Tom Walkinshaw - 14 August 1946 – 12 December 2010

[andrew]

Tom Walkingshaw died on Sunday 12th December 2010, aged 64, from complications arising from lung cancer.

Tom Walkinshaw - an obituary
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2010/12/tom_walkinshaw_who_has_died.html

[Morteza]

There was already a topic on this matter Andrew :
http://www.f1technical.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=9262

[andrew]

I did look but couldn't find it so opened a new one.

[xpensive]

Incidentally, I belong to those who don't feel much urge to sugarcoat my sentiments, just beacause he died.

The man was a cheating sonomabitch, who kept about as many deals and promises as Ribbentrop. In all honesty,
I'm not certain his funeral will be a crowded affair, disgruntled creditors like Cosworth and John Barnard perhaps?

[richard_leeds]

x - Isn't that pre-requisite for success in F1?

[xpensive]

x - Isn't that pre-requisite for success in F1?

Perhaps so, but being the chief sob help him that much, did it richard?

[autogyro]

I once had a blazing row with Tom Walkinshaw.
It was at LeMans in the Jaguar pit.
I was there at the invitation of Tony Southgate who was a gentleman.
Walkinshaw was not.

[Carlos]

Perhaps not every person at his funeral would be in mourning. Perhaps more than one may ask to check the coffin for remains ... before internment.

Every man can't be a called a sportsman and a gentleman. I take autogyro's word as gospel in this matter. Many of you know how I value courtesy and manners. But 64 years of age seems too youthful for a corpse ... and lung cancer is an extremely painful way to become one.

[autogyro]

I agree with the sentiment Carlos, may he rest in peace.

[andrew]

I was there at the invitation of Tony Southgate who was a gentleman.
Walkinshaw was not.

That's more to do with him being from the WhiteBlue country. World famous rouges us lot!

I doubt that Eddie Jordan will be at the funeral either, given that EJ managed to loose the best driver to ever be in Jordan to Benetton on Tom Walkinshaw!

Tom Walkinshaw may have been rutheless and uncompromising but he certainly got the results. Imagine what would have happened had Arrows had more cash to spend.

[xpensive]

Lung cancer is mostly self-inflicted the way I understand things, perhaps he smoked one Gitanes too many or was he too close to that fuel-rig when the fire broke out after he ordered to take out a filter to speed things up a bit?

Or perhaps he stood a little too close to the exhaust of those Cosworth V10s he never bothered to pay for?

Guess we will never know, but either way, God works in mysterious ways.

[marcush.]

mechanics and especially racing guys work in the most debilating and poisonous environment you could think off.In chemical industries or whereever you handle with highly toxic media the safety measures are strict and always controlled very meticulously..Not so in racing.All the engine gurus die early not much older than 60....
so tom was near but not quite as near the fuel rigs for quite a while..