08/11/2009
NEWS STORY
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All race fans - of a certain age - will have their own favourite memory of the late Ronnie Peterson, be it his sensational F2 exploits - at a time when he was also contesting the Formula One World Championship - the 'coffee table' March, the 6-wheeler Tyrrell, the 1972 all-conquering Ferrari 312P Sportscar World Championship winning team or his good grace in playing support to Mario Andretti in the JPS in 1978.
When remembering the greats one tends to remember the world champions, though notable exceptions include Stirling Moss and Gilles Villeneuve, however, there are others who earn a special place in the hearts of race fans simply because of their style, their guts, their out and out love of racing. Anybody who ever saw Ronnie racing loved the guy.
Sadly, the popular Swede was killed in a controversial accident at Monza in 1978, an accident which he initially survived before subsequently succumbing to freak medical complications.
Over thirty years after his tragic death, Ronnie is still fondly remembered, indeed we are sure that some of the pictures on this page will have brought lumps to a few ageing throats.
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Sadly, news reaches us that his museum in Orebro, Ronnie's home town, has closed just over a year after opening in May 2008.
The museum, which has been run by a non-profit association, with assistance from a number of sponsors, has, as is so often the case, failed to attract funding from the government either at national or local level.
"We have had over 14,000 visitors and brought in about 1.8 million kronor to the local community," Joakim Thedin, chairman of the Ronnie Peterson Museum Association, told Pitpass. "They have support us with 0 Swedish kronor," he added, referring to the politicians.
"They don't really understand how much Ronnie is admired around the world, and how many times Orebro is mentioned with Ronnie in books and magazines," he added. "And the saddest thing is that nobody will ever try to establish a museum about Ronnie or another motorsport icon here in Sweden again."
"We have had visitors from Italy, Brazil, Germany, USA and England, for example, people who only came to Orebro in order to visit the museum. These people, plus Swedes from near and far, have placed Orebro on the map and brought in a lot of revenue for the municipality and the tourism industry."
We are told the association will live on and is currently looking for new solutions. One idea being to open a new museum outside the Orebro municipal boundaries. There is also the idea of a mobile museum which would allow more people to see the collection of Ronnie Peterson related objects. Motorsport events like STCC (the Swedish Touring Car Championship) would obviously be a good place to display the objects, but also internationally renowned events as the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
While we do not expect politicians, certainly in those economies which are currently hurting, to subsidise motorsport, it is sad that they appear unwilling to help pay tribute those who have served their countries, brought pride to their communities.
While the museum has closed down, we are delighted to see its website - ronniepetersonmuseum.com - is still running, please visit it and give your support to a great memorial to a great driver.
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