gasoline ignited and the car, part of the grass strip, and a tree next to it went up in flames. The fire was additionally nourished by the magnesium built into the chassis, which reached very high burning temperatures, and could only be completely extinguished after some time because of the high heat generated by the fire fighters covering the chassis with sand without any courage beforehand. Some representations spread the thesis that courage was burned alive in the car. Investigations and documentation that deal with the accident in more detail do not confirm this. They assume that Courage was not killed by the fire, but was killed by the tire or the suspension part hitting his head before it broke out.

For the first few minutes it was assumed that Courage had survived the accident; corresponding assessments were disseminated in the paddock. They were based on a report from a reporter who saw the movement of a person walking or running in the smoke. In fact, it was a marshals who ran away from the scene of the accident.

causes

Why Courage lost control of his vehicle in the race is unclear. There are no film recordings or witnesses to reconstruct the events. A later examination of the annealed wreck also yielded no findings. What is certain is that the road in front of the accident site was uneven. There are various possible explanations for Courage's fatal accident:

• Frank Williams ruled out a driving mistake Courages after the accident and assumed a mechanical defect instead, considering a suspension break as the most likely variant. He was of the same opinion 40 years after the accident. Brian Redman , who four weeks later took Courage's place in Williams' De Tomaso 505, shared this assessment, pointing out in 2003 that the 505 was withdrawn in the first race after Courage's death before training without sufficient explanation; he had the impression that “they had discovered something on the suspension parts that was about to break and possibly had also broken at Courage.” He left it open whether the withdrawal was due to Williams or De Tomaso or Dallara was.
• Jackie Stewart countered this. He assumed - like François Cevert's fatal accident three years later - that he had made a mistake in driving. Courage probably exceeded the limit when passing the uneven ground in front of the east tunnel and lost control of his car.
• A commission of inquiry finally expressed the assumption that a defect in one of the Dunlop tires could have triggered the accident.

Avoidable accident without consequences

In retrospect, Courage's accident is viewed as an avoidable event. Circuit Park Zandvoort was already considered particularly dangerous in the 1960s. Even before Courage's death, there had been several serious, sometimes fatal accidents at the Oost Tunnel , without the organizers or route operators drawing any conclusions from the events. In 1968, for example, in a Formula 2 race, the second race of which Courage won, Chris Lambert went off the track at almost the same point and, after breaking through the safety fence, died as a result of the subsequent impact. In the week before Courage's accident, Jack Brabham had an accident on the track during private test drives and Pedro Rodríguez during qualifying. Even after Courage's death, the route was initially not changed. Three years later, Roger Williamson died in the same place at the Dutch Grand Prix . His accident, which also started a heavy fire, showed parallels to Courage's.

Quotes

Well, dad, you had the war!

“ Well, dad, you had the war! "

- Piers Courage when his father asked what fascinates him about car racing.

“ Piers Courage could be very quick, but he always tried too hard. Piers was a wonderful, charming boy, but he shouldn't have been a racing driver. I tried hard to dissuade him. In vain. "

- John Coombs

Piers Courage was the greatest fun, utterly charming. They don't make them like that any more.

“ Piers Courage was extremely funny, totally charming. Such people can no longer manage them today. "

- Frank Williams

statistics

Career stations

1962–1963: Club racing 1964: Formula 3 1965: Formula 3 1965 : Formula 1 (not classified) 1966: Formula 3 1966 : Formula 1 (not classified)

1967: Tasman series (not classified) 1967: Formula 2 European Championship (4th place) 1967 : Formula 1 (not classified) 1968: Tasman series (3rd place) 1968: Formula 2 European Championship (3rd place) 1968 : Formula 1 (20th place)

1969: Tasman Series (3rd place) 1969: Formula 2 European Championship 1969 : Formula 1 (8th place) 1970 : Formula 1 (not classified)

formula 1

Complete overview of the Formula 1 World Championship

season	team	chassis	engine	run	Victories	Second	Third	Poles	nice Race laps	Points	WM-Pos.
1966	Ron Harris / Team Lotus	Lotus 44	Ford 1.0 L4	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1967	Reg Parnell Racing	Lotus 25	BRM V8	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
		BRM P261		2	-	-	-	-	-	-
1968	Reg Parnell Racing	BRM P126	BRM V12	11	-	-	-	-	-	4th	20th
1969	Frank Williams Racing Cars	Brabham BT26	Cosworth DFV V8	10	-	2	-	-	-	16	8th
1970	Frank Williams Racing Cars	De Tomaso 505	Cosworth DFV V8	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
total				30th	-	-	-	-	-	20th

