After all the excitement of the race at Spa the next stop on the championship trail was the favourite of most of the drivers - Monaco. However one of the big drawbacks of racing round the streets of the Principality is that places on the grid are limited and so the spectre of pre-qualifying once again reared its head.

The Toleman, Theodore and RAM teams had to compete for the three remaining places on the grid. In the end the right to attempt to qualify proper was won by Warwick, Salazar and Giacomelli made it through, only for the latter pair to fall at ther next hurdle. Pole was claimed by Prost - again - despite the apparent unsuitabilty of the turbo cars to the twisting circuit. Best of the non-turbo machines was Rosberg back in fifth place alongside Piquet.

When the lights went out to start the race a light rain was falling. That didn’t stop Rosberg who got past Cheever with ease and slotted in behind race leader Prost who made on his usual fautless starts. Arnoux, who also started on the front row lost out to Tambay and de Cesaris and was almost taken by Jarier running into Ste Devote. For a change everyone got round the first corner intact although by the end of the first lap only 18 cars were still running. Alboreto had collided with Mansell at the Swimming Pool and both were out of the race.

At the front Rosberg waited for the start of the second lap before slipping past Prost with relative ease and was in the lead. Around the track the rain had eased off and the clever drivers were finding the dry side of the track easier to run on, even if it meant taking unusual lines through the bends. At the back of the field Boesel and Winkelhock had a coming together that saw both of take an early shower.

By lap 6 most of the drivers were coming in to lose their wet tyres, but it was too late for Arnoux who clipped the barrier heavily while avoiding Laffite who was on a charge by now. Arnoux made it back to the pits but even a wheel change didn’t help and was soon parking up. Laffite took advantage of the situation and was soon up to second place behind his team-mate who was streaking into the distance.

With the Williams running so far in front attention turned to the scrap between Warwick and Piquet and Prost. The Englishman was defending his fourth place magnificently in the dog of a Toleman although most expected that it would only be a matter of time before the turbo-cars got through. The problem was that no-one had told Derek and he continued to battle for over almost half the race. It was only when his machinery let him down that he was finally forced to retire.

On the very same lap Laffite was forced out with a busted gearbox leaving Rosberg up front with Piquet and Prost bearing down hard. In the end they failed to close the gap and the Finn - always a master in wet-dry races finished at the front of the field.

XLI Grand Prix Automobile de Monaco - 1983 Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix, Monaco.

Pole Position: Alain Prost, Renault RE40, 1m 24.840s, 140.537 km/h (87.344 mph) average.

Race Result: Winner – Keke Rosberg, Williams FW08C-Ford, 76 laps x 3.312 km (2.058 miles) = 251.712 km (156.440 miles) total race distance in 1h 56m 38.121s, 129.487 km/h (80.477 mph) average.

2) Nelson Piquet, Brabham BT52-BMW + 18.475
3) Alain Prost, Renault RE40 + 31.366
4) Patrick Tambay, Ferrari 126C2B +1m 04.297s
5) Danny Sullivan, Tyrrell 011-Ford + 2 Laps
6) Mauro Baldi, Alfa Romeo 183T + 2 Laps

Fastest Lap: Nelson Piquet, Brabham BT52-BMW, 1m 27.283s on lap 69 = 136.604 km/h (84.900 mph) average.

Prost experiencing tunnel vision For the third race of the season it was obvious that McLaren were onto something good - both in the car and in the partnership of Prost and Senna. The entire front row was red and white for the second race in a row and both drivers made excellent starts - the Brazilian marginally quicker.

The race quickly became one of those processional affairs for which Monaco is becoming increasingly famous and it looked as if Senna had it in the back. Then, on lap 67, he had what a number of journalists called ‘brain-fade’. He simply lost concentration and slammed into the Armco just before the tunnel.

In the pits the McLaren team was unaware that anything had happened - Ayrton had not let them know over the radio. He merely turned around and walked home, some two hundred meters away. The climate in the McLaren pits was tense. Ron Dennis was anxious, not knowing what to say to the sponsors. In fact, two hours passed before someone was able to speak to the driver on the telephone, despite repeated attempts by Dennis.

