RIP Whizzo – a true racing gent
I was saddened to read of the passing of Barrie ‘Whizzo’ Williams. I first met him when attending an under-17 car club in 1974/5 at Finmere, where Barry assessed our abilities, or lack thereof, to drive a car. He was a great mentor to everyone.
I recall him turning up in a Toyota Celica Mk1 and enthralling us all as he did doughnut after doughnut, clockwise and anti, around a tyre. He got out to cheers from us teenagers, telling us not try that with dad’s car, which brought forth a lot of ‘don’t even think about it’ from parents.
My father and I followed his racing career and whenever possible got to local circuits where he was racing: Silverstone, Donnington etc. We’d meet up with him in the paddock to have a catch-up. He never forgot my name and to father it was always: ‘Hello, Dad’. Reminiscing this weekend I recalled a trip to a saloon car event at Silverstone. We caught up with Barrie in the bar, along with Tony Lanfranchi and Gerry Marshall. Soft drinks all round, please. Then latterly at Race Retro, where Barrie always held the audience captive when he was talking on stage of his exploits. Then he’d happily chat with us before dashing off to another meeting or to demonstrate a car in action on the live stage. He was a true gent and, as you say, will be sorely missed by his many fans and the racing,
fraternity. Rest in peace Barrie. Gordon Dow, Daventry