Chris Amon

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Chris Amon
Shelby-American Inc.
  • Ferrari
  • Equipe Matra-Simca
  • BMW
  • Best finish1st (1966)
    Class wins1 (1966)

    Christopher Arthur Amon

    motor racing driver. He was active in Formula One racing in the 1960s and 1970s, and is widely regarded as one of the best F1 drivers never to win a championship Grand Prix. His reputation for bad luck was such that fellow driver Mario Andretti once joked that "if he became an undertaker, people would stop dying".[1] Former Ferrari Technical Director Mauro Forghieri stated that Amon was "by far the best test driver I have ever worked with. He had all the qualities to be a World Champion but bad luck just wouldn't let him be".[2]

    Apart from driving, Chris Amon also ran his own Formula One team for a short period in 1974. Away from Formula One, Amon had some success in sports car racing, teaming with co-driver Bruce McLaren to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 1966.[1]

    Early life

    Amon was born in

    hillclimbs along with practice on the family farm.[4] He progressed to a 1.5-litre Cooper and then an old 2.5-litre Maserati 250F, but only began to draw attention when he drove the Cooper-Climax T51 which Bruce McLaren had used to win his maiden Grand Prix.[5]

    In 1962 Amon entered the Cooper for the New Zealand winter series, but was hampered by mechanical problems. However, Scuderia Veloce entered him in a similar car, and, in the rain at Lakeside, he performed well. One of the spectators there was the English racing driver Reg Parnell who persuaded Amon to come to England and race for his team.[3] In a test at Goodwood Amon continued to impress and was on the pace in the Goodwood International Trophy and Aintree 200 pre-season races.[5]

    Racing career

    1960s

    1963

    For the 1963 Formula One season the Parnell team were using the year old Lola Mk4A, powered by 1962 specification Climax V8 engines. Amon was teamed with the very experienced Maurice Trintignant for the first race of the season at Monaco and his Grand Prix career started with what was to become typical bad luck: Trintignant's Climax developed a misfire, so he took over Amon's car.

    At the 1963 Belgian Grand Prix, Amon was partnered by Lucien Bianchi and started ahead of him from 15th position. After nine laps, however, an oil fire ended his race. He continued to experience mechanical problems at the Dutch, Mexican and German Grands Prix; and after an accident in practice for the Italian Grand Prix left him hanging out of his car's cockpit with three broken ribs, he missed both the Italian and United States rounds.

    Amon usually qualified in the midfield and generally outpaced his teammates, who included his good friend Mike Hailwood. His best results of the year were seventh at the French and British Grands Prix. During this time, however, Amon's social life was attracting as much attention as his driving. He was a member of the Ditton Road Flyers, the social set named after the road in London where Amon shared an apartment with American Peter Revson, Hailwood and Tony Maggs.[6]

    Parnell was nonetheless impressed with Amon's results in what was regarded as less-than-competitive machinery and promoted him to team leader. Parnell died from peritonitis in January 1964 and his son Tim took over the team.

    1964

    In a series of four pre-season races in Britain and Italy, Amon recorded three fifth places at

    Snetterton, Silverstone and Syracuse. He failed to qualify for the first F1 race of the season, the Monaco GP, but at the next race, the Dutch GP
    , he scored his first World Championship points. The rest of his season, however, was blighted by mechanical problems.

    1965

    Parnell was offered

    BRM engines for 1965, but only if it ran Richard Attwood as its regular driver. Reluctantly, Parnell agreed and Attwood took Amon's place. Spotting an opportunity, Bruce McLaren quickly signed Amon for his new McLaren
    team, but when no second McLaren F1 car materialised, Amon could only drive in sports car races.

    At the French GP Amon rejoined Parnell to stand in for an injured Attwood. Amon also competed in a Formula Two race in Stuttgart and won.[7] He returned to Germany for the German GP as second Parnell driver, but mechanical failure again forced an early retirement. His last drive before Attwood's return, a non-championship race in Enna, Sicily, also ended in retirement.

