Friends of one of Wales’s greatest sons have launched an appeal to keep his memory alive. The fund-raising drive has been set up to commemorate Tom Pryce and pay for a memorial statue in Denbigh, his home town.

Pryce was one of Formula 1’s rising stars during the mid 1970s. He joined the Shadow team in 1974, shortly after winning the F3 race supporting the Monaco GP, and won the Race of Champions at Brands Hatch the following spring. He also took pole position for the 1975 British GP, before crashing out in a rain shower, and notched up two podium finishes in world championship grands prix, finishing third at Austria in ’75 and Brazil in ’76.

He was killed in a freak accident during the 1977 South African GP, after his car struck a marshal running across the track holding a fire extinguisher.

The fund-raising launch ties in with preparations for the Historic Sports Car Club’s forthcoming Anglesey race meeting, which celebrates Pryce’s life and career. One of the highlights of the weekend will be a two-part XL Aurora Trophy race for Formula 5000 and F2 cars, in which the aggregate winner will receive an original painting of Pryce by renowned motor sport artist Andrew Kitson.

Local businessman Mario Kreft, a keen supporter of the initiative, said: “Tom went from being an apprentice tractor mechanic to a Formula 1 driver in a very short space of time. It’s a wonderful story and he has clearly not been forgotten, but he’s probably not had the recognition he deserves.”

Donations to the fund can be made via gofundme.com/tom-pryce-appeal.

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