Formula 1 World Championship: individual results

season	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13
1966
						DNF
1967
	DNF	DNF					DNS
1968
		DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	6th	8th	8th	4th	DNF	DNF	DNF
1969
		DNF	2	DNF	DNF	5	DNF	5	DNF	2	10
1970
	DNF	DNS	NC	DNF	DNF

Formula 1 races without world championship status: individual results

season	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th
1965
						DNQ
1967
	DNS	7th
1968
	DNS		5	DNF
1969
	DNF	5		DNF
1970
		3

Legend
colour	abbreviation	meaning
gold	-	victory
silver	-	2nd place
bronze	-	3rd place
green	-	Placement in the points
blue	-	Classified outside the point ranks
violet	DNF	Race not finished (did not finish)
	NC	not classified
red	DNQ	did not qualify
	DNPQ	failed in pre-qualification (did not pre-qualify)
black	DSQ	disqualified
White	DNS	not at the start (did not start)
	WD	withdrawn
Light Blue	PO	only participated in the training (practiced only)
	TD	Friday test driver
without	DNP	did not participate in the training (did not practice)
	INJ	injured or sick
	EX	excluded
	DNA	did not arrive
	C.	Race canceled
		no participation in the World Cup
other	P / bold	Pole position
	SR / italic	Fastest race lap
	*	not at the finish, but counted due to the distance covered
	()	Streak results
	underlined	Leader in the overall standings

Formula 2 European Championship

general overview

season	team	chassis	engine	run	Victories	Second	Third	Poles	nice Race laps	Points	WM-Pos.
1967	John Coombs Racing	McLaren M4A	Cosworth FVA	10	-	1	1	-	-	24	4th
1968	Frank Williams Racing Cars	Brabham BT23 C	Cosworth FVA	7th	-	1	1	1	-	13	6th
1969	Frank Williams Racing Cars	Brabham BT23C	Cosworth FVA	4th	1	-	2	-	-	-	-
		De Tomaso 103		1	-	-	-	-	-
total				22nd	1	2	4th	1	-	37

Single results

season	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10
1967
	7th	DNF	5	3	9	8th	2	DNF	DNF	DNF
1968
	3	DNF	DNS	DNF	DNF	10	2
1969
	7th	3		3		1	DNF

Legend
colour	abbreviation	meaning
gold	-	victory
silver	-	2nd place
bronze	-	3rd place
green	-	Placement in the points
blue	-	Classified outside the point ranks
violet	DNF	Race not finished (did not finish)
	NC	not classified
red	DNQ	did not qualify
	DNPQ	failed in pre-qualification (did not pre-qualify)
black	DSQ	disqualified
White	DNS	not at the start (did not start)
	WD	withdrawn
Light Blue	PO	only participated in the training (practiced only)
	TD	Friday test driver
without	DNP	did not participate in the training (did not practice)
	INJ	injured or sick
	EX	excluded
	DNA	did not arrive
	C.	Race canceled
		no participation in the World Cup
other	P / bold	Pole position
	SR / italic	Fastest race lap
	*	not at the finish, but counted due to the distance covered
	()	Streak results
	underlined	Leader in the overall standings

Le Mans results

year	team	vehicle	Teammate	placement	Failure reason
1966	Maranello Concessionaires	Ferrari 275 GTB / C	Roy Pike	Rank 8 and class win
1967	Maranello Concessionaires	Ferrari 412P	Richard Attwood	failure	Oil pump
1969	Equipe Matra Elf	Matra MS650	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Rank 4
1970	Autodelta SpA	Alfa Romeo T33 / 3	Andrea de Adamich	failure	Electrics

Sebring results

year	team	vehicle	Teammate	placement	Failure reason
1970	Autodelta SPA	Alfa Romeo T33 / 3	Andrea de Adamich	Rank 8

