(c) 'Who is Who' by Steve Small, 2000

Родился: 02.07.1911 Дерби Умер: 07.01.1964 Дерби Сезонов в Ф1: 4 Лет в Ф1: 5 Гран При: 7 Старты: 6* *не стартовал: 1 Победы: - подряд: Подиумы: 1 - подряд: Поул-позиции: - подряд: Первый ряд: 1 - подряд: Быстрые круги: - подряд: Лучший финиш: 3 Лучший старт: 4 Дубли: Хет-трики: Лидирование старт/финиш: Большие шлемы: Круги: 344 - лидирования: Километры: 1865.51 - лидирования: Очки: 9 - за один сезон: 5 - подряд: 2

Ф1: 1950-1954

Год	Команда	Шасси
1950	SA Alfa Romeo	Alfa Romeo 158
	Scuderia Ambrosiana	Maserati 4CLT/48
1951	British Racing Motors Ltd	BRM P15
	G A Vandervell	Ferrari 375 Thin Wall Special
1952	A H M Bryde	Cooper T20
1954	Scuderia Ambrosiana	Ferrari 500

Something of a wayward performer in his youth (his licence was withdrawn from 1937 to 1939 following a serious accident at Silverstone), Reg Parnell matured to become one of Britain's most seasoned professionals and later a respected elder statesman, guiding the fortunes of a new generation of Grand Prix talent.

The Derbyshire pig farmer began racing in 1935 with an MG Magnette, and found success immediately before the war with a 4.7-litre Bugatti. The war years took away a large part of what should have been the prime of his career, but he did not idle his time away, purchasing a vast array of temporarily redundant racing machinery in readiness for peace.

Racing a Maserati and an E-Type ERA bought from Peter Whitehead, he was soon tackling Continental races with great gusto, but eventually the Maserati 4CLT/48 brought more success, particularly at Goodwood, where he seemed to be able to win at will.

Such was the respect he commanded that Reg was invited to drive a works Alfa Romeo in the very first World Championship race at Silverstone in 1950, finishing an excellent third.

In 1951 he drove Tony Vandervell's 'Thinwall Special' Ferrari to points finishes in two Grands Prix, and won the International Trophy at Silverstone when the race was abandoned after a rainstorm. Less happy was his association with BRM and their problematic V16 car, which defeated even Reg's efforts.

He found the ready-made Ferrari T500 - no longer a Grand Prix challenger due to the change in formula -just the ticket for national events, and chalked up many successes during the 1954 season. He later drove Rob Walker's Connaught on occasion as well as a Ferrari Super Squalo, which he used to win the 1957 New Zealand GP and the South Island race at Dunedin, before retiring to take up the full-time team manager's job at Aston Martin, having been a key member of the team since the early fifties.

When David Brown pulled out of racing, Reg was immediately in demand and spent 1961 and 1962 overseeing the Yeoman Credit and Bowmaker Lola teams, before setting up his own Reg Parnell Racing team which was still in its infancy when the sturdy Parnell died unexpectedly of peritonitis after a routine appendix operation in January 1964 at the age of 52.

(c) 'Who is Who' by Steve Small, 2000