Id never heard of this until recently... Sorry to depress you guys even more but i thought this was a pretty moving story and video to boot... "Purley will always be remembered for his actions during the 1973 Dutch Grand Prix, where he abandoned his race in an attempt to save the life of his friend Roger Williamson, whose car was upside down on fire following a horrific accident. Sadly his valiant efforts were to no avail, as Williamson perished in the fire. A picture taken by photographer Cor Mooij of Purley's anguished face after it was clear his attempts had failed won the Sports category of that year's World Press Photo[citation needed]. That same year David Purley was awarded the George Medal for his rescue attempt." [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mz3ZzSXyWM"]YouTube- Roger Williamson Fatal Crash.[/ame] I imagine other people have heard of this and I was probably in the dark about it. But I found it a very sad situation.
Fkn hell i was nearly crying watching it, what the fuck were the rescue team and other people doing ?? It took them ages and there's him stopping his own car dicing with death crossing the track and then back again to get a fire extinguisher n try n put it out. Im not suprised he reacted how he did at the end clipping one of them or threatening to cos you can see his head down and its probs when he realised his mate had died.
Was going to laugh at "rinse anyone and everyone" baldy john for nearly crying at a youtube video there, but yeah it was quite moving. and I cried when Braveheart died.
I saw that a few months ago (can't remember how I came across it). Really moving. Apparently the rescue teams mistakenly thought it was HIS car and he was just trying to turn it over and put the fire out, having already got out safely. Purley said afterwards though that he could hear Williamson screaming from inside, so no doubt anyone else in the area could also hear. One of the worst bits for me is when one of the rescue workers tries to comfort Purley as he walks away and he shrugs them off, can't imagine what must have been going through his head.
the suits protect you from the fire but it's the heat and the flames burn all the oxygen out of your lungs. i'd heard a lot about this incident and how good mates alot of the drivers were in those days - but never seen it.