Individual results in the sports car world championship

season	team	race car	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th
1966	Maranello Concessionaires	Ferrari 275 GTB	DAY	SEB	MON	TAR	SPA	ONLY	LEM	MUG	CCE	HOK	SIM	ONLY	ZEL
									8th
1967	Maranello Concessionaires	Ferrari 412P	DAY	SEB	MON	SPA	TAR	ONLY	LEM	HOK	MUG	BRH	CCE	ZEL	OVI	ONLY
									DNF
1969	Matra	Matra MS650	DAY	SEB	BRH	MON	TAR	SPA	ONLY	LEM	WAT	ZEL
										4th
1970	Autodelta	Alfa Romeo T33	DAY	SEB	BRH	MON	TAR	SPA	ONLY	LEM	WAT	ZEL
				8th	DNF	13	41		DNF	DNF

literature

• Adriano Cimarosti: The Century of Racing. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-613-01848-9 .
• Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. Last of the gentleman racers . Haines Publishing, Sparkford 2010, ISBN 978-1-84425-863-5 .
• Maurice Hamilton: Frank Williams. The inside story of the man behind Williams-Renault . London 1998, ISBN 0-333-71716-3 .
• Alan Henry: Williams: Formula 1 Racing Team. Haynes Publishing, 1998, ISBN 1-85960-416-1 .
• Alan Henry: Looking back on Piers Courage. In: Motor Sport. Issue 11/1984, p. 26 ff.
• David Hodges: A – Z of Grand Prix Cars 1906–2001. Crowood Press, 2001, ISBN 1-86126-339-2 .
• David Hodges: Racing cars from A – Z after 1945. Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 .
• Eberhard Reuß, Ferdi Kräling: Formula 2. The story from 1964 to 1984. Delius Klasing, Bielefeld 2014, ISBN 978-3-7688-3865-8 .
• Mike Lawrence: Grand Prix Cars 1945-1965. Motor Racing Publications, 1998, ISBN 1-899870-39-3 .
• Pierre Ménard: La Grande Encyclopédie de la Formule 1st 2nd edition. St. Sulpice, 2000, ISBN 2-940125-45-7 .
• NN: Legends. In: Motorsport Magazine. Issue January 2001, p. 30 ff.

Web links

Commons : Piers Courage  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Piers Courage on the website www.thosewerethedays.org.uk
• Short biography with several illustrations
• Piers Courage's race results on www.driverdb.com

Notes and individual references

The following works are cited in abbreviated form below:

abbreviation	Full title
Adam Cooper: Piers Courage	Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. Last of the gentleman racers . Haines Publishing, Sparkford 2010, ISBN 978-1-84425-863-5 .
Maurice Hamilton: Frank Williams	Maurice Hamilton: Frank Williams. The inside story of the man behind Williams-Renault . London 1998, ISBN 0-333-71716-3 .
Ulrich Schwab	Ulrich Schwab: Grand Prix. The races for the 1970 Automobile World Championship. 1st edition. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1970.

