Peter Revson, an American Racing Hero

Posted by Kevin Guthrie Mar 23, 2009

March 22nd, 2009 marked the 35th anniversary of Peter Revson's death. After switching Formula 1 teams, from McLaren to Shadow, he perished in a testing accident at the Kyalami circuit in South Africa.

It was drivers like Revson that first got me interested in the sport. Handsome, talented guys courting death on a weekly basis. Revson, much like his contemporary François Cevert, was never far from a beautiful woman. Both enjoyed the trappings of their success, but they also knew the danger. Revson and Cevert were both remarkably philosophical about the possibility of dying, and not afraid of discussing the subject.

Although Revson was perhaps not among the very best drivers of his generation, on his day he could be peerless. Such a day came at Silverstone in 1973, when he drove flawlessly to win the British Grand Prix in a McLaren. He followed up this debut victory with another win later in the year at the Canadian Grand Prix.

For 1974 Revson had a major decision to make. Ferrari wanted the New Yorker's services, but were not prepared to pay what Revson wanted and would not allow him to drive any other make of car. In the end he opted for the American Shadow team. It was while testing their car at Kyalami that a failure sent Revson into the barriers at Barbecue Bend, killing him instantly.

Revson was the second member of his family to die in a racing car. His brother Doug lost his life during a race in Denmark in 1967. Despite being related to the Revlon cosmetics empire Revson remained grounded throughout his racing career. He was a favourite with the tabloid newspapers of the day, usually because of his social life rather than his racing antics. Those within the sport recognised him as an extremely serious and capable racing driver. Since his death no other American born driver has managed to win a World Championship Formula 1 race.