Гонщики, W | |
Whitehead, Peter Курсивом отмечены гонщики, |
| Питер УайтхедWhitehead, Peter |
(c) 'Who is Who' by Steve Small, 2000 Родился: 12.11.1914 Менстон, Илкли, Йоркшир Умер: 21.09.1958 Ласаль, Ним, Франция Сезонов в Ф1: Лет в Ф1: 5 Гран При: Старты: 10* *не стартовал: 2 Победы: - подряд: Подиумы: - подряд: Поул-позиции: - подряд: Первый ряд: - подряд: Быстрые круги: - подряд: Лучший финиш: Лучший старт: 8 Дубли: Хет-трики: Лидирование старт/финиш: Большие шлемы: Круги: - лидирования: |
Год | Команда | Шасси |
A throwback to the age of the truly amateur driver, Whitehead, a wealthy businessman, had the means with which to indulge his passion for motor sport in the best possible fashion. He began racing in 1954 and was soon making a name for himself in an ERA. He took the car to Australia in 1938 and won the Grand Prix at the Bathurst circuit.
His trusty ERA was back in action after the war and took second place in the 1947 British Empire Trophy at the Isle of Man. The following year he was seriously injured - not racing, but in an air crash at Croydon aerodrome when preparing to fly to Milan to arrange the purchase of a Ferrari 125. It was the 1949 season before he was able to put the green-painted machine through its paces in competition. He looked set to win the French GP at Reims, until gearbox problems dropped him to third place, but he did triumph in Czechoslovakia, becoming the first Briton to win a major race abroad since Seaman. His successes with the Ferrari continued into the 1950 season when he took the Jersey Road Race and the Ulster Trophy. Despite his amateur status, Peter was certainly no slouch as a driver and he scored some excellent Continental placings in the 1951 season with the Ferrari, but the highlight of his year was undoubtedly a glorious Le Mans win with Peter Walker for Jaguar.
The 1952 and 1953 seasons saw Whitehead campaigning an Alta and a Cooper-Alta in addition to his Ferrari, but he was now finding it more rewarding to race sports cars, where the chances of success were greater. In 1953, with a D-Type Jaguar, he won the Reims 12 Hours with Moss and the Hyeres 12 Hours with Tom Cole. He triumphed again in the Reims 12 Hours the following season, sharing a works Jaguar with Ken Wharton, but after his last British GP appearance, Peter was little seen in Formula 1, preferring to concentrate on his newly acquired Cooper-Jaguar sports car and Libre events with his Ferrari 3-litre - particularly in the Antipodes, where he often raced during the English winter.
His last great performance came in the 1958 Le Mans 24 Hours, when he shared the second-placed Aston Martin with his half-brother Graham. Just a couple of months later Peter lost his life during the Tour de France when the pair's Jaguar, with Graham at the wheel, crashed over a bridge parapet into a ravine, injuring the driver but killing his unfortunate passenger.
(c) 'Who is Who' by Steve Small, 2000
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