#Roland Ratzenberger

[ayrsontenna]

Heaven Podium

I also made separate drawings for them here and here

#ayrton senna #roland ratzenberger #formula 1 #f1 #classic f1 #classic formula 1 #formula 1 fanart #f1 fanart #classic f1 fanart #classic f1 art #formula 1 art #f1 art #my art

[libero-de-mente]

Mancava poco, solo sette giri e saresti stato consegnato alla leggenda della memoria sportiva.

Sette giri, quel tuo disperato tentativo di ridurre subito il gas e frenare in due/tre decimi di reazione. In quella curva a 306 km/h.

Il passato ci prova a farsi dimenticare, ma la memoria dell'uomo gli gioca brutti scherzi. Ricordando e raccontando alle nuove generazioni chi eri, cosa eri e come eri. Non un pilota di Formula 1, ma il pilota di Formula 1.

Uno che nel bene o nel male non si è mai fatto odiare, come alcuni piloti oggi. Uno che nonostante le vittorie non ti stancava vederlo davanti e primo sul podio. Solo ammirazione.

Domanda: siamo noi a essere cambiati, diventati più spietati, meno tolleranti o eri davvero tu che vivendo il tuo lavoro con il cuore e non con la brama di successo, ti sapevi far rispettare? Un fondo anche i tuoi peggiori nemici quel giorno si tolsero il cappello e chinarono il capo. Anche loro capirono che un re se n'era andato. Insostituibile.

C'è chi è morto per il proprio lavoro e il 1° maggio serve a commemorare anche loro, ma esiste anche chi è morto per la propria passione diventata lavoro.

Era un 1° maggio, se si fosse rispettata questa celebrazione in quel giorno, magari correndo la domenica successiva, forse oggi saresti qui a commentare il circus della F1. Lontano anni luce dal tuo. Passione soppiantata dal business dello spettacolo.

Però così sei davvero diventato leggenda.

Non tornerai mai di moda, tu sarai sempre attuale nella testa di chi ama questo sport.

Credo che a molti, tra chi ti ha conosciuto e chi ti ha ammirato dagli spalti o davanti alla televisione, tu manchi e oggi cederanno alla malinconia del tuo ricordo.

ps un doveroso ricordo anche a Roland Ratzenberger, che morì il giorno prima durante le qualifiche di quel maledetto GP

#libero de mente #pensiero #frase #ricordo #1° maggio #Ayrton Senna #Roland Ratzenberger #Formula 1 #incidente #memoria #amore #passato #ricordare

[angelamzs]

Tomorrow all will be full of Senna’s face and we will remember his history and the legend he was. But we always forget to talk about Roland Ratzenberger, we have to remind that it is his 30 anniversary too.

He was not able to perform that historical races and it is obvious that he is not going to be so well remembered as other drivers are. But I think it is our duty to just dedicate some words for him.

At this point we have a really good documentaries from Roland and I would recommend to every classic F1 fan dedicating some time for watching them. We have to remember the man he was and how devoted he was to motoracing since his childhood. He was not lucky, and at the moment he arrived to the Formula 1 he left us.

At least, we are able to remember Roland by histories and memories that we have found through all these years. And although we have not been able to see his performance in F1, I am sure that everyone reminds him as the man with that charming smile that we lost in that awful weekend for motorsport.❤️

#a little tribute for this driver #it is not fair the way some lost drivers are being forgotten while others have become legends #roland ratzenberger #classic f1 #formula 1 #f1 1990s

[cazzyf1]

Some facts and stories about Roland Ratzenberger

• When he was seven years old his grandmother took him to a local hill climb race at Gaisberg.

• His first word was 'car'

• He was nine years old when year the family home the Salzburg ring opened. He was get through the gates to go watch the cars drive.

• He had a poster of Jochen Rindt on his wall as a kid.

• When he started karting at sixteen years old he had to get a secondary job at a bakery to fund it.

