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Jean Todt

Tom Walkinshaw Passes Away...

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Tom Walkinshaw passes away

Sunday, December 12th 2010, 19:19 GMT

1292181751.jpgFormer racing driver and team owner Tom Walkinshaw has died. The 64-year-old had been suffering from cancer.

During his career Walkinshaw ran the Benetton, Ligier and Arrows Formula 1 teams - and was pivotal in Benetton's rise to a championship-winning team in the 1990s. But he was arguably best known for his spectacular achievements with Jaguar in both touring cars and sportscars.

Wakinshaw began as a single-seater racer, winning a Scottish Formula Ford title in 1969, before really making his name in touring cars, where he was highly successful as both a driver and as a team owner with his TWR operation, which would also spread to a network of garages.

The highlight of his touring car career was a European title for Jaguar in 1984, and Walkinshaw's success for the manufacturer saw TWR commissioned to run Jaguar's return to top-level sportscar racing.

The iconic TWR Jaguar Group C cars went on to win three World Sportscar titles, and to triumph at Le Mans in 1988 and 1990.

Walkinshaw moved into F1 with Benetton as the team's engineering director in 1991. He introduced Ross Brawn, who had been TWR's designer in sportscars, to the team and set it on course for its world championship successes with Michael Schumacher.

Following the controversies of Benetton's 1994 season, Walkinshaw was moved across to the Ligier team, which was at that time also owned by Benetton boss Flavio Briatore, but this arrangement was shortlived and at the start of the following season Walkinshaw acquired a majority stake in Arrows.

He famously recruited reigning world champion Damon Hill to drive for the team in 1997, with the combination nearly winning the Hungarian Grand Prix. Arrows was one of the first to use Bridgestone tyres, with Walkinshaw having been played an integral role in convincing the Japanese company to rejoin F1 a year earlier than it had originally intended.

Walkinshaw had remained active in other forms of motor racing even while involved in F1, with TWR bringing Volvo into the British Touring Car Championship - initially with an estate car - and ultimately winning the title.

Financial problems saw both the Arrows team and TWR fold in 2002, but Walkinshaw remained involved in motorsport, continuing to run a team in V8 Supercars in Australia. He made his final visit to an F1 race at this year's British Grand Prix.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/88672

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Having once clocked him on the A43 near Towcester, I tried to keep up with him on the B4525 to Banbury. A futile effort.

One of the great straight talking, roll your sleeves up, type of guys in F1.

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Too few like him these days. Out of the same mould as Gerry Marshall. Sad to see him gone.

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I always got the impression he was, before anything else, an out and out racer. A sad day indeed.

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R.I.P

Whilst I may not be old enough to have witnessed many of the things he achieved, I still have deep respect for the guy. A sad loss in the motorsport community.

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The only way to be. As Steve said, straight talking shoot from the hip. One of those guys you had to like regardless if you were his worst enemy. Rest in Peace. Sad news indeed.

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The only way to be. As Steve said, straight talking shoot from the hip. One of those guys you had to like regardless if you were his worst enemy. Rest in Peace. Sad news indeed.

QED

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Too few like him these days. Out of the same mould as Gerry Marshall. Sad to see him gone.

AH! Viva Gerry Marshall! ;)

Don't think I've ever seen a driver so red faced and knackered when he got out of a car!

Tom Walkinshaw... not much has been said about his racing career, he was mighty in saloons... forceful in the car, and out. Definitely the kind of bloke that had racing in his veins.

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As most of you have stated, a very sad bit of news. Even an old Yank like me knew of this mighty man of British motorsports. For all of his accomplishments I will always hold a soft spot in my heart for his fearsome Jaguar sports prototypes and the manner in which they finally vanquished Porsche's domination.

Rest in Peace, T.W.

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I saw what you did there. :D

Deserves a magnum of champagne. Or maybe even 2300 bottles.

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Deserves a magnum of champagne. Or maybe even 2300 bottles.

Arf :lol:

Just Googled 'Firenza' for more poor jokes.... bloody hell, can't believe I blagged my Dad to buy one of those :D

Back on fred, a very brief overview for Mr W's career before he retired from driving, was certainly varied (source is probably accurate: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Walkinshaw) ....

............He began racing in 1968, starting in an MG Midget, before moving on to a Lotus Formula Ford car. The following year he won the Scottish FF1600 title at the wheel of a Hawke. In 1970 he entered the British Formula Three championship with Lotus. He later moved to the March 'works' team, where he broke his ankle in a racing accident.[2] Continuing his career despite this setback, he drove in many classes, including Formula 5000 and Formula Two.[3]

Ford hired Walkinshaw to drive a Capri on the British Touring Car Championship circuit in 1974. This resulted in him winning his class that year. In 1976 Walkinshaw established Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR), continuing to drive for his own team. In 1984 he won the European Touring Car Championship in a Jaguar XJS.[4]

In 1985, Walkinshaw teamed up with Jaguar and entered a three-car team in the Bathurst 1000 touring car endurance race in Australia. The pairing of John Goss and Armin Hahne won the race, while Walkinshaw himself placed third, driving alongside Win Percy.

Walkinshaw retired from driving after 1988 to concentrate on the management of TWR's increasing motorsports portfolio.

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