    1966

    During 1966 Amon continued to race for McLaren in Can-Am. He was intended to drive the second McLaren M2B but difficulties with engine supply meant that the team never made the intended expansion to two cars. (James Garner's character Pete Aron's helmet and car livery in the film Grand Prix were modelled on Amon driving a McLaren, which caused the movie makers to have to encourage other cars to be painted in the 'Yamura' colours and other drivers (Bruce McLaren included) to wear Amon-style helmets.)

    However, an opportunity arose to drive for the

    Honda. Amon drove for Cooper at the French GP and was scheduled to drive for them for the rest of the season, until the more successful John Surtees left Scuderia Ferrari
    to join Cooper and Amon found himself dropped.

    Amon made one other F1 appearance during the year, driving a Brabham BT11 powered by an old 2-litre BRM engine at the Italian GP under the banner of "Chris Amon Racing". He failed to qualify.

    Amon did however, score his biggest success to date when he partnered Bruce McLaren in a 7-litre Ford GT40 Mark II and Ken Miles to Ford's dead-heat "photo-finish" after Miles was instructed to slow down despite leading at the Le Mans 24-hour race,[8] spearheading a formation finish.[4] He subsequently received an invitation to meet Enzo Ferrari at the Ferrari home in Maranello, where he signed to race for Ferrari in 1967 alongside Lorenzo Bandini, Mike Parkes and Ludovico Scarfiotti.[3]

    1967

    Amon's first year with Ferrari did not begin auspiciously. En route to Brands Hatch for the pre-season Formula One Race of Champions, he crashed his road car and, following race practice, had to withdraw. Tragedy then struck the Ferrari team when Bandini died following a crash during the 1967 Monaco Grand Prix, Mike Parkes broke both his legs at the Belgian Grand Prix and, in the aftermath, Ludovico Scarfiotti went into temporary retirement. Amon, therefore, became Ferrari's only driver for the rest of the season, until joined by Jonathan Williams for the final race in Mexico. Amon scored his first podium in his first official outing for the Scuderia in Monaco and at the end of 1967 had achieved four third places finishing fifth in the Drivers' Championship, in what was going to be the most successful season of his career.

    Amon's Ferrari contract also included sports car racing and he began 1967 by winning the

    Ferrari 330-P4.[3] He finished the year partnering Jackie Stewart to a second place at the BOAC 500, thereby clinching the manufacturer's world championship for Ferrari by one point over Porsche
    .

    1968

    Amon driving for Ferrari in the 1968 Dutch Grand Prix

    1968 was the year

    aerofoils on the Ferrari 312.[10]

    In January 1968 Amon had returned home to New Zealand and Australia to compete in the

    Dino 246 Tasmania was better handling than Clark's Lotus 49T which was still wingless and a difficult proposition. Impressed by Amon's driving in the NZ rounds, Ferrari dispatched a new four-valve version of the 2.4 V6 for the Australian rounds and this gave another 15 hp,[12] but with lesser reliability which, combined with the fact Clark was the best driver in the world at the time, cost Amon the series, although in the final round at Sandown Park he duelled wheel to wheel with Clark before being pipped at the line.[13]

    After the first race of the F1 season in

    transmission failed and a distraught Amon had to be consoled by Jacky Ickx. From at least ten promising starts that season he was only able to finish five races and score ten Championship points. His best finish was second place to Siffert's Lotus-Cosworth at the British Grand Prix
    .

    Outside F1, Amon was runner-up in the

    Dino 166 F2. He also came third in that year's BRDC International Trophy
    .

    1969

    Amon in the 3.0L Ferrari 312P during the 1969 Nürburgring 1000 km.

    Amon began 1969 with success driving the Dino engined

    flat-12
    engine would become one of the best Formula One engines of the 1970s. Jacky Ickx, Amon's old teammate did return to Ferrari for 1970, after a successful sabbatical with Brabham gained Ickx second in the 1969 World Championship. Ickx saw Enzo Ferrari had secured huge backing from Fiat who had taken partial ownership of the Marque, and believed Ferrari would be a renewed team and an effective proposition. Amon was more influenced by views of Jackie Stewart and Jochen Rindt, who believed it was essential to be Ford DFV-powered to be competitive.