Remarks

1. ↑ The Courage family was of Protestant faith. After the Edict of Nantes was issued in 1683, she left the country like many French Protestants and went to the British Isles. The family first settled in Aberdeen ( Scotland down) before subsequent generations after London pulled.
2. ↑ In 1972 the Courage family sold the brewery to the Imperial Tobacco concern . After several changes of ownership, the Courage brand has been owned by Wells & Young's Brewery since 2007 .
3. ↑ The family estate called "Fitzwalters" was in the Shenfield parish in southwest Essex.
4. ↑ In January 1990, Jason Courage founded the London-based Jason Courage (Racing) Ltd., which has been liquidated since 2003.
5. ↑ Jonathan Piers Williams, b. on February 22, 1975, received his two first names in memory of the racing drivers Jonathan Williams and Piers Courage. see. Maurice Hamilton: Frank Williams. P. 51.
6. ↑ Jonathan Williams jumped in at the Gran Premio della Lotteria di Monza 1968 for Courage, who was registered for a Formula 1 race at the same time. Jonathan Williams won the race that was not part of the Formula 2 European Championship and was the first win for Frank Williams Racing Cars.
7. ^ The car designer was Roy Thomas ("Tom The Weld"; German for example: "Tom the welder"). He worked primarily as a mechanic for The Checkered Flag racing team, but also designed and built his own racing cars on the side. The 1964 cars built for Courage and Jonathan Williams are usually not referred to in the current statistics as self-made, but as the Lotus 31. See the story of Charles Lucas' company Titan Cars on the teamterrificracing.net website (accessed May 26, 2017).
8. ↑ Courage won one run each at the Trofeo Vigorelli, the Coppa Autodromo and the Gran Premio della Lotteria di Monza, the Coppa d'Oro Pasquale Amato in Caserta, the £ 500 challenge at Brands Hatch, the Reg Parnell Trophy in Goodwood, the Coupe de Vitesse in Rouen, a race at Silverstone, the Spring Grove Trophy at Oulton Park and the Oulton Park F3 race and the Lombard Bank Trophy at Brands Hatch. See Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 283 f. Overview of the Formula 3 races of 1965 on the website www.formula2.net ( Memento of the original from March 28, 2012 on WebCite ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed on May 26, 2017). 
9. ↑ Courage won the 1966 Grand Prix de Pau, the Les Leston Trophy, the Les Leston Cup, the Coupe de Vitesse d'AC Normand, a race at Brands Hatch and two runs of the Coupe de Vitesse in Albi; see. Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 284 f.
10. ↑ Courage had already participated in three races of the Tasman series in 1967 with Reg Parnell Racing. He had not achieved any podium finishes.
11. ↑ Irwin had a serious accident on May 17, 1968 while training for the 1000 km race on the Nürburgring. After a bump in the ground, the car got under air, took off sharply and overturned. Irwin suffered significant head injuries. After this serious accident, he withdrew completely from motorsport.
12. ↑ Courage drove the P126 / 01 chassis, which the BRM factory team first used in January 1968 for Pedro Rodriguez in the Tasman series. See www.oldracingcars.com (accessed May 26, 2017).
13. ↑ Courage achieved the first finish in a Formula 1 race at the International Trophy in Silverstone in April 1968, where he finished fifth. However, the race was not part of the world championship.
14. ↑ The Frank Williams team achieved their first victory in a Formula 2 race at Lotteria di Monza with Jonathan Williams, who replaced the courage reported for a Formula 1 race that weekend. Lotteria di Monza did not have championship status. See statistics of the Gran Premio della Lotteria di Monza 1968 on the website www.formula2.net (accessed on May 26, 2017).
15. ↑ Courgages BT24 / 3 was built in the summer of 1968. Before Williams took over the car, three drivers had entered it for a total of four races. See www.oldracingcars.com (accessed May 26, 2017).
16. ↑ Courage drove the Brabham BT26 / 1 in 1969, which had been entered in twelve races by Jack Brabham last season. Brabham had sold the car to a collector for exhibition purposes at the end of 1968, from whom Williams took over the car a little later. See Maurice Hamilton: Frank Williams. P. 27, as well as the website www.oldracingcars.com ( memento of the original from January 7, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the racing history of the BT26 / 1. 
