Former F1 driver Tom Walkinshaw passes away
A former Formula 1 driver and team boss, Tom Walkinshaw passed away at the age of 64. He was also an owner of a rugby club in Gloucester.
Walkinshaw had been suffering a lung cancer and was unable to recover from it causing his death. His death is being considered as a loss to the world of motor sports. Mark Blundel, a former Formula 1 and Le Mans driver paid tribute to Walkinshaw commenting,
“Just heard that Tom Walkinshaw passed away today, great loss to the world of motor sport, good driver and team owner, RIP.”
Walkinshaw started racing in 1968 and he participated in many racing events. He raced in the Scottish FF1600, British Formula 3, Formula 5000 and Formula 2. He established his own team Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR). His team won all 11 of the British Saloon
Car Championship races but was later denied the title because of a technical violation.
He moved to Formula 1 as an engineering director in Benetton. His team went on to win the championship in 1994. He was also involved in introducing Michael Schumacher to Formula 1. Although he won the season in 1994, he was suspected of using banned electronics
and came under the scanner due to that. After the investigation, the motor sports governing body FIA didn’t find any evidence against Walkinshaw and due to that no action was taken against him.
In 1997, he introduced the “Arrows” team to Formula 1 and also brought the reigning champion of that time Damon Hill to the team. In the same year, he was voted the Autocar man of the year award. Later his Arrow car team ran out of money and his TWR was
liquidated in 2002.
Walkinshaw is a name that everyone would remember in the motor sports industry. He achieved strong results with his dedication and hard work. He had an eye for latent which he proved by supporting Schumacher’s debut in Formula 1. Schumacher went on to become
a legend by winning the Formula 1 title on seven occasions.
Walkinshaw did have some controversies in his career but he will not be remembered for that. He will instead be remembered for everything he did for motor sports including racing and management.
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