David Purley

David Purley

Born	26 January 1945(1945-01-26) Bognor Regis, West Sussex
Died	2 July 1985(1985-07-02) (aged 40)
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	British
Active years	1973-1974, 1977
Teams	LEC, Token
Races	11 (7 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First race	1973 Monaco Grand Prix
Last race	1977 British Grand Prix

David Charles Purley, GM, (26 January 1945 – 2 July 1985) was a British racing driver born in Bognor Regis, West Sussex. He participated in 11 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting at Monaco on 3 June 1973. He scored no championship points.

Purley is perhaps best known for his actions at the 1973 Dutch Grand Prix, where he abandoned his own race and attempted to save the life of fellow British driver Roger Williamson, whose car was upside down on fire following a horrific accident. Purley was awarded the George Medal for his rescue attempt.

Early life

Purley's father was Charles Purley, the founder of LEC Refrigeration. Birth and death records show that his father's name was originally Puxley but he preferred the name Purley.^[1] His mother was Welsh, having been born in the small village of Cwmfelinfach. David went to school at Seaford College and then Dartington Hall School in Devon.

Career

After spending time as an officer in the British Army (he served with the Parachute Regiment in Aden, Yemen), and then racing in various series with an AC Cobra and a Chevron, Purley raced in Formula Three with some success including three wins at Chimay between 1970 and 1972.

In 1973 Purley hired a March and with backing from his family's refrigeration company LEC Refrigeration, made a largely unsuccessful attempt at Formula One.

External videos
	Footage of Purley attempting to save Roger Williamson trapped in his overturned and burning car YouTube

It was at the 1973 Dutch Grand Prix, however, where Purley carried out arguably his most memorable actions. Upon witnessing a crash which left fellow British driver Roger Williamson trapped in his overturned and burning car, Purley abandoned his own race and attempted to save Williamson, who was participating in only his second Formula One race. Purley later recalled that upon arriving at the scene, he heard Williamson crying for help as the fire began to take hold. Purley's efforts to right the car and extinguish the flames were in vain as he received no help from nearby track marshals or emergency workers; Williamson died from asphyxiation.

A sequence of pictures taken by photographer Cor Mooij of the accident won the Photo Sequences category of that year's World Press Photo.^[2] Later, Purley was awarded the George Medal for his rescue attempt.

Apart from a one-off participation with Token at his home Grand Prix in 1974, Purley stayed out of Formula One for a few years, preferring to try his hand at Formula Two driving Chevrons and Marches for Hong Kong-based millionaire Bob Harper, and Formula 5000 where he won the British Championship in 1976 in a Chevron powered by the Cosworth GA 3.4 litre V6 engine.

In 1974 David Purley won the Brighton Speed Trials driving a Trojan-Chevrolet T101, winning again the following year in a Chevron-GA B30.

He returned to Formula One in 1977 with his own LEC chassis designed by Mike Pilbeam and run by Mike Earle. It was this car in which he suffered serious injuries in an accident during pre-qualifying for that year's British Grand Prix. He survived an estimated 179.8g when he decelerated from 173 km/h (108 mph) to 0 in a distance of 66 cm (26 inches) after his throttle got stuck wide open and he hit a wall.^[3] For many years, this was thought to be the highest g-force ever survived by a human being.^[3] He suffered multiple fractures to his legs, pelvis and ribs.

Purley recovered to race again although he confined his activities to the minor Aurora AFX series of Formula One races in Britain. The remains of Purley's crashed LEC and its replacement are displayed at a museum at Donington Park.

Following his decision to quit motorsport, Purley moved into competition aerobatics. He died on 2 July 1985 when his Pitts Special aerobatic biplane crashed into the sea off Bognor Regis.

Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	WDC	Pts.
1973	LEC Refrigeration	March 731	Cosworth V8	ARG	BRA	RSA	ESP	BEL	MON Ret	SWE	FRA	GBR DNS	NED Ret	GER 15	AUT	ITA 9	CAN	USA			NC	0
1974	Token Racing	Token RJ02	Cosworth V8	ARG	BRA	RSA	ESP	BEL	MON	SWE	NED	FRA	GBR DNQ	GER	AUT	ITA	CAN	USA			NC	0
1977	LEC Refrigeration	LEC CRP1	Cosworth V8	ARG	BRA	RSA	USW	ESP DNQ	MON	BEL 13	SWE 14	FRA Ret	GBR DNPQ	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	USA	CAN	JPN	NC	0

References

1. ^ see 'Discussion' for BMD information.
2. ^ World Press Photo
3. ^ ^{a b} Anton Sukup (1977). "David PURLEY Silverstone crash". http://www.asag.sk/bio/purley.htm. Retrieved July 31, 2006. 

Books

• Tremayne, David (1991). Racers Apart: Memories of motorsport heroes. UK: Motor Racing Publications Ltd. p. 293. ISBN 0947981586. 

External links

• A David Purley memorial page

Sporting positions
Preceded by Teddy Pilette	British Formula 5000 Champion 1976	Succeeded by None

Persondata
Name	Purley, David
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	26 January 1945
Place of birth
Date of death	2 July 1985
Place of death