17. ↑ Like Brabham with the works car, Williams switched from Repco to Cosworth engines in his BT26. The renovation work was not carried out by the factory, but by Cosworth engineer Robin Herd.
18. ^ According to Adam Cooper ( Piers Courage, p. 218), Ferrari's offer was £ 25,000, according to Maurice Hamilton ( Frank Williams, p. 30) and Jonathan Aitken ( Heroes and Contemporaries , A&C Black, 2006, ISBN 0-8264-7833 -6 , p. 170) to £ 30,000.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Tina Grant (Ed.): International Directory of Company Histories. Volume 15, St. James Press, 1996, ISBN 1-55862-218-7 , p. 443.
2. ^ Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 19.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Adam Cooper: Best Courage. In: Motorsport Magazine. Issue February 1999, p. 78.
4. ^ ^{A b} Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 41.
5. ^ Alan Henry: Looking back on Piers Courage. In: Motor Sport. Issue 11/1984, p. 26.
6. ^ ^{A b} Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 59.
7. ^ Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. Pp. 31-44.
8. ↑ ^{a b} Adam Cooper: Best Courage. In: Motorsport Magazine. Issue February 1999, p. 79.
9. ↑ Maurice Hamilton: Frank Williams. P. 22.
10. ↑ ^{a b c} Tony Rudlin: Porridge! www.thosewerethedays.org.uk, April 26, 2011, accessed May 26, 2017 . 
11. ↑ Charles Mosley (Ed.): Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage. Wilmington, Delaware, S: 1988.
12. ^ ^{A b} Rory Ross: For the love of a dangerous man. www.telegraph.co.uk, December 11, 2003, accessed May 26, 2017 . 
13. ^ Warren Hoge: John Aspinall, Gambler and Zoo Owner, Dies at 74. In: The New York Times. July 1, 2000, accessed May 26, 2017.
14. ^ Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 134.
15. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Alan Henry: Looking back on Piers Courage. In: Motor Sport. Issue 11/1984, p. 28.
16. ↑ ^{a b c} Jonathan Aitken: Heroes and Contemporaries. A&C Black, 2006, ISBN 0-8264-7833-6 , p. 165.
17. ^ Adam Cooper: Piers Courage .
18. ↑ Virginia Williams: Your pain runs through my life . Bastei Lübbe, ISBN 978-3-404-61223-9 , p. 43.
19. ↑ ^{a b c d} Jonathan Aitken: Heroes and Contemporaries. A&C Black, 2006, ISBN 0-8264-7833-6 , p. 170.
20. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Sarah Edworthy: Piers Courage lived life to the full and was tipped for GP greatness. www.telegraph.co.uk, April 16, 2013, accessed May 26, 2017 . 
21. ↑ Maurice Hamilton: Frank Williams. P. 16.
22. ^ ^{A b c} Maurice Hamilton: Frank Williams. P. 23.
23. ↑ Adam Cooper: Best Courage. In: Motorsport Magazine. Issue February 1999, p. 83.
24. ^ ^{A b c d} Alan Henry: Williams: Formula 1 Racing Team. Haynes Publishing, 1998, ISBN 1-85960-416-1 , p. 31.
25. ↑ Jonathan Aitken: Heroes and Contemporaries. A&C Black, 2006, ISBN 0-8264-7833-6 , p. 172.
26. ↑ ^{a b} Interview with Jonathan Williams on the website www.f1rejects.com ( Memento from October 5, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed on May 26, 2017).
27. ^ Charles Lucas: That Flat. In: Autosport. Issue December 1969.
28. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Alan Henry: Looking back on Piers Courage. In: Motor Sport. Issue 11/1984, p. 27.
29. ↑ Jackie Stewart: Winning is not enough. Hachette, 2014, ISBN 978-1-4722-2065-3 , p. 42.
30. ^ Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 213.
31. ↑ Maurice Hamilton: Frank Williams. P. 21.
32. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} N.N .: Legends. In: Motorsport Magazine. Issue January 2001, p. 30 ff.
33. ^ Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 90.
34. ^ ^{A b} Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 136.
35. ↑ Jonathan Aitken: Heroes and Contemporaries. A&C Black, 2006, ISBN 0-8264-7833-6 , p. 166.
36. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Simon Taylor: Lunch with… Sir Frank Williams. In: Motorsport Magazine. Issue February 2015, p. 75.
37. ↑ ^{a b} Clive Couldwell: Formula One: Made In Britain. Random House, 2012, ISBN 978-1-4481-3294-2 , p. 186.
38. ↑ Maurice Hamilton: Frank Williams. P. 11.
39. ^ Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 45.
40. ^ ^{A b} Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 281.
41. ^ Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 49.
42. ^ ^{A b} Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 64.
43. ↑ ^{a b c d} Adam Cooper: Best Courage. In: Motorsport Magazine. Issue February 1999, p. 81.
44. ^ Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 65.
