Gianclaudio "Clay" Regazzoni

[RE30B#16]

I just read in this month's F1 Racing magazine about the passing of Swiss F1 driver Clay Regazzoni in a road accident in Italy last December. Although, many details are sketchy, it is believed that he may have suffered a heart attack just prior to the collision. He was 67.

'Regga' was a former Ferrari and Williams driver in the 70s and scored the maiden victory for Williams in the phenomenal FW07 in 1979 at Silverstone. He partnered Niki Lauda in the mid-70s at Ferrari helping to develop the championship winning 312T. He was replaced by Carlos Reutemann the following season and floundered until being signed by Frank Williams to partner Alan Jones. Clay still had what it took, and beat the Aussie driver to victory lane. The following year, he would help Jones take the title and the team take the constructors championship. Ironically, he would be replaced once again by Carlos Reutemann in 1980.

Still believing in himself, he signed to drive for his friend Mo Nunn's Ensign Team with funding from UniPart. While battling for position with Emerson Fittipaldi's Coparsucar in the 1980 Long Beach GP, the brake pedal in the Ensign broke causing Regazzoni to miss the corner at the fastest part of the track. As a result of the crash, Clay suffered spinal cord injuries which left him paralyzed from the waist down. He continued racing, however, designing a hand throttle system which has allowed many including Alex Zanardi continue racing.

Only Niki Lauda, Gerhard Berger, Michael Schumacher, and Rubens Barrichello have scored more points than Clay in a Ferrari. He also drove for BRM and Shadow.