"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
07/02/2016 at 12:35 • Filed to: planelopnik, planelopnik history, f1
3
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"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
07/02/2016 at 12:35 • Filed to: planelopnik, planelopnik history, f1 | 3
| 1 |
July 2, 1985 – David Purley isn’t exactly a household name in Formula 1. He made his F1 debut at Monaco in 1973, and participated in only 11 races over his brief career, scoring no points. While he never made the F1 record books, his actions during the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! made him a hero.
Eight laps into the race, fellow British driver !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , in only his second F1 race, suffered a suspected puncture and crashed into the barrier. Williamson was not seriously hurt in the crash, but he remained trapped in his overturned car, which began to burn furiously. Purley witnessed the crash and stopped on the side of the course, abandoning his race, and ran across the active track to come to the aid of his fellow racer. Purley was unable to right the car while track marshals stood by helplessly, and emergency workers, who were not wearing fire resistant clothing nor equipped to deal with the fire, made no attempt to help. Hearing the screams of his trapped friend, Purley seized a fire extinguisher from one of the marshals and tried to douse the flames himself, but to no avail. Williamson died of asphyxiation in the eight minutes it took for rescue vehicles to arrive, while Purley looked on in anguish, waving his arms in frustration and futility. In spite of Williamson’s death, the race continued. For his courage in the face of danger and his selfless heroism, Purley was awarded the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .
Purley at the controls of his Pitts Special
Purley’s racing career ended at the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! when a throttle malfunction caused his car to hit the wall at over 100 mph. He suffered multiple fractures, retired from racing, and took over his family business. But Purley was still a thrill seeker at heart. He took up aerobatic flying to satisfy his need for speed, but he died when his !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (G-POKE) !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! into the sea after possible engine failure. Purley was 40 years old.
(Photo authors unknown; crash video via YouTube)
Leon711
> ttyymmnn
07/02/2016 at 12:48 |
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The ferocity of that crash at the British GP is insane. “He survived an estimated 179.8 g when he decelerated from 173 km/h (108 mph) to 0 in a distance of 66 cm (26 inches) after his throttle got stuck wide open and he hit a wall.”
He was a local lad, born in Bognor Regis, only 20 miles away from me, or for context maybe 5ish miles from Goodwood, the only other local driver that has made it to F1 that I can think of is Jolyon Palmer at Renault currently.