45. ↑ ^{a b} History of Charles Lucas' company Titan Cars on the teamterrificracing.net website (accessed on May 26, 2017).
46. ^ Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 77.
47. ↑ Statistics on the continental European Formula 3 races in 1964 on the website www.formula2.net (accessed on January 18, 2017).
48. ^ ^{A b c} Jonathan Williams: Charles Lucas Engineering 1965. www.motorsportsmarketingresources.com, 2016, accessed May 26, 2017 . 
49. ^ Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 82.
50. ^ Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 88.
51. ^ Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 91.
52. ^ David Hodges: Racing cars from A – Z after 1945. Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 , p. 66.
53. ↑ Statistics of the Gran Premio del Mediterraneo on the website www.formula2.net (accessed on May 26, 2017).
54. ^ ^{A b} Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 96.
55. ^ David Hodges: Racing cars from A – Z after 1945. Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 , p. 146.
56. ↑ Statistics of the BRSCC Les Leston British F3 Championship on the website www.formula2.net (accessed on May 26, 2017).
57. ↑ Statistics of the Grand Prix of Germany on the website www.motorsport-total.com (accessed on May 26, 2017).
58. ^ Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 116.
59. ^ ^{A b c} Adam Cooper: The grit in the oyster. Chris Irwin. In: Motorsport Magazine. March 2003, p. 85.
60. ↑ chassis number 25/33 R13; see. the overview of the races of the Lotus 25/33 R13 on the website www.oldracingcars.com (accessed on May 26, 2017)
61. ↑ Entry list for the Grand Prix of South Africa 1967 on the website www.motorsport-total.com (accessed on May 26, 2017).
62. ^ ^{A b} Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 120.
63. ↑ Ken Stewart, Norman Reich: Sun on the Grid. Grand Prix and Endurance Racing in Southern Africa . London 1967, ISBN 1-870519-49-3 , p. 106.
64. ^ Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 131.
65. ^ Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 129.
66. ↑ Race report on the Grand Prix of Great Britain 1967 on the website www.grandprix.com (accessed on May 26, 2017).
67. ^ Alan Henry: Williams: Formula 1 Racing Team. Haynes Publishing, 1998, ISBN 1-85960-416-1 , p. 29.
68. ↑ Statistics on the Formula 1 World Championship races in 1967 on the website www.motorsport-total.com (accessed on May 26, 2017).
69. ^ McLaren M4A / 2; see. For the history of the vehicle driven by Piers Courage, go to www.oldracingcars.com (accessed on May 26, 2017).
70. ↑ Overview of McLaren's Formula 2 vehicles on the website www.bruce-mclaren.com ( Memento of the original from December 30, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed on May 26, 2017). 
71. ^ David Hodges: Racing cars from A – Z after 1945. Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 , p. 181.
72. ^ Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 127.
73. ↑ Statistics from the Formula 2 European Championship 1967 on the website www.formula2.net (accessed on May 26, 2017).
74. ↑ Eoin Young: Piers Courage. In: Speedworld International. Issue June 1968.
75. ^ Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 141.
76. ^ Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 144.
77. ↑ ^{a b} Race reports and statistics for the 1968 Tasman series on the website www.sergent.com.au (accessed on May 26, 2017)
78. ^ Statistics of the South Pacific Trophy on the website www.oldracingcars.com. (accessed on May 26, 2017).
79. ↑ Race Report and Statistics South Pacific Trophy on the website www.sergent.com.au (accessed on 26 May 2017).
80. ^ Paddy McNally: Tasman Series 1968. In: Autosport. Issue April 1968.
81. ↑ Maurice Hamilton: Frank Williams. P. 24.
82. ↑ Mike Lawrence: Grand Prix Cars 1945-1965. Motor Racing Publications, 1998, ISBN 1-899870-39-3 , p. 198.
83. ^ Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 153.
84. ^ Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 155.
85. ^ Pierre Ménard: La Grande Encyclopédie de la Formule 1st 2nd edition. St. Sulpice, 2000, ISBN 2-940125-45-7 , p. 201.
86. ^ Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 182.
87. ↑ Statistics and race reports on the 1968 Formula 1 World Championship races on the website www.motorsport-total.com (accessed on May 26, 2017).
88. ^ History of the Brabham BT23C / 7 on the website www.oldracingcars.com (accessed on May 26, 2017).
89. ^ ^{A b} Pierre Ménard: La Grande Encyclopédie de la Formule 1st 2nd edition. St. Sulpice, 2000, ISBN 2-940125-45-7 , p. 557.
