Roland Ratzenberger

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Pacific Grand Prix

Brazilian Grand Prix

(Roland Walter Ratzenberger)

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Born
1960-07-04
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Salzburg, Austria

Died
1994-04-30 (Aged 33)
Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Position
Driver

Status
Deceased

Ethnicity
White

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Roland Walter Ratzenberger (4 July 1960 – 30 April 1994) was an Austrian racing driver, who competed in Formula One at three Grands Prix in 1994.

Born and raised in Salzburg, Ratzenberger began his racing career as a protégé of Walter Lechner, joining the Lechner Racing School at the Salzburgring upon graduating from technical school, aged 18. Ratzenberger progressed to Formula Ford in 1983, winning multiple national and continental titles, as well as the Festival in 1986. Ratzenberger balanced his next two seasons between touring car racing and Formula Three; he contested the World Touring Car Championship in 1987 with Schnitzer, achieving four podium finishes in ten races whilst driving the BMW E30 M3. After finishing third in the 1989 British Formula 3000 Championship and retiring from his 24 Hours of Le Mans debut, Ratzenberger moved into Japanese motorsport with Toyota. Amongst competing in World Sportscar, All-Japan Sports Prototype, Japanese Touring Car and Japanese Formula 3000, Ratzenberger also entered four further editions of Le Mans from 1990 to 1993, winning the C2 class at the latter in the Toyota 93C-V with SARD.

Ratzenberger signed for Simtek in 1994, making his Formula One debut at the Brazilian Grand Prix, where he did not qualify. He made his only Grand Prix start at the subsequent Pacific Grand Prix, finishing 11th after starting 26th. During qualifying for the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, Ratzenberger died as the result of a basilar skull fracture sustained in an accident at the Villeneuve Curva, colliding with a concrete barrier at 225 km/h (140 mph) in his Simtek S941. He was the first fatality in the Formula One World Championship since Riccardo Paletti in 1982. The weekend became notorious for the fatal accident of Ayrton Senna the following day, with both deaths leading to widespread safety reforms and the re-establishment of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association.