Tom Belsø
Søborg, Copenhagen, Denmark | |
| Died | 12 January 2020 (aged 77) Rushden, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  Danish |
| Active years | 1973–1974 |
| Teams | Frank Williams Racing Cars |
| Entries | 5 (2 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1973 Swedish Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1974 British Grand Prix |
Tom Belsø (27 August 1942 – 12 January 2020)Formula One driver from Denmark.
Early career
Belsø started out in
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
FW
failed on the first lap of the race. In Sweden, he finished his only complete Grand Prix, in eighth place.
Racing record
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 | 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 | 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]
Complete British Saloon Car Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos. | Pts | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1969
|
Tom Belsø | Ford Escort TC
|
C | BRH | SIL | SNE
|
THR | SIL 5 |
CRY | MAL | CRO | SIL | OUL | BRH | BRH | 26th | 6 | 7th |
1970
|
British Vita Racing | Ford Escort TC
|
C | BRH | SNE
|
THR | SIL | CRY | SIL | SIL | CRO | BRH | OUL | BRH | BRH 14 |
NC | 0 | NC |
Source:[4]
| ||||||||||||||||||
Personal life
In 1977 he founded Belso Cereals, a manufacturing company based in Peterborough.[2]
On 12 January 2020 Belsø died from stomach cancer;[1][5] he was 77 years old.
References
- ^ a b "Tom Belso". oldracingcars.com. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
- ^ a b "Tom Belso". Motor Sport magazine database. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
- ^ ISBN 0851127029.
- ^ de Jong, Frank. "British Saloon Car Championship". History of Touring Car Racing 1952-1993. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ Pye, Marcus (13 January 2019). "Obituary: Denmark's first F1 driver Tom Belso 1942-2020". Autosport. Retrieved 13 January 2019.