Piers Courage

Piers Courage
Piers Courage (1968)
Born(1942-05-27)27 May 1942
Colchester, Essex, England, UK
Died21 June 1970(1970-06-21) (aged 28)
Circuit Park Zandvoort, Netherlands
Formula One World Championship career
NationalityUnited Kingdom British
Active years19671970
TeamsLotus, BRM, Brabham, De Tomaso
Entries29 (27 starts)
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums2
Career points20
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1967 South African Grand Prix
Last entry1970 Dutch Grand Prix

Piers Raymond Courage (27 May 1942 – 21 June 1970) was a British racing driver. He participated in 29 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 2 January 1967. He achieved two podium finishes, and scored 20 championship points.

Biography

Piers Courage was the eldest son and heir to the Courage brewing dynasty. Educated at Eton College, he began his racing career in his own Lotus 7.

Following a brief stint touring the European F3 racing circuit in 1964 with a Lotus 22, along with Jonathan Williams, good results persuaded him to pursue a full season in 1965. It was in this season, driving a 1.0L F3 Brabham for Charles Lucas, that he first formed an alliance with Frank Williams, at that time Lucas's other driver and sometime mechanic. A string of good results, including four high-profile wins, encouraged Colin Chapman to offer Courage a seat in a Lotus 41 for the 1966 F3 season. This car was inferior to the dominant Brabhams but Courage still managed to outperform them on occasion, earning him a step up to the F2 category for the 1966 German Grand Prix, where he crashed out.

Piers Courage in a Frank Williams Racing Cars Brabham BT26A at the 1969 British Grand Prix

Signed by the BRM works Formula 1 team for 1967, alongside Chris Irwin, his wild driving style caused him to repeatedly crash out of races and his tendency to spin at crucial moments led to the team dropping him after the 1967 Monaco Grand Prix. He completed the remainder of the season concentrating on his alternative drive, as was common in the 1960s, in John Coombs's F2 McLaren M4A, finishing fourth in the unclassified drivers' championship. At the end of the season he purchased the car from Coombs. A good run in the McLaren during the winter Tasman Series, including a win at the last race, resulted in Tim Parnell offering a drive in his works-supported Reg Parnell Racing BRM team for 1968. In addition to a good run in F1 in 1968 – including points-scoring finishes in France and Italy – Courage also drove for old friend Frank Williams's F2 team. When Frank Williams Racing Cars decided to make the step up to F1 in 1969, Courage was their first choice as driver.

In Courage's hands, Williams's dark-blue liveried Brabham BT26 was more than a match for many of the works teams. He finished second in both the Monaco Grand Prix and the US Grand Prix, at Watkins Glen. Perhaps his finest drive of the season, though, was during the 1969 Italian Grand Prix at the high-speed Monza circuit. Despite an older car, and a power deficit, he managed to stay with the leading pack for the majority of the race. Only fuel starvation caused his pace to slow near the end, and he finally finished in fifth. A second fifth place, in the British Grand Prix, saw Courage finish the season on sixteen points in eighth place in the drivers' championship.

Accident and death

Courage's fatal accident

Following a business arrangement with Alejandro de Tomaso, Williams switched to a newly designed De Tomaso chassis for the 1970 Formula One season. Unfortunately for Courage, the De Tomaso proved to be overweight and unreliable, and only a third place in the non-championship International Trophy alleviated a poor string of results in the early season. The Dutch Grand Prix seemed to be going slightly better, with Courage qualifying in ninth place around the Zandvoort Circuit. Running in the middle of the field, the De Tomaso's front suspension or steering broke on the bump at Tunnel Oost, causing the car to suddenly go straight on instead of finishing the high-speed bend. It then rode up an embankment (one of the Zandvoort dunes) and disintegrated, with the engine breaking loose from the monocoque, upon which it burst into flames. To lighten the De Tomaso, magnesium was used in its chassis and suspension. The magnesium burned so intensely that many nearby trees and bushes were set alight.

Courage's gravestone

During the impact, one of the front wheels broke off the car and hit Courage's head, tearing away his helmet (both the wheel and the helmet came rolling out of the cloud of dust at the same time). It is assumed[according to whom?] that this impact broke Courage's neck or caused fatal head injuries and that he died instantly as a result. Courage was survived by his wife, Lady Sarah Marguerite Curzon (b. 1945), and his two sons, Jason Piers Courage (b. 10 February 1967) and Amos Edward Sebastian Courage (b. 26 February 1969).

