Sunday 11th July 1971
Pedro Rodriguez (31) died. An eccentric, he everywhere with his famous deerstalker hat and bottle of Tabasco sauce for use at the world’s finest restaurants. After a slow start he had emerged to become a good Formula 1 driver and an even better one in sports cars. Halfway through 1971 he accepted an offer to drive in an insignificant Interseries race in Germany. While he was dicing for the lead in his Ferrari 512M, a slower car edged him into the wall and his Ferrari burst into flames. He died shortly after he was extricated from the wreck.