• In the winter of 1991 he married the former partner of another driver, becoming the stepfather of her son, however they were divorced in early 1992.

• While in the UK, he briefly gained some fame for having a similar name to the TV puppet 'Roland Rat'. ITV invited film to film a segment with the puppet for national breakfast television. He raced against the rat (who was in a car dubbed 'Ratmobile') the Rat Puppet ended up winning the race down to cheating.

• F1 author David Tremayne son's who was three years old insisted on calling Roland Ratzenburg-and-chips-and-beans to his face. Roland found it hilarious and became that young boy's hero.

• Described as 'gentle, always unfailingly polite, tall, good-looking, and with a ready smile'

• Journalist Adam Cooper went out drinking with Roland in Japan and at the end of the night they had decided he should come stay in Japan for a year or two to cover the local racing scene. When he turned up and realised the hotel was more expensive than he had planned Roland let him stay in the spare twin bed he had in his room. He was happy to have company.

• One of his unusual goals was to try to enjoy female company in the team motorhome between stints in 24 hour races. Adam Cooper reccounts ' I think the last time we discussed it he’d managed the feat twice at Le Mans, and once at the Nurburgring.'

• One time he used his deep Austrain accent to record a Terminator style 'I'll be back' answer machine message for rival Jeff Krosnoff

• He kept a black book full of 'ladies' numbers

• One time his friend Anthony Reid had an accident in a F3000 race, and had a lot of blood streaming down his face. Roland had to take charge of the scene as the marshals freaked out. He made sure his journalist friend wrote about the shortcomings of safety in a Japanese magazine afterwards.

• At a Formula Ford festival his team either ran out of funds or walked out and Roland was left with just his car and a toolbox. Because he was so well liked mechanics and personnel from other teams helped him prepare his car. He won that festival.

• On one occasion, Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Ratzenberger entered a nightclub. There was a confrontation between Frentzen and another guy which saw a knife pulled on either Frentzen or a random female bystander. Either way, Ratzenberger selflessly stepped in and wrestled the knife away from the man. 

• A documentary has been put out on YouTube about Roland by Levay film production, detailing all about his life. A recommended watch.

• Bernie Ecclestone personally delivered the confirmation of Ratzenburg's death to the Simtek team

• Ayton Senna commandeered an offical car to hurry to the medical center where he learnt of Roland's fate from his friend, Dr Sid Watkins

• Only five drivers attended his funeral

#30 years today #rip #classic f1 #f1 #formula one #formula 1 #roland ratzenberger

[f1tfballetc]

Today marks 30 years since the F1 community [especially] lost Roland Ratzenberger... 🙏🕊

#roland ratzenberger #ratzenberger #formula1 #formula 1 #f1 #f1 drivers #f1 legends #f1 1990s #formula one #remembering #death anniversary #rest in peace

[eliorosb3rg]

❤️❤️❤️

#hope your resting well king #classic f1 #roland ratzenberger

[eliotheeangelis]

roland ratzenberger | formula ford, 1986

#classic f1 #roland ratzenberger #rest in peace #<3

[nordschleifes]

“You know, the Steve McQueen movie is what made me want to become a racing driver…”  — Roland Ratzenberger (4 July, 1960 – 30 April, 1994)

#roland ratzenberger #ratzenberger #classic f1 #simtek #formula 1 #formula one #f1 #f1edit #f1edits #90s #nordsgif

[mercury--blues]

Ayrton Senna

1960–1994, 30 years today.

Roland Ratzenberger

1960–1994, 30 years yesterday.

Two guys in the same weekend. It will never not boggle my mind.

#ayrton senna #roland ratzenberger #formula 1

[frenchcurious]

Roland Ratzenberger (Brun - Porsche 962 C #006BM) 480 Km de Spa-Francorchamps 1989. - source Carros e Pilotos.