    In addition to Formula One, Amon also drove for Ferrari in the

    Ferrari 312P
    sportscar. He also drove in a few Can-Am races. His last race for Ferrari would be the 1970 1000 km Monza, where he finished as runner-up.

    1970s

    1970

    For the

    IndyCar driver Mario Andretti making an occasional appearance in a third car. March also sold their 701 chassis to Tyrrell, where Jackie Stewart drove it to its first victory in that year's Spanish GP
    .

    Amon won the pre-season

    Ford-Cosworth DFV engine to expire within ten laps. He qualified and ran second in the 1970 Monaco Grand Prix until his suspension failed twenty laps from the finish. This was the race where Amon refused to drive unless his entry number was changed from 18 – the number under which his then teammate Lorenzo Bandini had crashed and died in Monaco – to 28.[citation needed
    ]

    Amon's close second place from a third-place start at the 1970 Belgian Grand Prix finally gave the March works team their first points finish. At that race, Amon set fastest lap at over 152 miles per hour, a lap record which still stands as of 2016, as it was the last race on the full-length Spa-Francorchamps circuit.[17] However, after qualifying fourth for the next race, the Dutch Grand Prix, his car's clutch broke after just one lap. Amon duplicated his Belgian result at the 1970 French Grand Prix,.[18] After a disappointing performance in the British GP at Brands Hatch where Amon finished fifth after being outqualified by tyro Ronnie Peterson in a private 701 on the same tyres, conflict with team boss Max Mosley over the non-delivery of three-quarters of Amon's expected pay for the season saw him provided with inferior DFVs and two backmarker 7th places in Austria and Italy, Amon finished the season strongly with strong drives to third at Mosport, fifth at Watkins Glen and fourth in Mexico. At Watkins Glen in the USGP he was robbed of a probably certain victory, in the opinion of March designer Robin Herd, by a puncture.[19]

    By the end of the year, disagreements with March co-founders Mosley and Robin Herd meant that Amon had decided to move to another relatively new team, Matra.

    1971

    Amon at the 1970 Dutch Grand Prix
    Chris Amon's Matra MS120 racing car, used in the 1971 Argentine Grand Prix

    In 1971, Amon, now driving for the Matra factory team, once again scored a pre-season victory, this time at the Argentine Grand Prix. Once the Formula One season had begun, he managed to convert a third-place start at the Spanish GP into a third-place podium finish and scored a couple of fifth places in the South African and French GPs. Apart from these results, however, his run of poor F1 returns continued. He had a major accident at the Nürburgring and it sidelined him for the next race at the Österreichring. At the Italian GP he qualified in pole position and despite a poor start to the race looked as if he would capitalise on it – until the visor on his helmet became detached. Amon had to slow to avoid risking a major accident, thereby allowing other drivers to catch and overtake him. He finished the race in sixth place, scoring just one Championship point.

    During the year Amon also competed in the non-championship

    Questor Grand Prix at the new Ontario Motor Speedway
    , where he qualified second and, despite suffering a puncture during the race, managed to finish fourth.

    In the Tasman Series Amon started from fourth at the Levin Circuit and in the race, he battled with David Oxton and John Cannon but managed to finish third. Amon's third race at Wigram Airfield starting fifth and spun at the start to drop him to the back of the field but managed to climb up to fifth.[20]

    1972

    In the

    the circuit
    's lap record to finish third.

    With the money he had made from motorsport, Amon decided to set up a racing engine firm with former BRM engineer Aubrey Woods. Amon Racing Engines supplied Formula 2 engines to a few drivers, but the company quickly became too expensive to run and was sold to March for a loss.

    Matra decided to end their participation in Formula One at the end of 1972, so Amon found himself looking to return to March as a driver. The place, however, was given to Jean-Pierre Jarier, purportedly for financial reasons.[citation needed] Amon therefore signed for another recently formed F1 team, Tecno.

