Roland Ratzenberger

Roland Ratzenberger

Ratzenberger in 1994
Born	(1960-07-04)4 July 1960 Salzburg, Austria
Died	30 April 1994(1994-04-30) (aged 33) Bologna, Italy
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Austrian
Active years	1994
Teams	Simtek
Entries	3 (1 start)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1994 Brazilian Grand Prix
Last entry	1994 San Marino Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career Years 1989–1993 Teams Brun Motorsport/Alpha Racing Team, Toyota Team SARD/TOM'S, Team Salamin Primagaz/Team Schuppan Best finish 5th (1993) Class wins 1 (1993)

Roland Walter Ratzenberger^[1] (German: [ˈroːlant ˈratsn̩bɛrɡɐ]; 4 July 1960 – 30 April 1994) was an Austrian racing driver who raced in various categories of motorsport, including British Formula 3000, Japanese Formula 3000 and Formula One. Having had sporadic success throughout the lower formulas, Ratzenberger managed to secure an F1 seat in 1994 for the new Simtek team, at the unusually late age of 33. He was killed in a crash during qualifying for the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix just three races into his F1 career. The weekend became notorious for also seeing the death of Ayrton Senna, a three time world champion, during the race the following day.

The Grand Prix Drivers' Association was reformed as a direct result of Ratzenberger's death, and the weekend as a whole led to a markedly increased emphasis on safety in the sport.