British racing driver (1942?1970)
Piers Raymond Courage
(27 May 1942 ? 21 June 1970) was a British
racing driver
. He participated in 29 World Championship
Formula One
Grands Prix
, debuting on 2 January 1967. He achieved two podium finishes, and scored 20 championship points.
Biography
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Piers Courage was the eldest son and heir to the
Courage brewing
dynasty. Educated at
Eton College
, he began his racing career in his own
Lotus 7
.
Following a brief stint touring the European
F3
racing circuit in 1964 with a
Lotus 22
, along with
Jonathan Williams
, good results persuaded him to pursue a full season in 1965. It was in this season, driving a 1.0L F3
Brabham
for Charles Lucas, that he first formed an alliance with
Frank Williams
, at that time Lucas's other driver and sometime mechanic. A string of good results, including four high-profile wins, encouraged
Colin Chapman
to offer Courage a seat in a
Lotus 41
for the 1966 F3 season. This car was inferior to the dominant Brabhams but Courage still managed to outperform them on occasion, earning him a step up to the
F2
category for the
1966 German Grand Prix
, where he crashed out.
Signed by the
BRM
works
Formula 1
team for 1967, alongside
Chris Irwin
, his wild driving style caused him to repeatedly crash out of races and his tendency to spin at crucial moments led to the team dropping him after the
1967 Monaco Grand Prix
. He completed the remainder of the season concentrating on his alternative drive, as was common in the 1960s, in
John Coombs
's F2
McLaren M4A
, finishing fourth in the unclassified drivers' championship. At the end of the season he purchased the car from Coombs. A good run in the
McLaren
during the winter
Tasman
Series, including a win at the last race, resulted in
Tim Parnell
offering a drive in his works-supported
Reg Parnell Racing
BRM team for 1968. In addition to a good run in F1 in 1968 ? including points-scoring finishes in
France
and
Italy
? Courage also drove for old friend Frank Williams's F2 team. When
Frank Williams Racing Cars
decided to make the step up to F1 in 1969, Courage was their first choice as driver.
In Courage's hands, Williams's dark-blue liveried
Brabham BT26
was more than a match for many of the works teams. He finished second in both the
Monaco Grand Prix
and the
US Grand Prix
, at
Watkins Glen
. Perhaps his finest drive of the season, though, was during the
1969 Italian Grand Prix
at the high-speed
Monza circuit
. Despite an older car, and a power deficit, he managed to stay with the leading pack for the majority of the race. Only fuel starvation caused his pace to slow near the end, and he finally finished in fifth. A second fifth place, in the
British Grand Prix
, saw Courage finish the season on sixteen points in eighth place in the drivers' championship.
Accident and death
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Following a business arrangement with
Alejandro de Tomaso
, Williams switched to a newly designed
De Tomaso
chassis for the
1970 Formula One season
. Unfortunately for Courage, the De Tomaso proved to be overweight and unreliable, and only a third place in the non-championship
International Trophy
alleviated a poor string of results in the early season. The
Dutch Grand Prix
seemed to be going slightly better, with Courage qualifying in ninth place around the
Zandvoort Circuit
. Running in the middle of the field, the De Tomaso's front suspension or steering broke on the bump at Tunnel Oost, causing the car to suddenly go straight on instead of finishing the high-speed bend. It then rode up an embankment (one of the Zandvoort dunes) and disintegrated, with the engine breaking loose from the monocoque, upon which it burst into flames. To lighten the De Tomaso,
magnesium
was used in its chassis and suspension. The magnesium burned so intensely that many nearby trees and bushes were set alight.
During the impact, one of the front wheels broke off the car and hit Courage's head, tearing away his helmet (both the wheel and the helmet came rolling out of the cloud of dust at the same time). It is assumed
[
according to whom?
]
that this impact broke Courage's neck or caused fatal head injuries and that he died instantly as a result. Courage was survived by his wife, Lady Sarah Marguerite Curzon (b. 1945), and his two sons, Jason Piers Courage (b. 10 February 1967) and Amos Edward Sebastian Courage (b. 26 February 1969).
Courage was buried in St Mary the Virgin churchyard,
Shenfield
, Essex.
Just three years later,
Roger Williamson
crashed fatally when his car came to rest upside down and burst into flames at the same spot, the Tunnel Oost bump, where Courage's accident had started.
Racing record
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Complete Formula One World Championship results
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(
key
)
Complete Formula One non-championship results
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(
key
)
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
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Complete Tasman Series results
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(
key
)
Complete European Formula Two Championship results
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(
key
)
‡
Graded drivers not eligible for European Formula Two Championship points
Further reading
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- Cooper, A. 2003.
Piers Courage: Last of the Gentleman Racers
. Haynes Group. 224pp.
ISBN
1-85960-663-6
References
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External links
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