A heavy loss for Fangio and Gonzalez

Argentine driver Onofre Marimon, who was born on this day in 1923, raced in eleven F1 Grands Prix from 1951 until his tragic death in 1954.

A protégé of the great Juan Manuel Fangio and a close friend of fellow countryman José Froilan Gonzalez, Marimon was killed in practice for the German GP at the daunting Nurburgring in 1954.

It was understandably a heavy loss for both Fangio and Gonzalez. Marimon was also the first driver to be killed at a round of the Formula 1 world championship.