    1973

    Tecno had entered F1 the previous year, having been a successful chassis-builder for other Formulæ and had developed a potentially powerful Flat 12 for F1. Their first year in F1 proved to be dismal, however with considerable backing from Martini Rossi they had jumped at the chance to sign Amon,[21] and allocate David Yorke the former Vanwall and Gulf GT40 Team Manager to run the team and commission two new chassis designs by former Lotus and McLaren mechanic. Alan McCall who had worked on Clark and Hulme's F1 cars and unproven, British designer Gordon Fowell for a more radical back up design, in the hope he would help transform their performance. While McCalls car was built rapidly, testing it was more time-consuming and after its non-appearance, for the Spanish GP, Amon and team manager David Yorke met with Enzo Ferrari to see if Amon could be released from his contract to develop the new Ferrari B3 for Ickx and Mezarrio, in a supposedly one off GP drive[22] at Monaco. Yorke rejected the release, and Amon admits he would not have left Ferrari if offered the drive for a season.

    Chris Amon won the 1973 Nürburgring 6-hour race, sharing a works BMW 3.0 CSL with Hans-Joachim Stuck

    Unfortunately, the team went from bad to worse and wasn't able to field the Tecno PA123/6 until the fifth GP of the season, the Belgian GP. Amon managed to finish in sixth position. At Monaco the car qualified a useful 12th and chassis felt good[23] but Chris was unhappy with the car. He decided to concentrate on the undeveloped Gordon Fowell Goral car. This was against the view of the Techno team and the Pederanzi engine builders and Martini Rossi who required the car and driver to appear at races[24] Amon commented at the time that it was "the best chassis I've ever sat in", it too proved virtually undriveable. Amon refused to drive the McCall, Techno in the Swedish or German Gps[25] and withdrew from the Austrian GP after qualifying. By the time of the Austrian GP, four races from the end of the season, Amon's patience had run out and he left the team. He would later claim that the months he spent with the team "felt like ten [seasons]".

    Tyrrell offered Amon a third car – the 005 – in which to drive the last two races of the season. After a mediocre first outing at the Canadian GP, he and Jackie Stewart withdrew from the final race of the year, the United States GP, following the death of their teammate François Cevert during qualifying.

    1974

    Amon AF101
    at the NZ Festival of Motor Racing 2011

    For the

    torsion bars and a forward driving position. Structurally, however, it proved to be weak and was not ready for an F1 appearance until the fourth race of the season, the Spanish GP. Amon was only able to qualify 23rd, thanks to brake-disc vibration that only became worse with the tyres for the wet race that followed. Despite cautious driving, a brake shaft
    finally broke and Amon was forced to retire after 22 laps.

    Following further work and testing, Amon returned for the Monaco GP and qualified twentieth, but, thanks to mechanical problems, he was unable to start the race. Further problems and illness meant Amon was not able to reappear with the F101 until the Italian GP, three races from the end of the season, but this time he was unable to qualify. That sealed the fate of both the car and Chris Amon Racing, leaving Amon to drive the season's last two races with the faltering BRM team. He would later reveal that he had turned down a chance to join the Brabham team earlier in the season.

