Today is the 20th anniversary of the death of Roland Ratzenberger. He was killed during qualifying for the ill-fated 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, which claimed the life of Ayrton Senna the following day.
David Brabham was Ratzenberger’s teammate that day and he has shared his thoughts via the family website. Here’s a few selected quotes, make sure you follow the link below for the full story.
After seeing Ratzenberger’s wrecked car on track
I remember immediately changing my focus to get back to the pits and keep the tyres warm. This was a ridiculous thing to think, but my mind just didn’t want to think about what I had seen and focus on something else, like some kind of defence mechanism.
On the team’s reaction
We were completely devastated, shocked and felt numb. We pulled the shutter down in the pit garage and went to the back of the pits, unable to say much. We couldn’t really see the reaction from the rest of the paddock, being in a state of shock we couldn’t absorb what was going on.
On his decision to race
I remember jumping in the car for the start of the race and feeling uneasy, but thinking this is what I had to do. I can’t imagine what my wife was going through, seeing me go out there after what happened the day before. It must have been very painful for her.
On the immediate aftermath of Senna’s crash
We all had to stop on the pit straight and get out of our cars. You could see all the drivers were in a state of shock, word got round it was Senna and it didn’t sound good, although no one knew how bad. It took a while to start the race again, I’m not sure how many drivers really wanted to continue, but a driver finds it hard to say ‘no more racing’.
[Source: brabham.co.uk | Pic: Sutton Images]
6 replies on “David Brabham reflects on Roland Ratzenberger”
Its nice to see someone honour Roland. We hear about Ayrton(rightfully so) but nothing much is said about “The Rat” and considering it was such a tragic weekend, it would be nice if they were BOTH honoured together for the Anniversary of 1994 San Marino.
I followed him in the BMW touring cars, and by memory, he raced Bathurst here in one of the Schnitzer cars in 1987.
1994 San Marino will always be remembered, but not for the race……RIP
Max Mosely did a lot of shit things during his time as the President of the FIA, but going to attend Ratzenberger’s funeral instead of Senna’s was a very good and honourable thing that he did.
Here’s footage of Ratzenberger’s accident. It’s not for the faint hearted.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xnz69u_3-f1-1994-gp-saint-marin-qualifications-2-r-ratzenberger-simtek-accident-mortel-en-anglais-eurosport_auto?search_algo=2
With all due respect Senna was 3 times world champion, top of his game, and arguably the greatest F1 racer of all time. Senna accident was due to car failure not a mistake he made. Roland paid for his seat, he was never ever to be a champion and his accident was caused from driver error. Do you really expect to hear about his death as much as the Senna tragedy? If so you don’t live in the real world.
@Tom you ill informed dick. Find out the facts before you slag off someone who has passed on. His accident was caused by a car failure and your summation of his career is laughable. Yes he was in a back marker car, but for you to state that he was never going to be champion is just a joke. The likes of Alonso, Senna and Hakkinen all started out in back marker teams in their first full season of F1.
“What happened next was revealed in a series of grainy, static videos. A piece of bodywork flew from Ratzenberger’s car as he approached the Villeneuve corner. Crossing a recently resurfaced patch of tarmac, his front wheels appeared to lose contact with the ground. The signs indicated his front wing had failed at the point on the track where he needed it the most.”
source: http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2014/04/30/today-1994-ratzenbergers-death-stuns-f1/
Watch the last teammate video if you haven’t already. Both Hill and Brabham speak of Ratzenberger. Yes the context and comments are different from Those made about Senna but they are genuine and respectful.
Terrible weekend but how lucky we’re we not to loose Ruebens as well