Piers Courage: Frank Williams’ first F1 hope

40

Frank Williams and British motorsport mourned the loss on this day in 1970 of Piers Courage, who was tragically killed at the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.

Sir Frank had graduated to Formula 1 in 1969 with an immaculately-prepared dark-blue Brabham BT26 for Courage to display his abundant talent.

One year later, Williams switched to a De Tomaso chassis built around the readily available Cosworth DFV. But it was a slow start for both the new car and its driver in 1970.

Courage did his best however to grab the machine by the scruff of its neck. The Brit qualified well at Spa but was sidelined early on by reliability issues.

Alas, tragedy struck at the following race, held in the dunes of Zandvoort, where Courage slid wide after a suspected tyre failure, ran up a banking and crashed, perishing in the flames fueled by the car's magnesium tub.

It was a huge blow to Williams and to British motorsport. Piers Courage was just 28.

Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.