    1975

    Amon contested the 1975 F5000 Tasman series against only local Australasian drivers, although Graham McRae, Warwick Brown and Kevin Bartlett were acknowledged internationally. Amon qualified on the front row of three of the four New Zealand rounds and scored a victory at Teretonga in January 1975 in rainy conditions by 24.2 seconds. In the Australian rounds, the competition was always harder with more good cars and the locals on their own tracks. Amon had a frustrating series of races unable to pass, South Australian Johnnie Walker, in a superior Lola T332 chassis with Repco-engineered V8. At Surfers Paradise, running from the back of the grid he managed to eventually pass Walker by widening the braking zone in the only corner where overtaking was usually possible. Amon brushed the edge of the track on repeated laps, got extra grip and passed Walker to take the lead. He had been forced to miss most of the practice session, when Customs seized his car's gearbox. In the race, the brilliant effort went for nothing as the Chev engine blew.[26] At Oran Park and Adelaide he followed Walker the whole way to 4th and 3rd unable to pass. In the final deciding race for the Tasman Series with Brown, Walker and Lawrence still in contention, Walker lost his T332 on the first lap and it demolished on wooden barriers surrounding Sandown's car and horse racing tracks. Amon was never in contention and finished 4th. Amon intended to compete in F5000 in both Europe and the US in 1975 but started in only one round of both series, managing a pole in one Shellsport round in the UK and a 4th place overall at the Long Beach GP in a two heat race. He used different Talon F5000 cars for both races. The speed he showed in qualifying for a couple of UK F5000 races encouraged the small Ensign team to give him a race. Mo Nunn the Ensign team owner had been a Lotus F3 driver in 1966 and the Dave Baldwin designed chassis was in many ways a lightweight Lotus F1, which Ronnie Peterson wanted to test in 1975 out of frustration with his old 72 and which could have been used by Colin Chapman had he not decided to concentrate on developing chassis which would use ground effect technology, the Lotus 77 design for 1976 which was in many ways a test vehicle for the development of concepts, including the de facto legalisation of technology like plastic sliding skirts, introduced on Andretti's 77 from the 1976 Canadian Grand Prix, that would be used in future Lotus wing cars the Lotus 78 and Lotus 79.

    Apart from these successes, Amon's racing career seemed once again to have stalled. Apparently a chance meeting with Mo Nunn of Ensign Racing led to the Ensign drive, but in fact Mo Nunn thought his new

    N176 ran at Jarama the following year, but the flash of testing and driving genius was enough to give Amon another chance. Although the results were unremarkable, he and Nunn worked well together, so Amon joined Ensign for the 1976 F1 season
    .

    1976

    Amon driving for Ensign at the 1976 British Grand Prix.

    Ensign's first race of the season was the

    suspension
    failure threw him from the track after 38 laps.

    Amon had again been lucky to escape serious injury and decided to miss the next race, the French GP. He returned for the British GP, qualifying in sixth and running fourth in the race when his Ford-Cosworth DFV engine developed a water leak. Rather than risk losing an engine, his team called him in to retire.

    At the German GP problems dogged his attempts to qualify well, but it was Niki Lauda's crash during the second lap of the race that had a far greater impact. Amon refused to restart the race and Nunn fired him from the team. Amon declared his retirement from the sport and returned to New Zealand.

    "I'd seen too many people fried in racing cars at that stage. When you've driven past Bandini, Schlesser, Courage and Williamson, another shunt like that was simply too much. It was a personal decision..."
    (Amon, on his retirement in 1976)

    Wolf–Williams team in the North American races near the end of the season. After recording some promising times in preparation for the Canadian GP, however, Amon was involved in a heavy collision with another car during qualifying and once again was lucky to walk away unharmed. He then did not take part in either the Canadian or United States
    Grands Prix.

    1977

    Amon turned down an offer of a full-time F1 drive for 1977, but did attempt a return to Can-Am racing in 1977 with a Wolf-Dallara WD1. However, after only one race he quit, saying "I'm just not enjoying this anymore". His place was taken by the young and then unknown Canadian Gilles Villeneuve, whom Amon would, later that year, recommend to Enzo Ferrari.

    In the meantime, Amon returned once again to New Zealand, this time to retire from F1 motor racing for good.

    2000s

    2003
    Chris Amon and Murray Walker, Dunlop Targa NZ 2003

    Amon came out of retirement for a one-off appearance in the 2003 Dunlop Targa New Zealand with motorsport commentator Murray Walker as his navigator.[28] The pair completed the week-long Auckland to Wellington Tarmac Rally in a Toyota Camry Sportivo, the same car previously used by Walker and Colin Bond in Australia's Targa Tasmania.