Prost was quite happy with the result and went on to win - his second victory of the season. Berger and Alboreto filled the podium for Ferrari while Derek Warwick completed a great run in the Arrows to finish fourth.

XLVI Grand Prix Automobile de Monaco - 1988 Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix, Monaco.

Pole Position: Ayrton Senna, McLaren MP 4/4-Honda, 1m 23.998s, 142.632 km/h (88.646 mph) average.

Race Result: Winner – Alain Prost, McLaren MP 4/4-Honda, 78 laps x 3.328 km (2.068 miles) = 259.584 km (161.333 miles) total race distance in 1h 57m 17.077s, 132.797 km/h (82.534 mph) average.

2) Gerhard Berger, Ferrari F1-87/88C +20.453s
3) Michele Alboreto, Ferrari F1-87/88C +41.229s
4) Derek Warwick, Arrows A10B-Ford + 1 Lap
5) Jonathan Palmer, Tyrrell 017-Ford + 1 Lap
6) Riccardo Patrese, Williams FW12-Judd + 1 Lap

Fastest Lap: Ayrton Senna, McLaren MP 4/4-Honda, 1m 28.3s on lap 59 = 138.794 km/h (86.261 mph) average.

Milestones among drivers:

- Alain Prost’s 58th podium finish (new record).

15th of May - “During an attempt to qualify for the Indy 500, Gordon Smiley, a cocky young driver from Texas, was determined to break 200 mph or die trying. Several veteran drivers had warned him that he was in way over his head, driving all wrong for the Speedway. Smiley was a road racer and was used to counter-steering his car to avoid a crash if the rear wheels broke traction. While rushing to the car immediately after the impact, I noticed small splotches of a peculiar gray substance marking a trail on the asphalt leading up to the driver. When I reached the car, I was shocked to see that Smiley’s helmet was gone, along with the top of his skull. He had essentially been scalped by the debris fence. The material on the race track was most of his brain. His helmet, due to massive centrifugal force, was literally pulled from his head on impact…I rode to the care center with the body. On the way in I performed a cursory examination and realized that nearly every bone in his body was shattered. He had a gaping wound in his side that looked as if he had been attacked by a large shark. I had never seen such trauma.”

I came across this shocking statement of Dr. Steve Olvey, Indycar Medical Director between 1979 and 2003, about the fatal accident of Gordon Smiley on May 15, 1982. Reporting from this year’s Indy 500 I am thankful that safety has improved significantly such brutal fatalities a relict from the past.

15/5/1986, Elio de Angelis dies.

After rising to prominence in Formula 3, Elio de Angelis’ Formula 1 debut came with the Shadow team. He was picked up by Team Lotus for

His first first Grand Prix win came in Austria in 1982, beating Keke Rosberg in one of F1’s tightest finishes. In 1985 picked up another victory after Alain Prost was disqualified at Imola. In 1986 he moved to Brabham but the BMW-engined and radically low BT55 was a problematic car. It was while testing this in May at Paul Ricard that he was killed when a rear wing failed. To read bio published earlier in this blog, please click HERE.

15/5/1991, Friedrich Riess dies.

Riess’ only participation in a Fromula 1 Grand Prix came at the wheel of a Veritas-BMW in the 1952 German Grand Prix. Clearly his best year in motor racing as he also won the 24 hours of Le Mans, partnering Hermann Lang at the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz 300SL.

Born: 11th of July 1922 in Nürnberg, Germany;
Died: 15th of May 1991 in Samedan, SWitzerland, aged 68.

15/5/1943, Alan William Rollinson is born in Walsall, UK.

A frontrunner in Formula 3, Alan Rollinson got his one and only chance in Formula 1 with an appearance at the British GP in 1965 at the wheel of a Cooper T71/73 , entered by ex-GP Driver Bob Gerard. As with the given machinery and his - at the time - lack of experience didn’t translate in a decent run, it would remain his only participation in a Formula 1 grid. Otherwise he had a solid career in numerous other formulae, most notably, the European and British Formula 5000 championship.

15/5/1959, Luis Perez-Sala Valls-Taberner is born in Barcelona, Spain.

