William Worchestershire-Smythe

William in parc ferme after qualifying at the US Grand Prix in 1975

Oxford, England

**Wilbur William Wallace Worchestershire-Smythe Mortimer** VII - *OBE, PhD, EngD, BSc, SSC, GCSE* (commonly known as **William Worchestershire-Smythe**) is a retired racing driver.

He made his Formula One debut at the 1975 United States Grand Prix for Ferrari, before driving for Brabham and Smythe in later seasons.

Smythe's racing career ended after a skydiving accident in 1982 which left him paralysed.

William's younger sister, Catherine Smythe, made her Formula One debut at the 1985 Italian Grand Prix for Brabham.

## Early Life

William's story begins in Oxford, 1955, where he was born unto his wealthy parents, Archibald and Wilma. William had a comfortable upbringing, being granted whatever he desired given the lack of financial barriers.

Although in the company of many people growing up, William had a rather sheltered life in the grounds of his father’s mansion. The family’s attitude to life was very old fashioned, resembling a Victorian lifestyle. This would shape William to be a pompous, aristocratic sort, caring little for those he considered beneath him.

## Racing Career

In the mid 1970s, William would regularly race horses across his father’s substantial estate. These horses had been specially bred for racing but the reckless nature of young Will would result in an ever increasing desire for speed. It was at this time that William began to show an interest in motorsport, and he began pursuing a seat in Formula One. Despite having never driven in lower divisions, WWS was able to find his way into the sport remarkably quickly.

After ~~buying~~ securing a seat for Ferrari for the final round of the 1975 Formula One Season, which saw him take pole position on his debut, William took home a 3rd place finish at Watkins Glen to secure 9th in the driver’s championship. Although a strong result for the rookie, the Italian team chose not to retain Worchestershire-Smythe for the following season due to internal conflict, the details of which were never made public.

Undeterred by his departure from Ferrari, the abundant Worchestershire-Smythe fortune allowed William to persuade the Brabham team to give him a seat for the following season, He would remain at Brabham for 6 years. In this time, he saw irregular success, frequently complaining of reliability and setup issues with the car, and appearing not to commit himself much to the driver role. The press would often report seeing Worchestershire-Smythe enjoying the presence of several companions whilst practice sessions were taking place. This devil-may-care attitude would regularly see Worchestershire-Smythe climbing into the car moments before qualifying and he often struggled to get used to the car because of this.

After several questionable seasons with Brabham, William decided to move on. Many speculated William had grown weary of regularly being beaten by his teammate, though he denies those rumors. In the closing months of 1980, William decided to buy out the struggling Shadow team to create one of his own. Smythe Automobile Racing was created near the end of the year. With the ample backing from the Worchestershire-Smythe family, and with the assurance that he had number one status within the team, William had high confidence going into the 1981 season.

Despite it's significant resources, the Smythe team struggled to find consistently good results throughout the 1981 season. It took four races before the team took it's first points after Jeremy Spocinklass finished 4th in the Belgian Grand Prix. At the following race in Monaco, they found themselves to be extremely competitive in the rainy weather that had disrupted much of the weekend. Taking advantage of a gap in the rain, Smythe took pole position and went on to win the race ahead of eventual 1981 champion Stefan Van Damme. Despite having an extremely underpowered engine, the Smythe chassis suited the Monaco Circuit and the wet conditions of the weekend.

William took another win at the British Grand Prix three races later after Smythe scythed through the pack in another rain-affected race. Despite taking two race wins throughout the season, these were William's only points finishes in the season and he went on to finish 7th in the championship. The Smythe team finished in 5th in the Constructors' Championship.

Although the Smythe team had exceeded exceptations in 1981, the team struggled to find the same results in 1982. Mounting costs from legal battles severely impacted the team's finances and their ability to develop the S2 car. William's best finish came at the 1982 San Marino Grand Prix where he finished 6th. He later crashed out of the Belgian Grand Prix on the first lap in what would be his final Formula One race. Smythe were due to enter the Monaco Grand Prix, looking to repeat their win from 1981, but were forced to withdraw after William betted away both of the team's cars in the Monte Carlo Casino. The subsequent legal battle to recover the cars forced William to spend the rest of the season away from the circuit and the team continued to freefall.

## Skydiving Accident

William attended the French Grand Prix as a guest of honour before embarking on a two-day holiday to the Swiss Alps. He was eager to start the skydiving section of the trip, and was the first to jump aircraft. As the others reached the ground, many noticed something was wrong as they found multiple safety workers surrounding Smythe, who was obscured from view as he lay on the ground motionless. William was rushed to hospital and diagnosed with Incomplete Paraplegia and multiple spinal fractures, limiting movement in the lower half of his body. The injuries forced him to retire from racing and subsequently the Smythe team went bankrupt, with many of the assets being bought by the new Osella team.

## Return to Racing

William made his return to racing when he bought a seat at Valier Motorsport who were competing in the DTM Championship. Smythe's car was fitted with state-of-the-art hand controls due to his disability. He had a moderately successful season and went on to finish sixth in the Drivers' Championship, with his best race result being a second place finish in Zolder.