    Retirement

    After his retirement from F1, Amon dedicated himself to running the family farm in New Zealand's Manawatū District for many years.[29] After retiring from farming, he lived in Taupō in New Zealand's North Island. In the early 1980s he became more well known in New Zealand from test-driving vehicles on the TV motoring series Motor Show and later consulted for Toyota New Zealand, tuning the 1984 Toyota Corolla and subsequent cars for sale there. He also appeared in TV commercials for the company, where much was made of the acclaim he won from Enzo Ferrari. Amon participated in the 2004 EnergyWise Rally where he won ahead of Brian Cowan. Amon drove a Toyota Prius for the event.[30]

    In the

    Member of the Order of the British Empire, for services to motor sport.[31]

    Amon was involved in the design of the upgraded

    Taupo Motorsport Park circuit, used for the New Zealand round of the 2006–07 A1 Grand Prix season in January 2007. At the New Zealand Festival of Motor Racing in 2011, Amon's life and career were honoured with a selection of his cars being driven and also used the event to raise funds for the Bruce McLaren trust.[32] Amon was also honoured at the festival in January 2013.[33]

    Death

    Amon died in Rotorua Hospital on 3 August 2016, aged 73, of cancer.[3] He was survived by his wife (they married in 1977) their three children and their grandchildren.[34] One of his sons, James, is a qualified High Performance personal trainer. He trained Central Districts Stags cricket team,[35][36] and was revealed to be Brendon Hartley's personal trainer.[37]

    Legacy

    Despite never winning a championship Formula One Grand Prix, Amon won eight non-championship GPs, the Silverstone International Trophy, the 1000 km Monza, the

    Daytona 24 Hours, the Tasman Series and, perhaps most significant of all, the famous 24 Heures du Mans (alongside Bruce McLaren). These races included many of Amon's otherwise more successful fellow Formula One drivers. Amon also remains the only driver from New Zealand and Oceania to have raced for Scuderia Ferrari
    in Formula One.

    In Formula One, Chris Amon took part in 96 Grands Prix, achieving 5 poles, leading 183 laps in 7 races, reaching the podium 11 times and scoring a total of 83 Championship points. Amon holds the record for the most different makes of car raced by a Formula 1 World Championship driver, with thirteen.[38] A biography Forza Amon by journalist Eoin Young charts Amon's racing career and gives some insights into his personal life. The book makes clear one point on which Amon himself disagrees with most commentators, the issue of his bad luck. Amon has pointed out on several occasions that he competed for a decade and a half in Formula One and survived some serious accidents, notably in 1976, whilst others, including friends like Bruce McLaren, suffered serious injury and death. In 2008, motorsport journalist Alan Henry rated Chris Amon as his 13th greatest driver.[39]

    Reflecting on the 1968 racing death of Jim Clark, Amon said: "If this can happen to Jimmy, what chance do the rest of us have? I think we all felt that. It seemed like we'd lost our leader."[40][41] In 1995, Amon was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame.[3]

    Amon's name has been given to the

    Manfeild Autocourse in Feilding, Manawatū
    .

