Michael Park, English racing driver (d. 2005)
Michael Steven Park (22 June 1966 – 18 September 2005) was a rally co-driver from Newent in Gloucestershire. He worked with former world champions Richard Burns and Colin McRae as a gravel note expert while co-driving for both David Higgins and Mark Higgins in the British national series. His big break, however, came when he teamed up with the emerging Estonian talent Markko Märtin as a privateer pairing in a Toyota Corolla WRC for the 2000 World Rally Championship season.
After a number of strong performances, the pair were signed up by Subaru for 2001, before moving to Ford, where they evolved into one of the leading driver/co-driver combinations in the WRC. In 2003, they took two rally victories, in Greece and Finland, and improved on that figure with three wins in 2004 (Mexico, Corsica and Catalunya).
Park died as a result of injuries sustained in an accident on the final leg of Wales Rally Great Britain when his Peugeot 307 WRC left the road and struck a tree. Märtin and Park were lying fourth in the 2005 season's title race at the time, after securing four podiums in a season dominated by Citroën's Sébastien Loeb. Their performances had been instrumental in Peugeot's challenge for the manufacturer's championship, with the team lying six points behind French rivals Citroën.
After the crash, Märtin said "Park wasn't my co-driver, I was his pilot." Park's death was the first top-level rallying fatality since Rodger Freeth in the 1993 Rally Australia, and brought renewed attention to safety issues in the motorsport world.
On 20 June 2006, a memorial for Park was unveiled in Tallinn, Estonia.
1966Jun, 22
Michael Park (co-driver)
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Events on 1966
- 10Mar
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Hastings Banda
Malawi becomes a republic, with Hastings Banda as its first President. - 10Jul
Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Chicago Freedom Movement, led by Martin Luther King, Jr., holds a rally at Soldier Field in Chicago. As many as 60,000 people attend. - 14Oct
Montreal Metro
The city of Montreal begins the operation of its underground Montreal Metro rapid transit system. - 8Nov
Reconstruction Era
Former Massachusetts Attorney General Edward Brooke becomes the first African American elected to the United States Senate since Reconstruction.