The always pleasant Spaniard came into Formula 1 as runner-up to Stefano Modena in the 1983 Formula 3000 Championship, driving for the Minardi Formula 1 squad for two seasons from the start of 1988. His best result is a sixth place in the 1989 British Grand Prix. Since leaving F1 he has been a regular in the Spanish touring car championship.

20/4/1946, Gordon Smiley is born in Omaha, USA.

Gordon Smiley, from Nebraska, was an accomplished racing driver, who won in sports cars and open wheel single seaters. At one time he held 25 lap records in SCCA competition, and in 1979 won the Aurora Formula 1 race at Silverstone. He qualified for two Indy 500s, 1980 and 1981, but was killed while trying qualify for a third in 1982.

Smiley had been strugggling with his March in qualifying. He was aiming for a 200 mph average lap speed, but had only been able to reach 196 mph. Then, on the second of his wam-up laps, the car suddenly oversteered as it entered Turn 3. Smiley seemed to overcorrect and hit the wall head-on. In one of the most violent racing accidents ever seen, Smiley’s helmet was torn off, and the cockpit crushed. The engine and rear wing were ripped off when the car flew into the catch fence. The March was totally destroyed, and Smiley was killed instantly.

Born: 20th of April 1946 in Omaha, USA;
Died: 15th of May 1982 in Indianapolis, USA, aged 36 years

13th of May- While discussions persist whether Rubens Barrichello’s claim to have broken Riccardo Patrese’s record of 256 Grands Prix starts is really legitimate, let’s wind back to over half a centuray ago. At the 1956 Monaco GP Juan Manuel Fangio established the record of most GP starts with his 47th participation! It was a troubled race that saw him hit the straw bails, taking over Peter Collins’ car and closing the gap to leader Stirling Moss who won with a 6 second cushion.

13/5/1934, Paddy Driver is born in Johannesburg, South Africa.

A former motorcycle racer of distinction, Driver raced a Lotus 24-BRM V8 to seventh place in the non-Championship 1963 Rand Grand Prix Prix at Kyalami only to upend the car practicing for the South African Grand Prix at East London a fortnight later. He escaped unhurt, but the car was a definite non starter. He returned to two-wheel competition, finishing third in the 500cc motorcycle World Championship in 1965, before switching back to cars seriously in 1968. He drove one more Grand Prix at Kyalami six years later in a Team Gunston Lotus 72 but failed to finish.

13/5/1994, James Duncan Hamilton dies.

Duncan Hamilton had garage owner as primary job description and raced a Talbot-Lago and an HWM in a handful of Championship Grands Prix as an amateur driver. He also won Le Mans in 1953 sharing a works Jaguar C-type with his close friend Tony Rolt. Story has it the two of them had resorted to heavy drinking in a French pub prior to their glorious win, because their car had initially its entry refused. By the time the team managed to rectify the steward’s ix-up, Hamilton and Rolt where already in the “funny-language-mood” and had to be put into a severe dark coffee and cold shower regime to get them back into shape.

Born: 30th of April 1920 in Cork, Ireland.
Died: 13th of May 1994 in Sherbourne, UK.

13/5/1927, William Archibald Scott-Brown is born in Paisley, Scotland.

Archie Scott-Brown was born with severe disabilities, a result of German measles suffered by his mother during pregnancy, had no proper front forearm and both legs were radically twisted. But Archie had an enormous talent to drive cars very fast. In fact, many who saw Archie race had no idea he had a disability, such was his skill behind the wheel. He teamed up with Cambridgeshire engineer, Brian Lister, to create a very competitive racing team. Archie even took part in one round of the Formula 1 World Championship at the 1956 British Grand Prix at Silverstone in a Connaught B-type. He was badly injured at Spa when his Lister-Jag crashed at the same spot which claimed Dick Seaman’s life in 1939 and died the following day.

Born: 13th of May 1927 in Paisley, Scotland;
Died: 19th of May 1958 in Spa Francorchamps, Belgium, aged 31.

13/5/1960, Henry O’Reilly Schell dies.