    Racing record

    Career summary

    Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
    1963 Formula One Reg Parnell Racing 6 0 0 0 0 0 NC
    Australian Drivers' Championship Scuderia Veloce 3 0 0 0 0 0 NC†
    British Saloon Car Championship Sunbeam Talbot Ltd. 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
    British Saloon Car Championship – Class B 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
    1964 Formula One Reg Parnell Racing 8 0 0 0 0 2 16th
    Tasman Series 4 0 0 0 0 0 NC
    Trophées de France Midland Racing Partnership 2 0 0 0 0 2 18th
    24 Hours of Le Mans Briggs S. Cunningham 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DSQ
    1965 British Formula Two Ian Raby Racing 8 0 0 0 0 0 NC
    Midland Racing Partnership
    Formula One Reg Parnell Racing 2 0 0 0 0 N/A NC
    24 Hours of Le Mans Shelby-American Inc. 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
    1966 Can-Am Bruce McLaren Motor Racing 6 0 0 1 2 10 6th
    British Sports Car Championship 4 0 0 1 3 0 NC
    Formula One Cooper Car Company 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
    Chris Amon Racing 1 0 0 0 0
    24 Hours of Le Mans Shelby-American Inc. 1 1 0 0 1 N/A 1st
    1967 Formula One Scuderia Ferrari 10 0 0 0 4 20 5th
    World Sportscar Championship 3 2 ? ? 2 N/A NC
    Can-Am North American Racing Team 3 0 0 0 0 2 12th
    Bill Harrah
    24 Hours of Le Mans Scuderia Ferrari 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
    24 Hours of Daytona 1 1 ? ? 1 N/A 1st
    1968 Formula One Scuderia Ferrari 11 0 3 0 1 10 10th
    Tasman Series Chris Amon 8 2 1 5 4 36 2nd
    European Formula Two Scuderia Ferrari 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC
    Can-Am Modern Classic Motors 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
    1969 Can-Am Chris Amon 8 0 0 1 3 39 6th
    McLaren Cars
    Formula 1 Enterprises
    Tasman Series Scuderia Veloce 7 4 2 3 6 44 1st
    Formula One Scuderia Ferrari 6 0 0 0 1 4 12th
    24 Hours of Le Mans 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
    1970 Formula One March Engineering 13 0 0 1 3 23 8th
    Can-Am 3 0 0 0 0 28 11th
    1971 Formula One Equipe Matra Sports 10 0 1 0 1 9 11th
    Tasman Series STP Corporation 5 0 0 0 2 15 5th
    24 Hours of Le Mans Equipe Matra-Simca 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
    1972 Formula One Equipe Matra 11 0 1 2 1 12 10th
    24 Hours of Le Mans Equipe Matra-Simca Shell 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
    1973 European Touring Car Championship – Division 2 BMW Motorsport 5 1 2 2 2 32 7th
    European Touring Car Championship 2 1 ? ? 2 32 7th
    British Saloon Car Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 NC
    British Saloon Car Championship – Class D 0 0 0 0 0 0 NC
    Formula One Martini Racing Team 4 0 0 0 0 1 21st
    Elf Team Tyrrell 1 0 0 0 0
    24 Hours of Le Mans BMW Motorsport 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
    1974 Formula One Team BRM 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC
    Chris Amon Racing 1 0 0 0 0
    1975 Tasman Series McCormack Racing 8 1 0 1 1 17 5th
    Formula One HB Bewaking Team Ensign 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC
    SCCA/USAC Formula 5000 McCormack Racing 1 0 0 0 0 12 13th
    1976 Formula One Team Ensign 7 0 0 0 0 2 18th
    Walter Wolf Racing 0 0 0 0 0

    As Amon was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points.

