Barbara Behlau made it happen that Roland Ratzenberger made his debut in the Formula One in 1994 with Simtek. After Ratzenberger’s horrific dead in Imola, Barbara was impressed how the team kept the spirit for Ratzenberger alive within the team. This was one of the reasons she purchased 30% of the stakes in the team. Only a year later during the Monaco Grand Prix she became the true saviour of
It’s 28 years ago that we lost Ronald Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna in Imola. However, many seem to forget that May 1994 was a horrible month for the autosport, more terrible accidents happened. It would change the autosport and especially the Formula one permanently. The focus would shift mostly towards new safety measures to be taken. Let me take you back for a couple of minutes into a period that
You can’t imagine it now though there was a time a lot of drivers tested in the Formula One. Or teams tested in between races to test new aerodynamics or new engines. Or just to cash extra money by letting unknown drivers, who will never arrive, experience the Formula 1.As many of these drivers are long forgotten, and there isn’t a real overview of the test drivers, its all bits
The day after Roland Ratzenberger died during a crash with his Simtek, the circus prepared themselves to start the Grand Prix of San Marino at Imola. It was a sunny Sunday, and it seemed everyone was ready to race hoping no more accident would happen. Sadly it would become worse, during the start Lehto stalled his Benetton and Pedro Lamy in his Lotus hit the back of Letho’s car. It
Imola 1994, the San Marino Grand Prix, held in the weekend of 30th April would change the Formula One completely. There is only one word needed to describe this Grand Prix weekend… horrible! What happened in 1994 was something never seen in modern Formula One. In 1982 the last fatality happened with the dead of Riccardo Paletti in the Osella, just a few weeks after Gilles Villeneuve sadly died. Imola
