Richard Seaman

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Richard Seaman (1939)
Richard Seaman's accident at the 1939 Belgian Grand Prix

Richard John Beattie "Dick" Seaman (born February 4, 1913 in Chichester , † June 25, 1939 in Spa , Belgium ) was a British automobile racing driver who drove for Mercedes-Benz from 1937 to 1939 .

Life

Born in 1913 to wealthy parents, Richard Seaman was passionate about cars even as a child. In 1934 he broke off his training at Cambridge to become a racing driver. With his newly acquired MG car , he went to mainland Europe to contest the first races. Seaman immediately won the Voiturette race in Bremgarten . With an ERA , he won other small races. As co-pilot of Hans Ruesch he won in 1936 at the Grand Prix of Donington the first place. Eventually Mercedes racing director Alfred Neubauer noticed him and invited him to test drives at the Nürburgring .

Richard Seaman signed a contract with Mercedes for 1937, against the wishes of his mother, who did not want to see her son drive for a National Socialist team . The 1937 season was solid but not outstanding for Seaman, his best season was 1938 , in which he won the German Grand Prix and came second in Bremgarten in Switzerland, behind his teammate Rudolf Caracciola . In December 1938 he married Erica Popp, daughter of BMW Director Franz Josef Popp . His mother demonstratively stayed away from the wedding.

The 1939 season got off to a bad start. Seaman was not allowed to start in Pau and retired from the Eifel race . The Belgian Grand Prix seemed to be the turning point. In the pouring rain of Spa-Francorchamps he was leading the way when he got off the track in his Mercedes-Benz W 154 and crashed into a tree. His car caught fire and Seaman was passed out. When he was released it was too late. In the evening Richard Seaman died from his serious injuries.

Probably the best British driver of the interwar period was Mercedes' only death during the Silver Arrow era from 1934 to 1939.

Richard Seaman was buried in Putney Vale Cemetery , London .

statistics

Pre-war Grand Prix results

season 1 2 3 4th 5 Points position
1936 Flag of Monaco.svg Flag of Germany (1935–1945) .svg Flag of Switzerland within 2to3.svg Flag of Italy (1861-1946) .svg 31 28.
8 1
1937 Flag of Belgium (civil) .svg Flag of Germany (1935–1945) .svg Flag of Monaco.svg Flag of Switzerland within 2to3.svg Flag of Italy (1861-1946) .svg 34 15th
DNF DNS 4th
1938 Flag of France.svg Flag of Germany (1935–1945) .svg Flag of Switzerland within 2to3.svg Flag of Italy (1861-1946) .svg 18th 4th
1 2 DNF
1939 Flag of Belgium (civil) .svg Flag of France.svg Flag of Germany (1935–1945) .svg Flag of Switzerland within 2to3.svg 29 25th
DNF 2
Legend
colour meaning EM points
gold victory 1
silver 2nd place 2
bronze 3rd place 3
green Classified, covered more than 75% of the race distance 4th
blue not entitled to points, covered between 50% and 75% of the race distance 5
violet not eligible for points, covered between 25% and 50% of the race distance 6th
red not eligible for points, covered less than 25% of the race distance 7th
colour abbreviation meaning EM points
black DSQ disqualified 8th
White DNS did not start
DNA did not arrive
other P / bold Pole position
SR / italic Fastest race lap
DNF Race not finished (did not finish)
1Seaman dropped out with his car and took over Carlo Felice Trossi's vehicle. As a result, he was not entitled to points.
2 to be killed in an accident

literature

  • Chris Nixon: Shooting Star. the life of Richard Seaman. Transport Bookman Publ., Isleworth 2000, ISBN 0-85184-065-5 (English).
  • Dick Seaman, George Monkhouse, Doug Nye: Dick and George. The Seaman Monkhouse Letters 1936-1939. Palawan Press, London 2002, ISBN 0-9523009-9-0 (English).
  • Richard Williams : A Race with Love and Death: The Story of Richard Seaman , New York: Simon & Schuster, Limited, 2020, ISBN 978-1-4711-7936-5

Web links

Commons : Richard Seaman  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files