#roland ratzenberger #porsche #480 km de spa-francorchamps

[spectrav10]

A tribute to both F1 drivers: Roland Ratzenberger (Simtek) and Ayrton Senna (Williams).

#ayrton senna #f1 1994 #simtek #williams f1 #roland ratzenberger #f1 art

[yifeiyay]

reading heinz harald frentzen's tweets about the weekend roland ratzenberger and ayrton senna passed really breaks my heart

#heinz harald frentzen #roland ratzenberger #ayrton senna #f1 #more in the thread btw – hh interacts a lot with his replies he is very sweet #i really admire him for opening up about it

[noneun]

30 anni fa.

#roland ratzenberger #formula 1 #imola

[dizzyduck44]

I know there aren’t many of us on this hellsite who can actually remember Imola 1994 firsthand. If anyone gets triggered please scroll on, I won’t be offended.

You see for years my memory of that weekend has been foggy, blurred by years of documentaries and footage I didn’t see at the time, clouding the few clear memories I had of it, to the point it no longer made sense. I’d always put it down to being young. Yet I could tell you clear as day who replaced Senna at Williams and the number of their car (David Coulthard and 0, because Senna’s car had been number 1 and it seemed disrespectful).

However somehow an 8 minute documentary jogged the true memory to the surface and explains why some parts are so clear and others like frosted glass.

Back in 1994 they didn’t televise practice sessions and I admit it was maybe 15 years later before I even knew Barrichello’s had had a crash on the Friday, which to this day I still can’t understand how that was the none fatal crash.

I remember watching qualifying, I remember seeing Ratzenberger crash, although all we saw was the car spinning to a stop. I remember looking at his head slumped to the side and no movement and somehow just knowing. It’s only now I realise that I still to this day always look to see a drivers head move after a big crash.

I don’t remember anything else from the Saturday other than being insistent in all my childish sensibilities that the race shouldn’t go ahead on Sunday.

I remember when I found out the race was going ahead I didn’t want to watch it. I can’t remember what I did, but I remember changing my mind after the start and walking into the living room and Dad saying “now Senna’s hit the wall”. I remember sitting down and watching the ambulances and medics from a distance on the coverage as Murray Walker tried to keep the broadcast going (we now know he knew already what had happened simply down to the behaviour of Dr Sid Watkins).

I remember being incredulous that they were going to restated the race. Young as I was I knew it was wrong, now I would say disrespectful, naive and gave no consideration to the drivers and teams and what they had been through that weekend. Watching the restart, when there was another crash and cars were spinning everywhere I walked away and I think at the point my memory edited itself as self preservation, hence why it’s never been clear since.

I found out later on the news that Senna had also died. Years later, that members of the crowd had been hurt from flying debris on the restart and mechanics had been hurt in the pits during the race.

What still makes me sick to my stomach 29 years later, is that as a child I knew on Saturday what the FIA and F1 should do. Abandon the race weekend. Yet every accident just resulted in them carrying on. Everything after Barrichello’s crash on Friday seems avoidable.

Sadly I had no such premonition of Suzuka 2014 and was sat watching live, though thankfully what was televised was a car going off and disappearing behind a tractor. The only true footage of that came from fans.

I don’t really have any memories of the 1994 season after Imola. Yet I remember seeing Schumacher win both his Benetton World Titles. Im making this post more so as I’ve been trying for 29 years to piece together what I saw at the time and what I saw later. Now I thought it best to write it down Dammed if I know why it resurfaced tonight at 2am.

#imola1994 #roland ratzenberger #f1 #formula one #formula 1 #f1blr #f1 history #longread #rubens barrichello #jules bianchi #ayrton senna

[outdatedformula1tales]

30 April/ 1 May - thirty years :-(((

#roland ratzenberger #ayrton senna

[eliotheeangelis]

ayrton senna and roland ratzenberger | imola, 1994

#rest in peace #f1 #classic f1 #f1 1990s #roland ratzenberger #ayrton senna