Swiss F1 racer Clay Regazzoni died in a car accident on Friday 15 December 2006, age 67.
Reports say that Regazzoni died near the Italian town of Parma when his car crashed into a truck. Regazzoni drove a Chrysler Voyager equipped with hand controls – which have been necessary ever since he broke his back in the 1980 US Grand Prix. His GP crash was caused by brake failure and, while he never raced in F1 again, he did subsequently compete in the Paris-Dakar rally and sports cars in cars equipped with hand controls.
Clay finished fourth in his debut race and went on to win a race in his debut year, 1970. He won a further 4 times, one of which was Williams’ first F1 Grand Prix victory in 1979.
Clay will be sorely missed – as a hero, a fighter, a charismatic man and an “all-out” driver…
DailyF1News.com
