22 Facts About Roland Ratzenberger

Roland Ratzenberger progressed to Formula Ford in 1983, winning multiple national and continental titles, as well as the Festival in 1986.

Amongst competing in World Sportscar, All-Japan Sports Prototype, Japanese Touring Car and Japanese Formula 3000, Roland Ratzenberger entered four further editions of Le Mans from 1990 to 1993, winning the C2 class at the latter in the Toyota 93C-V with SARD.

Roland Ratzenberger signed for Simtek in 1994, making his Formula One debut at the Brazilian Grand Prix, where he did not qualify.

Roland Ratzenberger made his only Grand Prix start at the subsequent Pacific Grand Prix, finishing 11th after starting 26th.

Roland Ratzenberger was the first fatality in the Formula One World Championship since Riccardo Paletti in 1982.

Roland Walter Ratzenberger was born in Salzburg, Austria, on 4 July 1960.

Roland Ratzenberger began racing in German Formula Ford in 1983, and in 1985 won both the Austrian and Central European Formula Ford championships.

Roland Ratzenberger returned in 1986 to win the event, before graduating to British Formula 3 the following season.

Roland Ratzenberger raced in other cars besides single seaters, once finishing second in the 1987 World Touring Car Championship driving a Team Schnitzer BMW M3.

Roland Ratzenberger would take part in the next four Le Mans races, with Brun again in 1991, and with the SARD team in 1990,1992 and 1993.

Roland Ratzenberger won one race each in 1990 and 1991 in the Japanese Sports Prototype Championship with the same SARD team he drove for at Le Mans.

Roland Ratzenberger returned to touring car racing in the Japanese Touring Car Championship, finishing seventh in 1990 and 1991 in a BMW M3.

Roland Ratzenberger's year began poorly but, when the team upgraded their two-year-old Lola for a new model, Ratzenberger won once to finish seventh overall.

Roland Ratzenberger remained in the series in 1993, finishing 11th.

Roland Ratzenberger greatly desired to race in Formula One, especially as former rivals in F3000, such as Eddie Irvine and Johnny Herbert, had managed to reach the top level while he had not.

Roland Ratzenberger came very close to securing a drive with the Jordan team for their inaugural season in 1991.

Negotiations were at a very advanced stage when Roland Ratzenberger lost the financial support of a "major sponsor".

Early in the session, Roland Ratzenberger went off the track at the Acque Minerali chicane.

Roland Ratzenberger was transferred by ambulance to Imola Circuit's medical centre, then by air ambulance to the Maggiore Hospital in Bologna where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.

Roland Ratzenberger had suffered three individually fatal injuries: a basilar skull fracture, which was named as the official cause of death; blunt trauma from the front-left tyre penetrating the survival cell; and a ruptured aorta.

Roland Ratzenberger was the first racing driver to lose his life at a grand prix weekend since the 1982 season, when Riccardo Paletti was killed at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Roland Ratzenberger was the first driver to die as a result of a crash in a Formula One car since Elio de Angelis during testing for the 1986 season.