Courage was buried in St Mary the Virgin churchyard, Shenfield, Essex.

Just three years later, Roger Williamson crashed fatally when his car came to rest upside down and burst into flames at the same spot, the Tunnel Oost bump, where Courage's accident had started.

Racing record

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 WDC Pts
1966 Team Lotus Lotus 44 F2 Ford Cosworth SCA 1.0 L4 MON BEL FRA GBR NED GER
Ret
ITA USA MEX NC 0
1967 Reg Parnell Racing Lotus 25/33 BRM P60 2.1 V8 RSA
Ret
NC 0
BRM P261 MON
Ret
NED BEL FRA GBR
DNS
GER CAN ITA USA MEX
1968 Reg Parnell Racing BRM P126 BRM P101 3.0 V12 RSA ESP
Ret
MON
Ret
BEL
Ret
NED
Ret
FRA
6
GBR
8
GER
8
ITA
4
CAN
Ret
USA
Ret
MEX
Ret
19th 4
1969 Frank Williams Racing Cars Brabham BT26A Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 RSA ESP
Ret
MON
2
NED
Ret
FRA
Ret
GBR
5
GER
Ret
ITA
5
CAN
Ret
USA
2
MEX
10
8th 16
1970 Frank Williams Racing Cars De Tomaso 505/38 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 RSA
Ret
ESP
DNS
MON
NC
BEL
Ret
NED
Ret
FRA GBR GER AUT ITA CAN USA MEX NC 0
Source:

Complete Formula One non-championship results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6
1965 Bob Gerard Racing Cooper T71/73 Ford 109E 1.5 L4 ROC SYR SMT INT MED
DNQ
RAN
1967 Charles Lucas Engineering Lotus 35 Martin 3.0 V8 ROC
DNS
Reg Parnell Racing Lotus 25/33 BRM P60 2.1 V8 SPC
Ret
INT SYR OUL ESP
1968 Reg Parnell Racing BRM P126 BRM P101 3.0 V12 ROC INT
5
OUL
Ret
1969 Frank Williams Racing Cars Brabham BT26A Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ROC
Ret
INT
5
MAD OUL
1970 Frank Williams Racing Cars De Tomaso 505/38 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ROC INT
3
OUL
Source:

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year Team Co-drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
pos.
1966 United Kingdom Maranello Concessionaires United States Roy Pike Ferrari 275 GTB GT
5.0
313 8th 1st
1967 United Kingdom Maranello Concessionaires United Kingdom Richard Attwood Ferrari 412P P
5.0
208 DNF DNF
1969 France Equipe MatraElf France Jean-Pierre Beltoise Matra-Simca MS650 P
3.0
368 4th 2nd
1970 Italy Autodelta S.P.A. Italy Andrea de Adamich Alfa Romeo T33/3 P
3.0
222 DNF DNF
Source:

Complete Tasman Series results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Pos. Pts
1967 Owen Racing Organisation BRM P261 BRM 2.1 V8 PUK WIG LAK
Ret
WAR SAN LON NC 0
1968 John Coombs McLaren M4A Ford Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4 PUK
3
LEV
2
WIG
4
TER
5
SUR
3
WAR
3
SAN
5
LON
1
3rd 34
1969 Frank Williams Racing Brabham BT24 Ford Cosworth DFW 2.5 V8 PUK
3
LEV
2
WIG
4
TER
1
LAK
Ret
WAR
Ret
SAN
Ret
3rd 22
Source:

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pos. Pts
1967 John Coombs McLaren M4A Ford Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4 SNE
7
SIL
Ret
NÜR
5
HOC
3
TUL
9
JAR
8
ZAN
2
PER
Ret
BRH
Ret
VAL
Ret
4th 24
1968 Frank Williams Racing Cars Brabham BT23C Ford Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4 HOC
3
THR
Ret
JAR
DNS
PAL
Ret
TUL
Ret
ZAN
10
PER
2
HOC VAL 6th 13
1969 Frank Williams Racing Cars Brabham BT23C Ford Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4 THR
7
HOC
3
NÜR JAR
3
TUL NC 0
Brabham BT30 PER
1
Alejandro de Tomaso De Tomaso 103 VAL
Ret
Source:

Graded drivers not eligible for European Formula Two Championship points

Further reading

  • Cooper, A. 2003. Piers Courage: Last of the Gentleman Racers. Haynes Group. 224pp. ISBN 1-85960-663-6

This page was last updated at 2024-02-13 12:22 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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