Egbert "Eppie" Wietzes (28 May 1938 – 10 June 2020) was a racing driver from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Formula One

Wietzes was born in

Assen Assen () is a municipality and a city in the northeastern Netherlands, and is the capital (politics), capital of the province of Drenthe. It received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1809. Assen is known for TT Circuit Assen, the ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in 1938,Eppie Wietzes at grandprix.com
/ref> and emigrated with his family to Canada when he was 12 years old. He participated in two

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 27 August 1967 in the inaugural Canadian Grand Prix at

Mosport Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport Park and Mosport International Raceway) is a multi-track motorsport venue located north of Bowmanville, in Ontario, Canada, east of Toronto. The facility features a , 10-turn road course; a adva ...

. He retired on lap 69 with wet electrics and was subsequently disqualified for receiving outside assistance. Wietzes also participated in the 1974 Canadian Grand Prix with a rented Brabham BT42 but again retired with a transmission problem. He scored no championship points. Wietzes later experienced success in the

F5000 Formula 5000 (or F5000) was an open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions around the world from 1968 to 1982. It was originally intended as a low-cost series aimed at open-wheel racing cars tha ...

class and won the 1981 Trans-Am Series. In 1993, he was inducted into the

Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame The Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame (CMHF) is a hall of fame run by the Canadian Motorsport Heritage Foundation as a not-for-profit charitable institution that "honours and recognizes the achievements of individuals and institutions that have m ...

Safety car

He was the driver of the first safety car in Formula One, in the 1973 Canadian Grand Prix, taking a

Porsche 914 The Porsche 914 or VW-Porsche 914 is a mid-engined sports car designed, manufactured and marketed collaboratively by Volkswagen and Porsche from 1969 until 1976. It was only available as a targa-topped two-seat roadster powered by either a ...

course car on to the track after a collision involving

François Cevert Albert François Cevert Goldenberg (25 February 1944 – 6 October 1973) was a French racing driver who took part in the Formula One World Championship. He competed in 48 World Championship Grands Prix, achieving one win, 13 podium finishes and 8 ...

and

Jody Scheckter Jody David Scheckter (born 29 January 1950) is a South African business proprietor and former motor racing driver. He competed in Formula One from 1972 to 1980, winning the Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari. Scheckter remains the only Afri ...

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key)

References

External links

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F1 Rejects profile
1938 births 2020 deaths Canadian racing drivers Canadian Formula One drivers Dutch emigrants to Canada People from Assen Team Lotus Formula One drivers Trans-Am Series drivers Sportspeople from Drenthe {{Canada-autoracing-bio-stub