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Formula 1 is traditionally the domain of extravagant individuals and large egos. Thomas Maldwyn Pryce ticked neither of these boxes but the sight of him balancing his menacing black Shadow on the edge of adhesion would become one of the sport's most enduring images. This quiet, unassuming Welshman enjoyed an all too brief career in the sport's premier category.

Born in 1949 in the town of Ruthin, Tom's parents were a local nurse and policeman. Tom indicated from an early age where his ambitions lay. His boyhood idol was the great Jim Clark. His first big break came when he acquired a Formula Ford single-seater, the prize for winning a championship sponsored by a national newspaper. From there he graduated to Formula 3 and, in 1974, Formula 1 with the fledgling Token team. When Tom was refused entry for the Monaco GP due to his inexperience, what should have been an enormous disappointment instead led to one of the greatest days of his career. In a mesmerising performance he won the supporting Formula 3 race by a distance.

1974 also saw Tom's debut for the small but ambitious Shadow team, the marque with which he was to become synonymous. His over-steering, aggressive driving style was in complete contrast to his humble demeanour away from the track. Tom married Nella the following year, and 1975 was good in other ways too. The non-championship Race of Champions at Brands Hatch saw Tom become the first Welshman to win a Formula 1 race. Later in the season he would put his Shadow on pole for the British GP ahead of the might of the works teams. Despite offers from other teams, including Lotus, Tom remained loyal to Shadow for the rest of his career.

Sadly, Tom was destined to be remembered more for the nature of his death than anything he achieved in life. The end came without any warning during the 1977 South African GP at Kyalami. After a bad start Tom made rapid progress and was running in close company with several other cars. His team-mate, Renzo Zorzi, had pulled off the track opposite the pits and a small fire had started in his car. It was this seemingly trivial incident that led two marshals to make the fateful decision to cross the main straight and extinguish the fire. The first marshal just managed across in time, but the second, 19 year old Frikkie Jansen van Vuuren, did not quite make it. Hidden by a dip in the track, the approaching cars could not have seen the marshals until the last moment. Remarkably, Hans Stuck, the first driver to arrive on the scene, managed to swerve and avoid van Vuuren. Tom was running directly behind and would have been completely unsighted. The impact killed both men instantly, Tom being struck in the face by van Vuuren's fire extinguisher. His car continued the full length of the straight before colliding with the Ligier of Jacques Laffite at the first corner.

Despite the Shadow being far from the best car on the Kyalami grid, Tom had provided one final glimpse of his brilliance the Wednesday preceding the fateful race. In a wet practise session, he utterly dominated proceedings, leaving the rest of the field trailing, literally, in his wake. The unassuming Welshman with the distinctive deerstalker hat would be sorely missed in the Formula 1 paddocks of the world.

Tom was buried in Otford, Kent, where he is still fondly remembered by many locals. Plans are underway to erect a permanent memorial to the modest Welshman in his hometown of Ruthin.

Learn more about this author, Kevin Guthrie.
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