90. ↑ Statistics of the Grand Prix of Zandvoort 1968 on the website www.formula2.net (accessed on May 26, 2017).
91. ^ Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 183.
92. ↑ ^{a b} Eberhard Reuß, Ferdi Kräling: Formula 2. The story from 1964 to 1984. Delius Klasing, Bielefeld 2014, ISBN 978-3-7688-3865-8 , p. 79.
93. ^ History of the Tasman series 1969 on the website www.sergent.com (accessed May 26, 2017).
94. ↑ Maurice Hamilton: Frank Williams. P. 27.
95. ↑ Reports and statistics on the Australian Tasman Series races in 1969 from www.sergent.com (accessed May 26, 2017).
96. ↑ Overview and statistics on the 1969 Tasman series on the website www.sergent.com (accessed on May 26, 2017).
97. ↑ Jonathan Aitken: Heroes and Contemporaries. A&C Black, 2006, ISBN 0-8264-7833-6 , p. 167.
98. ↑ Doug Nye: Interview with Frank Williams. In: Auto Sport. February 1970.
99. ↑ See DJS: Further Thoughts on Formula 2. In: Motorsport Magazine. Issue May 1967, p. 28.
100. ↑ On the racing activities of the Scuderia De Tomaso in the years 1959 to 1963 cf. Mike Lawrence: Grand Prix Cars 1945-1965. Motor Racing Publications, 1998, ISBN 1-899870-39-3 , p. 110 f.
101. ↑ On De Tomaso 103 cf. David Hodges: Racing Cars from A – Z after 1945. Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 , p. 78.
102. ^ Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 216.
103. ^ Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 217.
104. ↑ ^{a b c} Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 218.
105. ↑ ^{a b} David Hodges: A – Z of Grand Prix Cars 1906–2001. 2001 (Crowood Press), ISBN 1-86126-339-2 , p. 75.
106. ^ David Hodges: Racing cars from A – Z after 1945. Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 , p. 78.
107. ^ Graham Robson: Grand Prix Ford: Ford, Cosworth and the DFV. Veloce Publishing, ISBN 978-1-84584-624-4 , p. 308.
108. ↑ Ulrich Schwab, pp. 34–41.
109. ↑ Ulrich Schwab, pp. 53–63.
110. ^ ^{A b} Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 133.
111. ↑ On the history of the Maranello Concessionaires, cf. Doug Nye: The Maranello concessions racing team. In: Motorsport Magazine. Issue April 1997, p. 48.
112. ↑ Christian Moity, Jean-Marc Teissèdre, Alain Bienvenu: 24 heures du Mans, 1923-1992 . Éditions d'Art, Besançon 1992, ISBN 2-909413-06-3 .
113. ^ Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 134.
114. ^ Ed McDonough, Peter Collins: Alfa Romeo Tipo 33: The development and racing history. Veloce Publishing, 2014, ISBN 978-1-84584-770-8 , p. 72.
115. ↑ Michael Behrndt, Jörg-Thomas Födisch, Matthias Behrndt: ADAC 1000 km race. Heel Verlag, Königswinter 2008, ISBN 978-3-89880-903-0 , pp. 74 and 223.
116. ↑ History of the De Tomaso 505/02 on the website www.oldracingcars.com (accessed on 26 May 2017).
117. ↑ Adriano Cimarosti: The century of racing. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-613-01848-9 , p. 230.
118. ↑ Thomas Karny: Agony death in the flames. www.wienerzeitung.at, July 26, 2013, accessed on May 26, 2017 . 
119. ^ Alan Henry: Williams: Formula 1 Racing Team. Haynes Publishing, 1998, ISBN 1-85960-416-1 , p. 32.
120. ↑ Doug Nye: The Big Book of Formula 1 Racing Cars. The three-liter formula from 1966 . Verlagsgesellschaft Rudolf Müller, Cologne 1986, ISBN 3-481-29851-X , p. 179.
121. ^ Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 246.
122. ^ ^{A b c d e} Mattijs Diepraam: 1970 Dutch GP: advance warning. 8w.forix.com, October 13, 2006, accessed May 26, 2017 . 
123. ↑ Adam Cooper. Piers Courage. P. 248.
124. ↑ The statistics of the Dutch Grand Prix 1970 (accessed on May 26, 2017) speak of a hub defect.
125. ^ Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 261.
126. ↑ Jacqueline Cevert-Beltoise, Johnny Rives: François Cevert - Pilote de Legende. L'Autodrome Éditions, Saint-Cloud 2013, ISBN 978-2-910434-33-5 , p. 9.
127. ^ Adam Cooper: Piers Courage. P. 254.
128. ↑ Ulrich Schwab, pp. 78–82.
129. ↑ Race report on the Dutch Grand Prix on the website www.grandprix.com (accessed on May 26, 2017).
130. ↑ Jackie Stewart: Winning is not enough. Hachette, 2014, ISBN 978-1-4722-2065-3 , p. 258.
131. ↑ Adam Cooper: Best Courage. In: Motorsport Magazine. Issue February 1999, p. 77.
132. ↑ ^{a b c} As a graded driver , Courage did not receive any points in the Formula 2 European Championship in 1969 and was not taken into account in the driving evaluation.

This article was added to the list of excellent articles in this version on February 7, 2017 .