Paris-bron Harry Schell inherited as an 18-year-old a racing team called Ecurie Bleu from his late parents and had a first go at Indianapolis in 1940. After the war he was a regular on the very active French racing scene and he made his Grand Prix debut at Monaco in 1950 at the wheel of the first rear-engined F1 car, the Cooper-JAP. In the years that followed he raced Formula 2 machinery for HWM and Gordini, while enjoying his life playboy lifestyle. In the mid-1950s he drove a Maserati and finished second in the Rome GP and third at Aintree.

In 1956 he drove a Vanwall in the French Grand Prix at Reims, where he battled for the lead against a trio of Lancia-Ferraris. In 1957 he drove a works Maserati, finishing third in the Pescara Grand Prix, and produced a career best second place in the 1958 Dutch Grand Prix in a BRM P25. He was also an active sports car racer and in 1956 partnered Stirling Moss, Jean Behra and Maurice Trintignant to victory in a Maserati 300S at the Nurburgring. He stayed with BRM in 1959 but then switched to the Yeoman Credit Cooper team in 1960. On May 13 that year he was killed while qualifying in the wet for the International Trophy non-championship F1 race at Silverstone.

Born: 29th June 1921 in Paris, France;
Died: 13th May 1960 in Silverstone, UK, aged 38.

When Team Lotus arrived iat Jarama for the first race of the European season they came in mourning. Not only had Clark been killed at Hockenheim a month earlier, they were also missing Mike Spence who had lost his life during a practice run for the Indianapolis 500.

The Jarama race was the first World Championship event staged in Spain since Hawthorn had won at Barcelona back in 1954. To entice Formula 1 back to the Spain the country’s racing body had constructed a modern circuit at Jarama, just outside of Madrid. The circuit would remain in use until the early 1980’s before the circus moved on to Jerez and then Catalunya.

Several new cars made their debut here, among them the new Ford powered McLaren M7A, and the new Brabham BT26, which was once again powered by the Australian Repco company. BRM introduced their P133, Matra their MS10, Honda brought the RA301 and Cooper introduced a B-version of their T86. And, of course, Gold Leaf Team Lotus starred their new sponsorship livery on Hill’s sole Lotus 49.

Chris Amon, who had been joined at Ferrari by the young Belgian Jacky Ickx, had taken pole but he was beaten off the line by Rodriguez and Beltoise, who was deputizing for an injured Jackie Stewart. It took Amon 16 laps to recover the lead, helped by Beltoise’s retirement, only to have his own chance of victory dashed by a fuel pump problem.

That allowed Hill into the lead from where he scored a timely victory for the disheartened Lotus squad. He was followed home by the 1967 champion, Denny Hulme, and Brian Redman, in an ageing Cooper.

XIV Gran Premio de España - 1968 Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix, Jarama, Spain.

Pole Position: Graham Hill. Lotus 49-Ford Cosworth, 1m 27.9s, 139.413 km/h (86.646 mph) average.

Race Result: Winner – Graham Hill. Lotus 49-Ford Cosworth, 90 laps x 3.404 km (2.116 miles) = 306.360 km (190.404 miles) total race distance in 2h 15m 20.1s, 135.823 km/h (84.415 mph) average.

2) Denny Hulme McLaren M7A-Ford +15.9s
3) Brian Redman Cooper T86B-BRM +1 Lap
4) Ludovico Scarfiotti Cooper T86B-BRM +1 Lap
5) Jean-Pierre Beltoise Matra MS10-Ford + 9 Laps
6) Bruce McLaren McLaren M7A-Ford retired, oil leak

Fastest Lap: Jean-Pierre Beltoise, Matra MS10-Ford Cosworth, 1m 28.3s on lap 47 = 138.781 km/h (86.253 mph) average.

Milestones:

- 1st Formula 1 Grand Prix at Jarama Circuit

Milestones among drivers:

- Jean-Pierre Beltoise’s 1st Fastest Lap

- Chris Amon’s 1st Pole Position

Milestones among teams, constructors and suppliers:

- Gold Leaf Team Lotus’ 1st Win as entrant/team;

- Matra International’s 1st Fastest Lap as entrant/team;

- Matra’s 1st Fastest Lap as constructor;

- Repco’s 50th - Formula 1 Grand Prix as engine supplier;

- Ford’s 50th Formula 1 Grand Prix as engine supplier;

- Gold Leaf Team Lotus’ 1st Formula 1 Grand Prix as entrant/team.

