Pryce at Brands Hatch in 1974
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Born | Thomas Maldwyn Pryce 11 June 1949 Ruthin, Denbighshire, Wales |
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Died | 5 March 1977 Midrand, South Africa |
(aged 27)
Formula One World Championship career | |
Nationality | British |
Active years | 1974–77 |
Teams | Token, Shadow |
Entries | 42 |
Championships | 0 |
Wins | 0 |
Podiums | 2 |
Career points | 19 |
Pole positions | 1 |
Fastest laps | 0 |
First entry | 1974 Belgian Grand Prix |
Last entry | 1977 South African Grand Prix |
Thomas Maldwyn Pryce (11 June 1949 – 5 March 1977) was a British racing driver from Wales, famous for winning the Brands Hatch Race of Champions, a non-championship Formula One race, in 1975 and for the circumstances surrounding his death. Pryce is the only Welsh driver to have won a Formula One race and is also the only Welshman to lead a Formula One World Championship Grand Prix: two laps of the 1975 British Grand Prix.
Pryce started his career in Formula One with the small Token team, making his only start for them at the 1974 Belgian Grand Prix. Shortly after an impressive performance at the Formula Three support race for the 1974 Monaco Grand Prix, Pryce joined the Shadow team and scored his first points in Germany in only his fourth race. Pryce later claimed two podium finishes, his first in Austria in 1975 and the second in Brazil a year later. Pryce was considered by his team as a great wet-weather driver. During the practice session for the 1977 South African Grand Prix, run in wet conditions, Pryce was faster than everyone, including world champion drivers Niki Lauda and James Hunt. During the race, he collided at high speed with a safety marshal, Frederik Jansen van Vuuren, and both men were killed. A memorial to Pryce was unveiled in 2009 in his home town of Ruthin.
Tom Pryce was born on 11 June 1949 in Ruthin, Denbighshire, to Jack and Gwyneth Pryce. Jack had served in the Royal Air Force as a tail-gunner on a Lancaster bomber before joining the local police force. Gwyneth was a district nurse. Pryce's older brother, David, died at the age of three leaving Tom an only child for much of the time he was growing up, although his parents did foster a young girl called Sandra for a while. Pryce, known to his friends as Mald, attended Nantglyn Catholic Primary School, Denbighshire. The family later moved to Towyn, Denbighire, due to Jack's job.