Memories of Ian Taylor

Does anyone have any memories of Ian Taylor? I remember watching him in F3 during the early 1970s and thought he was a major talent. Did he reach his natural level or was he a potential winner in F1?

I raced in the same races in sports 2000 as Ian in 80-82, I won't say competed because he and James Weaver were head and shoulders above all the rest of the field. He was amazingly talented , he made it look so easy, he always kept the car straight, he was just very quick everywhere, and apparently effortless, rather in the style of Jim Clark. When he came up to lap you he passed leaving enormous amounts of space between you - the hallmark of a great driver.

I always believed he was every bit as good if not in many ways a more talented driver than Nigel Mansell, but Ian despite being F3 champion and a prodigious race winner in all sorts of cars for whatever reason did not get the opportunities that Nigel had.

I think Ian may very well have gone all the way and been highly successful in F1, sadly he was killed in a freak accident at Spa in a Rover Saloon, he was also courteous, polite,and friendly off the track , a nice bloke and a sad loss of a very good driver.

From memory Ian's career stalled a bit after 1973, when he went very well against the likes of Brise, and Jones in F3. Was there some talk of a F5000 drive as a team-mate to Mike Wilds ? I guess money, or lack of, was the reason he didn't go on after F3. He later appeared in Ff2000 in the early races of that formula, and was again very fast.

As Richard says he dominated S2000 in 1979 and 80, in one of the lovely Tigas, but by them any serious 'career aspirations' had gone I think. He had a rare Tiga F At car in 1981, but it wasn't a great car, and he didn't go too well in it. He was pretty well connected to Tiga by then, I always thought he'd have been great in a Group C Tiga, or similar.