{"id":492858,"date":"2013-01-01T15:00:47","date_gmt":"2013-01-01T23:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportscardigest.com\/\/?p=22179"},"modified":"2024-04-06T02:48:24","modified_gmt":"2024-04-06T02:48:24","slug":"my-friend-tom-walkinshaw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/my-friend-tom-walkinshaw\/","title":{"rendered":"My Friend, Tom Walkinshaw"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By the time this column is read, the second anniversary of the passing of Tom Walkinshaw will have come and gone. In my career, I must have shared more drives with him than any other driver. You could say there were two Tom Walkinshaws. In fact, on reflection, there were probably more than that.<\/p>\n

If ever you were in trouble, I mean if you had problems like I had when our son was killed, or when I had a \u201cbreakdown\u201d when I was in Australia following the death of Matthew, I couldn\u2019t have asked for a better friend. At the end of the 1979 season, I\u2019d been racing for Toyota at Snetterton, Tom ushered me into his caravan after the racing that day and offered me a contract to drive for him full time for the 1980 season. I asked what I would be driving and he told me it was the Mazda. I asked why he wouldn\u2019t be driving it and he simply said he had plans to do other things. He ended the sentence by saying, \u201cOne day I\u2019ll be in Formula One.\u201d The deal was that I\u2019d be paid \u00a36,000 for the season, but with Tom there was always a condition. \u201cIf you don\u2019t win the championship I\u2019m not so sure I\u2019ll pay you,\u201d he said in his broad Scottish accent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n