Tom Belsø

Tom Belsø (27 August 1942 – 12 January 2020)[1] was a motor racing driver, credited as the first Formula One driver from Denmark.

Tom Belsø
Born(1942-08-27)27 August 1942
Søborg, Copenhagen, Denmark
Died12 January 2020(2020-01-12) (aged 77)
Rushden, United Kingdom
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality Danish
Active years1973–1974
TeamsFrank Williams Racing Cars
Entries5 (2 starts)
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums0
Career points0
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1973 Swedish Grand Prix
Last entry1974 British Grand Prix

Early career

Belsø started out in touring cars, where he won his debut race and went on to become Scandinavian Touring Car Champion in 1969.[2] He became a Formula Two racer in 1972, with his best result being a fourth place at the Albi Grand Prix, finishing 17th in the European F2 Championship. In 1973 he raced a Lola in Formula 5000. He also raced in a few non-championship Formula One races, finishing 7th in the 1973 Race of Champions and 8th in the 1973 BRDC International Trophy, and retiring in the 1974 BRDC International Trophy and 1975 Race of Champions. He contested the 1974 Rothmans 5000 European Championship winning at Snetterton and finishing 8th in the Series. He also competed in the 1977 Shellsport 5000/Libre series and finished fifth in a Radio Luxemburg-sponsored Lola T330-Chevrolet.

Formula One

Belsø qualified a Formula One Iso-Marlboro for the Frank Williams Racing Cars team at the 1973 Swedish Grand Prix, but could not start the race because his sponsorship money did not arrive. In 1974 he tried four times to qualify for Williams, but was only successful in South Africa and Sweden. In South Africa, the clutch on Belsø's FW failed on the first lap of the race. In Sweden, he finished his only complete Grand Prix, in eighth place.

Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 WDC Points
1973 Frank Williams Racing Cars Iso-Marlboro IR Cosworth V8 ARG BRA RSA ESP BEL MON SWE
DNS‡		 FRA GBR NED GER AUT ITA CAN USA NC 0
1974 Frank Williams Racing Cars Iso-Marlboro FW Cosworth V8 ARG BRA RSA
Ret		 ESP
DNQ		 BEL MON SWE
8		 NED FRA GBR
DNQ		 GER AUT ITA CAN USA NC 0
Source:[3]

‡ Belsø took part in practice only. The car was driven in the race by Howden Ganley.[3]

Personal life

In 1977 he founded Belso Cereals, a manufacturing company based in Peterborough.[2]

On 12 January 2020 Belsø died after a battle with stomach cancer;[1][4] he was 77 years old.

References
  1. "Tom Belso". www.oldracingcars.com. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  2. "Tom Belso". Motor Sport magazine database. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  3. Small, Steve (1994). The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who. Guinness. p. 55. ISBN 0851127029.
  4. Pye, Marcus (13 January 2019). "Obituary: Denmark's first F1 driver Tom Belso 1942-2020". Autosport. Retrieved 13 January 2019.


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