Gerry Birrell

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Gerry Birrell was a Scottish racing driver born on 30 July 1944 near Glasgow. He left school at 15 to become an apprentice with a BMC dealer and built up mechanical experience helping his brother Graham. He began racing in a Singer Chamois and won the Scottish Saloon Car Championship before moving to single‑seaters at age 24. He started in Formula Vee in 1967, finishing second at Ingliston. He switched to Formula Ford in 1969, then raced in Formula 3 and Formula 2 in 1970 with Brabham cars and a Lotus 69. Birrell also competed in touring cars, winning a class at the 1972 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Ford Capri. His promising career ended when he died in an accident during qualifying for the F2 Trophee d'Europe at Rouen-Les-Essarts after a front tyre failed at the Six Freres corner; his Chevron B25 crashed into a poorly secured barrier, and he died from internal injuries. He was 28 and had been in talks with Tyrrell Racing about joining Formula One for 1974. He is survived by his brother Graham and daughter Kara. Died 23 June 1973 in Rouen, France.