Austrian racing driver Phillip Eng will pay tribute to his fallen compatriot by racing in the helmet design used by Roland Ratzenberger this weekend.
BMW MTEK’s Phillip Eng has decided to race in the helmet colours of Roland Ratzenberger for this weekend’s Le Mans 24 Hours, the 87th running of the world’s most famous endurance race.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Ratzenberger’s tragic death on the Saturday of the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola. Eng, driving as part of the #81 crew in the LM GTE Pro class, has unveiled his helmet design to pay tribute to his late countryman.
Eng, 29, is from Salzburg, the same town in Austria where Ratzenberger was from.
“I’m very proud to be paying tribute to Roland Ratzenberger this weekend in Le Mans by carrying his helmet design.” Eng said.
“Roland is a role model of mine – he fought hard throughout his successful career and on his way to Formula 1. The world sadly lost him 25 years ago in Imola and this is my way of making his memory live on.”
Great gesture from a great GT driver.🙇♂️ In Le Mans, @Philipp_Eng starts with a special helmet design reminiscent of Roland Ratzenberger. Roland died 25 years ago in Imola. Philipp and Roland have a shared past at BMW and BMW Team Schnitzer. Respect, Philipp! #BMW #RACETHELIMIT pic.twitter.com/Q6VrDGxhOQ
— BMW Motorsport (@BMWMotorsport) June 14, 2019
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