Roland Ratzenberger (German: [ˈʁoːlant ˈʁatsn̩bɛɐ̯ɡɐ]; 4 July 1960 – 30 April 1994) was an Austrian racing driver who raced in sports prototype, British Formula 3000, Japanese Formula 3000 and Formula One. He died in a crash during qualifying for the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, the same event at which three-time World Champion Ayrton Senna died the following day. As a direct result of his death, the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association was reformed. Info from Wiki
Bio by Stephen Latham
Born in Salzburg, Austria, Roland, an immensely popular and self-effacing character, began racing in German Formula Ford in 1983.
In 1985 he won both the Austrian and Central European FFord championships, finished second in the German FFord title, fourth in Britain plus second at Brands Hatch’s Formula Ford Festival.
As many aspiring drivers have found, obtaining funds to fund racing was a real struggle, and to achieve his aims Roland worked at the Jim Russell school in Italy, as a mechanic for a German team, plus with engine tuner Gatmo.
Returning the following year, he won the Brands Hatch Festival then joined West Surrey Racing for the 1987 British F3 Championship. He finished on the podium at Spa, finishing twelfth in the final standings, though finished fifth in the F3 Euroseries. He also raced a BMW M3 for the Schnitzer team in the World Touring Car Championship, finishing on the podium twice.
Switching to Madgwick Motorsport in F3 in 1988 saw him finish twelfth again but he also entered a number of rounds of the British Touring Car Championship in a BMW M3 with the Demon Tweeks team.
1989 saw him in the British F3000 championship, winning at Donington and finishing third overall. He also raced sports prototypes, driving a Brun Porsche 962 to finish fourth at Spa (with Oscar Larrauri) though he retired in his first Le Mans 24 Hours race (with Maurizio Sandro Sala and Walter Lechner). He would go on to race in the next four Le Mans, with the SARD team in 1990, Brun again in 1991, then SARD in 1992 and 1993. His highest finish was in 1993’s race when (with Mauro Martini and Naoki Nagasaka) they finished fifth in a Toyota.
In the 1990s he was also racing in Japan, winning a race in 1990 and 1991 in the Japanese Sports Prototype Championship with the SARD team. In the Japanese Touring Car Championship, he finished seventh in 1990 and 1991 in a BMW M3.
1992 saw him racing in Japanese F3000 with the Stellar team where he took two consecutive poles and then a dominant victory at Suzuka to finish seventh in the standings. He stayed in Japanese F3000 in 1993 with Stellar though finished eleventh that year.
In 1994, he fulfilled his dream of reaching Formula One when he signed to drive for the Simtek team. A misfire and damper problems stopped him making the grid for the Brazilian GP but at Aida, he finished eleventh. Unfortunately, following this Roland went to race at Imola on that tragic weekend.
As mentioned, Roland was described as immensely popular and self-effacing, earning the respect of team-mates and rivals, and made a lasting impression on those who knew him. Simtek boss Nick Wirth stated “he was very driven and I just liked him…he was the ultimate charmer, just a wonderful guy.” Team mate David Brabham said he was “very charming..a colourful character. It’s a shame that we lost the opportunity to see what kind of man he would have become” while his 1992 Group C co-driver Eddie Irvine said “Ratzy was super, super competitive, and very professional in the car. He gave 100 per cent every time. He was smart, talented and worked hard for everything he had.”
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