Гонщики, S | |
Spence, Mike Курсивом отмечены гонщики, |
| Майк СпенсSpence, Mike |
 (c) 'Who is Who' by Steve Small, 2000 Родился: 30.12.1936 Кройдон, Суррей Умер: 07.05.1968 Индианаполис, Индиана Сезонов в Ф1: Лет в Ф1: 6 Гран При: Старты: 36* *не стартовал: 8 Победы: - подряд: Подиумы: - подряд: Поул-позиции: - подряд: Первый ряд: - подряд: Быстрые круги: - подряд: Лучший финиш: Лучший старт: 4 Дубли: Хет-трики: Лидирование старт/финиш: Большие шлемы: |
Год | Команда | Шасси |
Spence overcame polio as a child with no ill effects, and from a young age he harboured dreams of becoming a racing driver. After his Army service was finished he took up club racing in 1958 with a Turner, before going into Formula Junior in 1960 with a Cooper-Austin. He made his Formula 1 debut the following year with an Emeryson-Climax at Solitude, and won the minor Commander York Trophy at Silverstone in the same car. For 1962, Spence entered his own Formula Junior Lotus under the wing of Ian Walker's team, with Mike preparing the car himself in the evenings after his day job was done. He had only one big win - at Reims - but scored many placings and was taken on by Lotus on a three-year contract in 1963.
The fair-haired Englishman drove in the Formula Junior team, but the car proved difficult to handle and Mike's confidence dropped. However, things gradually came round when the car was made more competitive, and he enjoyed a late-season boost when he stood in for the injured Trevor Taylor at Monza. In 1964 Mike was planning a season of Formula 2 and the occasional Grand Prix when he found himself thrust into the F1 team after Arundell's accident.
For one so inexperienced he coped well, especially as Peter had made such a big impression in his few starts. Colin Chapman had no hesitation in keeping Spence in the team with Jim Clark for 1965, and he soon repaid that faith by winning the Race of Champions and performing well on other occasions. With Arundell fit to return for 1966, Mike was out of a drive, but he bade farewell by winning the non-championship South African GP on New Year's Day, before spending the rest of the year marking time with Tim Parnell's team. Joining the works BRM line-up for 1967 was a step back up, but he was given the task of sorting the troublesome BRM H16 car and did superbly to bring it to five points finishes. He also raced the fabulous winged Chaparral with Phil Hill, which was quick but fragile, suffering repeated transmission failures, but at Brands Hatch in the BOAC 500 the car had its great day, crushing the Ferraris.
In 1968, Mike Spence had been racing for ten years; it had been a long haul to the top, but suddenly his talent had begun to flower, and he was about to take his rightful place among the very top echelon of his profession. Yet fate would decree otherwise. The shadow of Jim Clark, which had, perhaps inevitably, held him back throughout his years at Lotus, passed over him once more as he took over the late Scotsman's Lotus for the forthcoming Indianapolis 500. In qualifying everything had gone well, but when Spence took a team-mate's car out for a few shakedown laps, he lost control and crashed into the wall. The right-front wheel flew back and struck the driver's head, and poor Spence died in hospital a few hours later.
(c) 'Who is Who' by Steve Small, 2000
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