Racing drivers of the 1960s did not have the benefit of today’s sophisticated safety precautions. Boley Pittard was of that generation and lived life to the full, well aware that his was a frequently deadly occupation. In 1967 he died, not in a racing crash, but as a result of an accident before the race had even started.
Early Motor Racing Adventures
Pittard missed out on the guidance of his father in his early years. His father was a fisherman in Jersey, only to become a prisoner of war, along with Pittard’s grandmother. Fortunately, they survived the Nazi concentration camps and eventually returned home.
School held no interest for Pittard and he left as soon as possible, finding work in a local garage. From there he progressed to hiring out scooters, and eventually cars. Pittard also caught the racing bug, competing in beach races on motorcycles. He then started racing cars on the sand, including a Lancia, a Renault and a Hudson.
Pittard Races Saloons, Sports Cars and Formula 3
1960 was a significant year for Pittard, as he moved from Jersey to London. He soon became involved in kart racing, even making it onto the British team. Karting was only a stop-gap measure, however, and Pittard quickly found himself a Ford Anglia, with which he scored many victories. These included winning the Brooklands Memorial Trophy. His performances with John Willment’s team were enough to earn Pittard a test drive with Ken Tyrrell in 1964.
Pittard switched to sports car racing in 1965, driving an Alfa Romeo TZ/1 owned by Ian Walker and Alan Day. The season was tinged with tragedy when Pittard’s team-mate, Tony Hegbourne, crashed his TZ/1 at Spa-Francorchamps and died six weeks later. Hegbourne was considered to be a very talented driver and had scored the final Formula 2 victory for the once great Cooper team.
In 1966 Pittard was lured back to single-seater racing, relocating to Italy. He drove for BWA that year before switching to Tecno for 1967. He quickly fell out with the Italian constructor and switched to a Lola T60 instead, powered by a Ford engine. It was in this car that he lined up before the start at Monza on June 4th, 1967, for the Formula 3 final.
Pittard’s Fatal Accident in Formula 3 at Monza
As the cars moved away from the dummy grid Pittard’s number 51 Lola became engulfed in flames. Differing theories would be put forward later as to the cause of the fire. The Italian police suspected that Pittard had dislodged a fuel line while climbing into the cockpit, whereas another driver claimed he saw Pittard brimming the red Lola full of fuel just before the start.
Whatever the reason for the fire it left Pittard in a perilous situation. He courageously steered his car off the circuit, away from the other drivers, but received terrible burns in the process. Marshals eventually extricated Pittard from the wreckage, after which he was transported by ambulance to hospital in Monza. An Italian army helicopter was present at the circuit and could have flown Pittard to a better equipped facility in nearby Milan, but it was not utilised. In Risk Life, Risk Limb, written by Michael Cooper-Evans and published by Pelham Books in 1968, the author speculates about the feeling among Pittard's contemporaries;
"And following the deaths of Lorenzo Bandini in that savage fire at Monaco, and of Boley Pittard in a starting line fire at Monza a week or two later, racing drivers are perhaps more conscious now of this particularly awful risk than ever before."
Pittard survived for six days after the accident, eventually passing away on Saturday, June 10th, 1967. For many years after his accident fire would remain every racing driver's greatest fear.