12th of May - At the 1974 Belgian Grand Prix at Nivelles the Token RJ02 had its race debut. The car was designed by Ray Jessop and originally intended for the graduation of Rondel Racing, the successful Formula 2 team founded by Ron Dennis and Neil Trundle to Grand Prix racing. During the energy crisis, Rondel lost their sponsor Motul and had to abandon plans to move up. The completion of the car was then funded by Tony Vlassopoulo and Ken Grob, Formula 3 front-runner Tom Pryce was given the opportunity to make his F1 debut, and it was later driven by David Purley and Ian Ashley. However, after four Grands Prix Token was finished, the car was sold and later resurfaced as the Safir. Again without success.

12/5/1961, Melvin Eugene Bettenhausen dies.

Tony Bettenhausen was a dedicated and fearless driver, winner of the National US-Championship in 1951 and 1958. He retired from racing three times but always came back as he found life away from the cockpit boring. He competed in the Indy 500 14 times and in all 11 events that counted for the Formula 1 World Championship between 1950 and 1960. He never won the big race, but managed a second place in 1955 and a pair of fourths and a fifth place to his credit. During practice for the 1961 Indy 500 Tony’s friend and fellow racer Paul Russo came to him complaining about the setup of his racer, Tony promptly offered to test the same car in which Rodger Ward had won the 1959 Indy 500 in. The front axle collapsed to twist and misalign the front wheels when the brakes were applied, which forced the car into the wall. His three sons Gary, Merl and Tony Lee all went into racing. Tony Lee would one day compete in 11 Indy 500’s and also own a CART team. Gary would also take part in the Indy 500.

Born: 12th of September 1916 in Tinley Park, USA;
Died: 12th of May 1961 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, USA, aged 44.

11/10/1928, Don Alfonso Antonio Vicente Blas Angel Francisco Borija Cabez de Vaca y Leighton, Carvajal y Are, XVII Marques de Portago, Marques de Moratalla, XIII Conde de La Mejorada, Conde de Pernia, Duke of Alagon, Grande de Espana dies.

Alfonso de Portago, as he was more commonly known, was an extravagant aristocrat, a lover of the adventure and one of the most colourful characters ever in motor racing. ‘Fon’ was a fantastic all-round sportsman, he was three times French amateur champion jockey, and appeared twice at Aintree in the Grand National steeplechase; he was an international-class swimmer and he formed the Spanish bobsleigh team for the 1956 Winter Olympics. He died in violent crash in the 1957 ill race that ended up being stoppedas a result.

Born: 11th of October 1928 in London, UK.
Died: 12th of May 1957 in Goito, Italy, aged 28.

12/5/1963, Stefano Modena is born in Modena, Italy.

Stefano Modena shot to international prominence within weeks, winning the Monaco F3 race and in 1987 joined Onyx and won the International Formula 3000 title at his first attempt. At the end of that year Nigel Mansell crashed in Japan and was unable to finish the season and so Williams hired Brabham’s Riccardo Patrese and Bernie Ecclestone put Modena in the Brabham for his F1 debut in Australia. As Ecclestone sold the Brabham team, Modena ended up with the uncompetitive EuroBrun outfit. When Brabham returned in 1989 (under different ownership) Modena was there and in 1989 he finished third at Monaco. But the team faded gradually away in 1990.

For the 1991 season Modena, still highly-rated, was signed by Ken Tyrrell team and in 1992 oved on to Jordan. But the Yamaha engines were a disappointment and Modena never really figured and at the end of the year he slipped out of F1. His new field of activity became the German DTM series and the International Touring Car Championship scene with Alfa Romeo where he won several races in the course of the 1994 and 1995 seasons. When he retired from racing, Modena became tire manufacturer Pirelli’s star test driver.

12/5/1922, Francesco Salvadori is born in Davercourt, UK.

