Derek Daly

'Quick but accident prone' may be an unfair judgement on Derek Daly, but the likeable Irishman certainly had to endure more than his fair share of incidents during his Grand Prix career.

Early experience in the harum-scarum world of stock cars led Derek into Formula Ford in his native Ireland. In order to finance his efforts he went to Australia to work in the tin mines with his friend and fellow aspiring racer, David Kennedy, and earned enough to finance his season, winning the 1975 national championship. Then it was across the Irish Sea to try his luck in Formula Ford for 1976. It was a tough year for Daly, who was living out of a converted coach and perpetually strapped for cash, but it was all made worthwhile when he won the Formula Ford Festival at the end of the season.

Derek stepped up to Formula 3 for 1977 and, driving a Chevron, won the BP championship ahead of Nelson Piquet, while a one-off drive saw him finishing fifth on his Formula 2 debut at Estoril. So impressive was this performance that he got the seat for 1978, and offers also came in for Formula 1. He did a deal with Hesketh and made a sensational debut in the rain at the International Trophy race, leading all the big names until he spun off. Reality soon dawned, however, as he failed to qualify for the first three races and quit in disgust. Luckily Ensign needed a replacement for Ickx and Daly was back, scoring his first point in Canada. He was persuaded to stay on for 1979, but the revamped car was outclassed, and after Monaco Daly returned to his successful ICI Formula 2 ride. This left him available to step into the Tyrrell team, initially in place of the indisposed Jarier. A superb drive at Watkins Glen ended in Daly spinning out, but Tyrrell had seen enough to offer him a drive for 1980. It was again a story of hit and miss, the season yielding a pair of fourth places and a couple of huge shunts.

For 1981 he was forced to take a step backwards. The RAM March was not competitive, and the atmosphere in the team was tense, but he never gave up. Theodore then threw him a lifeline which put him back on the grid again in 1982, and with Reutemann's sudden decision to retire he found himself catapulted into the Williams team. It was a difficult season for Derek; he supported Rosberg with some classy drives, but found himself dumped at the end of the year.

Daly then took the decision to turn his back on F1 and try his luck in Indy cars. After a handful of rides in '83, and some promising performances early in 1984, his career was nearly ended by a huge crash at Michigan which badly smashed both his legs. After a long and painful recovery Derek made a tentative comeback to Indy cars late in 1986 and then raced in endurance events for Jaguar and in IMSA for Nissan before announcing his retirement in 1992.

Derek has since slipped effortlessly into the role of TV commentator on Grand Prix and Indy Car racing on Speedvision, as well as opening a racing school at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 1996.