Prof Sid Watkins dead @ 84
09-12-2012, 08:45 PM
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Prof Sid Watkins dead @ 84
This news IMO, deserved a separate thread based on the contributions he made to motorsport over the years. 
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Dr. Sid Watkins hosted his annual lecture at NEC, Birmingham, in January 2009. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Professor Sid Watkins, who served as Grand Prix racing’s doctor and medical chief between 1978 and 2004, has died at the age of 84.
Known to everyone as ‘The Prof,’ Watkins made an incalculable contribution to the sport both with his active involvement on the scene of accidents and with the work he did behind the scenes to help improve all aspects of motor sport safety.
Much loved by everyone who knew him in the paddock, and especially the several generations of F1 drivers with whom he had close contact, he remained modest about his own achievements.
The son of a Liverpool garage owner, Watkins always had an interest in cars. After training as a doctor at Liverpool University Medical School he served with the British army in Africa before returning to the UK. He then trained as a neurosurgeon at Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford, a hospital noted for its expertise in head injuries and trauma. It was while working in Oxford that he first became regularly involved in motor racing at nearby Silverstone.
In 1962 he moved to Syracuse University in New York State, and he was able to continue his involvement with motor sport at Watkins Glen. He then returned to Europe in 1970 to become head of neurosurgery at the London Hospital – and institution he would remain connected with for decades to come. He also resumed his involvement with British motor sport via the RAC Medical Panel.
It was after getting to know Bernie Ecclestone that Watkins was invited to become the first full time F1 doctor, starting at the 1978 Swedish GP. He faced one of his darkest days just a few months later when Ronnie Peterson died in hospital the day after the Italian GP.
Over subsequent decades Watkins oversee improvements in medical facilities around the world while personally dealing with many major accidents. Following the field from the back of the grid in the medical car, he became an integral part of the F1 scene, forming close relationships with many key figures and drivers, most famously of course Ayrton Senna.
The 1994 San Marino GP weekend at Imola, which saw the deaths of Senna and Roland Ratzenberger, was without doubt the biggest challenge he ever faced.
However, positives came out of it, for it led to a safety campaign instigated by Max Mosley and led by Sid under the banner of the FIA Expert Advisory Safety Committee. F1′s safety record since 1994 owes much to what Sid achieved in conjunction with the experts he was able to called upon.
Although he retired from his frontline on-circuit doctor role before the 2005 season, he remained involved with safety matters as President of the FIA Institute for Motor Sport Safety, a role held until stepping down last year.
Sid wrote two fascinating books about his experiences, Life at the Limit and Beyond the Limit, detailing some of the incidents in which he was involved.
RELATED
Young Drivers Tested
F1 On SPEED Facebook
SPEED F1 Photo Galleries
GP Fantasy Racing - Play Now!
Dr. Sid Watkins hosted his annual lecture at NEC, Birmingham, in January 2009. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Professor Sid Watkins, who served as Grand Prix racing’s doctor and medical chief between 1978 and 2004, has died at the age of 84.
Known to everyone as ‘The Prof,’ Watkins made an incalculable contribution to the sport both with his active involvement on the scene of accidents and with the work he did behind the scenes to help improve all aspects of motor sport safety.
Much loved by everyone who knew him in the paddock, and especially the several generations of F1 drivers with whom he had close contact, he remained modest about his own achievements.
The son of a Liverpool garage owner, Watkins always had an interest in cars. After training as a doctor at Liverpool University Medical School he served with the British army in Africa before returning to the UK. He then trained as a neurosurgeon at Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford, a hospital noted for its expertise in head injuries and trauma. It was while working in Oxford that he first became regularly involved in motor racing at nearby Silverstone.
In 1962 he moved to Syracuse University in New York State, and he was able to continue his involvement with motor sport at Watkins Glen. He then returned to Europe in 1970 to become head of neurosurgery at the London Hospital – and institution he would remain connected with for decades to come. He also resumed his involvement with British motor sport via the RAC Medical Panel.
It was after getting to know Bernie Ecclestone that Watkins was invited to become the first full time F1 doctor, starting at the 1978 Swedish GP. He faced one of his darkest days just a few months later when Ronnie Peterson died in hospital the day after the Italian GP.
Over subsequent decades Watkins oversee improvements in medical facilities around the world while personally dealing with many major accidents. Following the field from the back of the grid in the medical car, he became an integral part of the F1 scene, forming close relationships with many key figures and drivers, most famously of course Ayrton Senna.
The 1994 San Marino GP weekend at Imola, which saw the deaths of Senna and Roland Ratzenberger, was without doubt the biggest challenge he ever faced.
However, positives came out of it, for it led to a safety campaign instigated by Max Mosley and led by Sid under the banner of the FIA Expert Advisory Safety Committee. F1′s safety record since 1994 owes much to what Sid achieved in conjunction with the experts he was able to called upon.
Although he retired from his frontline on-circuit doctor role before the 2005 season, he remained involved with safety matters as President of the FIA Institute for Motor Sport Safety, a role held until stepping down last year.
Sid wrote two fascinating books about his experiences, Life at the Limit and Beyond the Limit, detailing some of the incidents in which he was involved.
09-13-2012, 06:44 AM
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AZ Community Team
09-13-2012, 08:54 PM
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