Roy Salvadori’s Formula 1 debut came in 1953, racing predominantly in non-Championship events before being asked to drive for the works Cooper squad and later the front-engined Aston Martin DBR4 which did not arrive on the scene until 1959. He later drove for the Yeoman Credit team, in whose Cooper he almost won the 1961 US Grand Prix. At the end of 1962 he retired from Formula 1 and quit sports car racing a couple of years later. A successful motor trader, he became heavily involved in the Cooper-Maserati squad in 1966-67 as team manager before retiring to Monaco.

Mika Häkkinen was completely dominant throughout the Spanish Grand Prix weekend. The Finn set the fastest time in all sessions and won the race. David Coulthard shadowed his team-mate throughout but found that he could do nothing to match Hakkinen’s pace, while Michael Schumacher finished nearly a minute behind Häkkinen on a day when McLaren’s Bridgestone tyres had the edge over the Goodyears on the Ferrari.

In qualifying Hakkinen was one and a half seconds ahead of Schumacher, the pair being split by Coulthard who was seventh-tenths slower than Hakkinen. To underline the speed of the Bridgestones Giancarlo Fisichella was fourth fastest in his Benetton with team mate Alexander Wurz fifth ahead of a disappointing Eddie Irvine in the second Ferrari. It was a bad day for Williams, with World Champion Jacques Villeneuve 10th on the grid and Heinz-Harald Frentzen 13th.

At the start of the race the two McLarens went into the lead but Schumacher was very slow away and dropped behind Fisichella and a fast-starting Irvine. Hakkinen built a 10 second lead in 10 laps while Coulthard was able to stay six seconds clear of Irvine, who was under attack from Fisichella. Michael Schumacher shadowed the pair.

With overtaking difficult the pits stops were very important and, as soon as Irvine and Fisichella went into the pits, Michael Schumacher did his usual impressive job and was able to get ahead of both his rivals. They then collided at the first corner and put each other out of the race, promoting Wurz to fourth and Barrichello to fifth, although he had Villeneuve and Johnny Herbert (Sauber) chasing him.

Schumacher was then given a 10-second stop-go penalty for failing to observe the speed limit in the pitlane. This dropped him behind Wurz but he regained the place during the second pit stops to finish third. Wurz was fourth while Barrichello was able to get away from the Villeneuve-Herbert battle to give Stewart a decent result.

1998 Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix, Barcelona, Spain.

Pole Position: Mika Häkkinen, McLaren MP4/13-Mercedes, 1m 20.262s, 212.065 km/h (131.799 mph) average.

Race Result: Winner – Mika Häkkinen, McLaren MP4/13-Mercedes, 65 laps x 4.728 km (2.938 miles) = 307.320 km (191.000 miles) total race distance in 1h 33m 37.621s, 196.943 km/h (122.400 mph) average.

2) David Coulthard, McLaren MP4/13-Mercedes, + 9.439s
3) Michael Schumacher, Ferrari F300 + 47.095s
4) Alex Wurz, Benetton B198-Playlife + 1m 02.538s
5) Rubens Barrichello, Stewart SF2-Ford + 1 lap
6) Jacques Villeneuve, Williams FW20-Mecachrome + 1 lap

Fastest Lap: Mika Häkkinen, McLaren MP4/13-Mercedes, 1m 24.275s on lap 25 = 201.967 km/h (123.459 mph) average.

Milestones among teams, constructors and suppliers:

- Bridgestone’s 200th Formula 1 Grand Prix as tire supplier

- Texaco’s 250th Formula 1 Grand Prix as lubricant supplier

10th of May - It was one of those occasions when history was being made in front of an admiring crowd: Jack Brabham wins the 1959 Monaco Grand Prix, lapping the streets of the Principality quicker than anyone else. Hence Jack scored his first ever Formula 1 Grand Prix win as well as the fastest race lap for the first time in his career. Same goes for the Cooper Car Company as entrant. Plus the Cooper marque as well as engine supplier Climax both scored the fastest lap in a Formula 1 Grand Prix for the first time that day.

10/5/1967, Lorenzo Bandini dies.

