Thomas Colin Percival (28 March 1943 – 20 August 1984) was a British powerboat racer.

Career

Percival was educated at

Gresham's School Gresham's School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent Day school, day and boarding school) in Holt, Norfolk, Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Bac ...

. He began his powerboat racing career in 1964, and won the Formula 1 (OZ) championship in 1978. He was also a twice winner of the Paris Six Hour Enduro. He was twice the Canon European Series champion, in 1976 and 1978.Tom Percival
motorsportmemorial.org, accessed 6 August 2022 During his career, he won over two hundred trophies. As of 2022, he was still the holder of the lap record for

Oulton Broad Oulton Broad refers to both the lake and the suburb of Lowestoft in the English county of Suffolk. The suburb is located west of the centre of Lowestoft. It became a civil parish in 2017. It had an estimated population of 10,338 at the 2011 ...

.Donna-Louise Bishop
Legacy of Norfolk powerboat racer to be immortalised at new museum
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Eastern Daily Press The ''Eastern Daily Press'' (''EDP'') is a regional newspaper covering Norfolk, northern parts of Suffolk and eastern Cambridgeshire, and is published daily in Norwich, UK. Founded in 1870 as a broadsheet called the ''Eastern Counties Daily ...

'', 16 January 2022, accessed 6 August 2022

Death

Percival died in an accident during the 7th round of the 1984 F1 Powerboat World Championship in

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. After he collided with another boat, Percival, who had received severe head injuries was taken to Liège Hospital, but then lapsed into a coma and died some hours later on Monday morning.

Personal life

Percival's career outside sport was as a boat dealer, based in Norfolk. He was married to Gilly, and they had a son, Guy, and a daughter, Katie, aged 16 and 14 respectively at the time of his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Percival, Tom 1943 births 1984 deaths British motorboat racers Formula 1 Powerboat drivers Motorboat racers who died while racing People educated at Gresham's School People from North Walsham Sport deaths in Belgium Sportspeople from Norfolk