The tragedy of F1's penniless millionaire
Piers Courage hailed from a privileged background but would happily sleep in the back of a car while touring Europe in search of racing success in Formula 1, writes NIGEL ROEBUCK
"When I talk about Piers," says Frank Williams, "I have to be careful not to make it sound like a eulogy. He viewed almost everything with an amused eye - he was the life and soul of dinner parties, because he could sit with complete strangers, and talk to them about anything. In those days I took to travelling with books of poetry, to be ready for him - but even so, he could always out quote me, which maddened me!
"He had become an extremely good driver, getting better all the time, but as well as that was a totally loveable character: funny, charming, loyal. People like Piers don't exist any more because life, as they say, has moved on.
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