The Liege, Belgium F1-V8 / F3 race history.
I raced here two times 1982 in the F3 class and had great success with a victory.
Well..I was also watching the F1-V8 race same time/year and did see the really bad Cees Van Der Velden crash. Hard to believe Cees recovered from the crash and was back racing 1983. (See info second picture)
1983 I raced the F1-V8 class in Liege in my #8 Burgess/Aspen/Evinrude V8 and crashed really bad at the same place as Cees crashed the year before. Nose dived wide open and ended up at the hospital. I was lucky and recovered for the next race in London after David Burgess repaired my boat.
I told my self..I am not going to race in Liege anymore..no matter what.
The 1984 F1-V8 race in Liege, Belgium was a disaster..
We lost a great friend and racer Tom Percival. We was racing for the same sponsor a few times 1984. (International Travel Card)
I was not at the race but here is a quote from Zoe Trumper about Percival’s accident with Bocca..
” The Liege race course on river Meuse was a course that nearly every driver detests, its turbulent water impossible to predict. It proved too much for Bocca, the popular young driver hooked on the course with Percival close behind. The English man hit the side of Bocca’s boat and flew into the bank. He did not regain consciousness and died the following day”
The third picture is Tom Percival in his #10 Hodges/Evinrude V8 just before the accident in Liege, Belgium 1984
The fourth picture is Tom’s boat after the accident. You can see Roger Jenkins in the boat.
Percival was a great gentleman and the perfect spokesperson for our sport. Gone way the early.
Thanks Richard Rushen for the pictures.
More from Liege, Belgium 1984
Bob Spaldings #11 Molinari/Nashua/Johnson V8.
You can also see Roger Jenkins behind his racing truck with the new Hodges/Carlsberg/Evinrude V8 inside.
The OMC racing truck next to him. I think it is Jim Brackenfield and an OMC Belgium technician.
Thanks Richard Rushen for the picture.
The 1984 start of the F1-V8 race in Liege, Belgium. (picture below)
The #12 Molinari/Castrol/Evinrude boat is Bocca and it looks like Roger Jenkins and Tom Percival is having a slow/bad start.
The crash between Bocca and Percival is just minutes away.
Picture by Barry Trindall.
#9 Roger Jenkins drove a Hodges/Carlsberg with Evinrude V8 power in Liege 1984. I think this was his last race.