A calm character, almost “unitalian”, Lorenzo Bandini’s debut in F1 came in 1961 with Scuderia Centro Sud’s old Cooper-Maserati and moving on to the Ferrari works-team in 1962. Despite a 3rd place at the Monaco-GP Enzo Ferrari hired Willy Mairesse for 1963 instead. Back at Centro Sud, Bandini now had BRM works-machinery and scored three 5th place finishes. Bandini won the 24 hours of Le Mans sharing a Ferrari 250LM with Ludovico Scarfiotti and when Mairesse was badly injured in the German GP, Enzo called him back to the Scuderia.

In 1964 Bandini scored his only victory in F1 at the Austrian GP. Until then John Surtees’s loyal lieutenant, Lorenzo suddenly found himself as team leader after the Brit’s fall-out with Enzo early in 1966. After coming in 2nd for the last two editions of the Monaco GP, the Italian was determined to win it in 1967. But when Denny Hulme went past in the final stages, Lorenzo risked too much trying to chase the New-Zealander. He clipped the chicane and rolled his Ferrari 312, suffering appalling burns as the car erupted in flames. This accident marked a significant turning point in attitudes towards improving motor racing safety. Lorenzo passed away three days later as a consequence, shortly before his wife suffered a miscarriage in the same hospital.

Born: 21st of December 1935 in Barce, Lybia.
Died: 10th of May 1967 in Monaco aged 31 years.

10/5/1985, Antoine Branca dies.

Toni Branca was a Swiss amateur who, legend has it, financed his motor racing thanks to the donations of an admiring Belgian countess. He made his Formula 1 debut in 1950 at the wheel of a Scuderia Achille Varzi Maserati at the Swiss Grand Prix at Bremgarten in 1950 and raced again at the non-championship GP des Nations in Geneva. That year he also raced in an F2 Simca-Gordini and led the race in Geneva. His only major finish was fourth at Aix-les-Bains. He raced again in the Belgian GP and the following year reappeared in a privately-run Maserati at the German GP. He was sixth in the non-championship Pescara GP but had little success in F2 and he disappeared from racing at the end of the 1951 season.

Born: 15th of September 1916 in Stalden, Switzerland;
Died: 10th of May 1985 in Sierre, Switzerland, aged 68 years

10/5/1963, Gianfranco Comotti dies.

Franco Comotti was prewar racer who won the 1933 Naples Grand Prix in an Alfa Romeo and the 1937 Tourist Trophy at Donington Park in a Talbot, Comotti returned to the sport after the war, competing in the 1950 Italian GP and 1952 French GP, before retiring from a racing career that spanned three decades. He later worked for British Petroleum in Europe.

Born: 24th of July 1906 in Brescia, Italy;
Died: 10th of May 1963 in Bergamo, Italy, aged 56.

10/5/1977, Nick Heidfeld is born in Mönchengladbach.

A Mercedes-Benz protegé since junior formulae and 1999 Formula 3000 champion, Heidfeld’s debut in Formula 1 came in 2000 with the Prost Grand Prix. He signed a three-year deal with Sauber and stayed with the team until the end of 2003 when he moved on to the struggling Jordan team. However support from BMW helped him to win the second Williams seat in 2005. He did well, finishing second at Monaco and the Nürburgring, and at the end of the year was signed to drive for the BMW Sauber operation from 2006 on.

10/5/1914 John Martin James is born in in Packwood, UK.

John James raced an ex-Reg Parnell Maserati 4CLT/48 in the 1951 British Grand Prix at Silverstone as an amateur racer. He later drove it to a couple of top ten finishes at Goodwood, before regulation changes rendered it legal for Formula Libre events only. James retired from the sport in 1952.

Born: 10th of May 1914 in Packwood, UK;
Died: 17th of January 2002 in St Julian’s, Malta, aged 87.

21/10/1932, 75 years ago, Cesare Perdisa is born.

Cesare made his mark driving a Maserati T200S sports car in 1954. He went on to drive for the Maserati and Ferrari works teams.

Born: 21st of October 1932 in Bologna, Italy;
Died: 10th of May 1998 in Bologna, Italy, aged 65.

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