https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/formula-1-commentary-icon-murray-walker-dies-aged-97/5714734/
A true icon in motorsport history. RIP. Thoughts and prayers with the family Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
In the world of motor racing it is the drivers who are seen as the hero's. Occasionally this honor lies to those outside the cockpit and there are fewer more fitting than Murray Walker. Incredibly enthusiastic and with a love for the sport most can't imagine, Murray Walker brought radio and TV transmissions to life energizing even the most passive observer into a racing fan. Back in 1996 a small group of us made the trek from Toronto to Montreal for the Grand Prix. While most were looking forward to the race my enthusiasm lay elsewhere. My friend had reached out to Mr. Walker and invited him to breakfast on behalf of the BMW Car Club Trillium Chapter. As the story goes, my friend received a call at his home a few weeks prior and (after some convincing that his buddies were not winding him up) he realized that it was indeed Murray Walker calling from England to accept the invitation. On the Saturday morning eight of us had the unforgettable experience of sitting down to breakfast with THE voice of motorsport. Words cannot express what a kind gentleman he was and now almost 25 years later the memory is as vivid as ever. One of the main points of conversation was Canadian Jacques Villeneuve who was making his first Grand Prix start on home soil. Murray Walker questioned how he would do as it was a new track to him. At that point I politely interjected and noted that the Montreal track was not unfamiliar to Jacques as he had won there in Formula Atlantic 3 years earlier. Always the gentleman he took great interest in that fact and thanked me for it. In Canada the races were always covered by the CBC and it was the only race that did not have the BBC coverage with Murray Walker. I have often wondered if the little piece of info I gave him ever made it into the broadcast that year. Either way I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to contribute ever so slightly to Murray Walker's unequalled knowledge of the sport. Murray Walker had a life incredibly well lived and proof positive that your racing hero's don't necessarily need to ever take to the track to inspire your life. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Always has been and always will be THE voice of Formula 1. End of another era. As 635CSI said, I too grew up with his commentary. Sometimes he would drive me crazy with his Murrayisms but that is what made him so unique. RIP Murray - another F1 legend gone but not forgotten. I guess its a sign of me getting old - seeing so many iconic names drive off into the sunset
The most important personality related to journalism around Formula 1. Despite the fact that i am young, i will always remember the volume of his voice in the controversial event between Senna and Prost in the 1989 Japanese GP and also in the fatal Senna's accident .... RIP Sir Walker Image Unavailable, Please Login
I do not often agree with Martin Brundle but for once: "National treasure, communication genius, Formula 1 legend.”
A true commentating icon, so full of passion! What a wonderful guy he was, and what a fantastic life he had!
What a great gentleman and not just an announcer but a true enthusiast. I’ll never forget meeting him at Goodwood years ago.
I’ll always smile when his name is mentioned. The accent, the pitch, the delivery and the flustered, fevered commentary contributed monumentally to every race watched with Murray behind the mike. He looked exactly as I imagined when I first caught sight of him in the flesh and I wasn’t surprised to learn he commentated while standing throughout the duration of every race. You’d almost swear he was about to fall out of the booth on many an occasion. There was never a doubt his enthusiasm was less than one hundred per cent authentic. My favourite Murray-isms will always remain the overtly positive comments he’d direct towards his countrymen, especially if they driving minnows at the back of the field. Never a doubt he was a Beeb man through and through with, “and young Jonathan Palmer is mounting a charge through the backmarkers, showing skills far beyond the capabilities of the troublesome and unwieldy Zakspeed, now moving up from 26th on the grid to an incredible 21st”. Easily forgetting he mentioned the race had incurred 5 dnfs moments earlier..... Sincere condolences to his family and friends. MW was truly one in a million.
I loved his excitement. Someone could be losing the lead due to say an engine failure and you could hear Murray saying ''oh, this is FANTASTIC!". Obviously not to put down the driver that just lost a race win, but just one of the many factors that contributed to winning or losing is what he found so great about the sport. Friday evening I turned on one of the testing streams and, because it was a break, Sky was showing the 1983 Austrian GP, of course with Murray commentating. There will never be a commentator like him again. Like you said, he could be just as excited about a move for 25th as he would be for 1st. And who can forget him overcoming with emotion after his friend Damon Hill won the title in 1996 in Japan. He was very human. What a guy.
His last words were... "Here I go, go, go!!!" In all seriousness, what a legend and what a wonderful life he lived. It's difficult to think of anyone more respected in sports broadcasting. He really was the all time great. All the best, Andrew.