    Formula One World Championship results

    (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

    Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 WDC Pts
    1963 Reg Parnell Racing Lola Mk4A Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 MON
    DNS
    BEL
    Ret
    NED
    Ret
    FRA
    7
    GBR
    7
    GER
    Ret
    ITA
    DNS
    USA NC 0
    Lotus 24 BRM P56 1.5 V8 MEX
    Ret
    RSA
    1964 Reg Parnell Racing Lotus 25 BRM P56 1.5 V8 MON
    DNQ
    NED
    5
    BEL
    Ret
    FRA
    10
    GBR
    Ret
    GER
    11
    USA
    Ret
    MEX
    Ret
    16th 2
    Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 AUT
    Ret
    ITA
    1965 Reg Parnell Racing Lotus 25 BRM P56 1.5 V8 RSA MON BEL FRA
    Ret
    GER
    Ret
    ITA USA MEX NC 0
    Ian Raby Racing Brabham BT3 GBR
    DNS
    NED
    1966 Bruce McLaren Motor Racing McLaren M2B Ford 406 3.0 V8 MON
    DNA
    BEL
    DNA
    GBR
    DNA
    NED
    DNA
    NC 0
    Cooper Car Company Cooper T81 Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12 FRA
    8
    GER
    Chris Amon Racing Brabham BT11 BRM P60 1.9 V8 ITA
    DNQ
    USA MEX
    1967 Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 312/67 Ferrari 242 3.0 V12 RSA MON
    3
    NED
    4
    BEL
    3
    FRA
    Ret
    GBR
    3
    GER
    3
    CAN
    6
    ITA
    7
    USA
    Ret
    MEX
    9
    5th 20
    1968 Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 312/67 Ferrari 242 3.0 V12 RSA
    4
    10th 10
    Ferrari 312/67/68 ESP
    Ret
    MON BEL
    Ret
    Ferrari 312/68 Ferrari 242C 3.0 V12 NED
    6
    FRA
    10
    GBR
    2
    GER
    Ret
    ITA
    Ret
    CAN
    Ret
    USA
    Ret
    MEX
    Ret
    1969 Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 312/69 Ferrari 255C 3.0 V12 RSA
    Ret
    ESP
    Ret
    MON
    Ret
    NED
    3
    FRA
    Ret
    GBR
    Ret
    GER ITA CAN USA MEX 12th 4
    1970 March Engineering March 701 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 RSA
    Ret
    ESP
    Ret
    MON
    Ret
    BEL
    2
    NED
    Ret
    FRA
    2
    GBR
    5
    GER
    Ret
    AUT
    8
    ITA
    7
    CAN
    3
    USA
    5
    MEX
    4
    8th 23
    1971 Équipe Matra Sports Matra MS120B Matra MS71 3.0 V12 RSA
    5
    ESP
    3
    MON
    Ret
    NED
    Ret
    FRA
    5
    GBR
    Ret
    GER
    Ret
    AUT ITA
    6
    CAN
    10
    USA
    12
    11th 9
    1972 Équipe Matra Matra MS120C Matra MS72 3.0 V12 ARG
    DNS
    RSA
    15
    ESP
    Ret
    MON
    6
    BEL
    6
    GBR
    4
    10th 12
    Matra MS120D FRA
    3
    GER
    15
    AUT
    5
    ITA
    Ret
    CAN
    6
    USA
    15
    1973 Martini Racing Team Tecno PA123B
    F12
    ARG BRA RSA ESP BEL
    6
    MON
    Ret
    SWE FRA GBR
    Ret
    NED
    Ret
    GER AUT
    DNS
    ITA 21st 1
    Elf Team Tyrrell Tyrrell 005 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 CAN
    10
    USA
    DNS
    1974
    Chris Amon Racing
    AF101
    Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ARG BRA RSA ESP
    Ret
    BEL MON
    DNS
    SWE NED FRA GBR GER
    DNQ
    AUT ITA
    DNQ
    NC 0
    Team BRM BRM P201
    BRM P200 3.0 V12
    CAN
    NC
    USA
    9
    1975
    HB Bewaking Team Ensign
    N175
    Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ARG BRA RSA ESP MON BEL SWE NED FRA GBR GER AUT
    12
    ITA
    12
    USA NC 0
    1976
    Team Ensign
    N174
    Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 BRA RSA
    14
    USW

    8
    ESP
    5
    18th 2
    N176
    BEL
    Ret
    MON
    13
    SWE
    Ret
    FRA GBR
    Ret
    GER
    Ret
    AUT NED ITA
    Walter Wolf Racing
    FW05
    CAN
    DNS
    USA JPN
    Source:[42]

    Non-Championship Formula One results

    (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

    Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
    1963 Reg Parnell Racing Lola Mk4A Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 LOM GLV
    5
    PAU IMO SYR AIN
    6
    INT
    Ret
    ROM SOL
    Ret
    KAN
    DNA
    MED AUT
    4
    OUL RAN
    1964 Reg Parnell Racing Lotus 25 BRM P56 1.5 V8 DMT
    5
    NWT SYR
    5
    AIN
    Ret
    INT
    5
    SOL
    Ret
    MED
    4
    RAN
    1965 Scuderia Centro Sud BRM P57 BRM P56 1.5 V8 ROC SYR SMT INT
    Ret
    Reg Parnell Racing Lotus 25 MED
    Ret
    RAN
    1967 Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 312/66 Ferrari 218 3.0 V12 ROC
    DNS
    SPC INT SYR OUL ESP
    1968 Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 312/67 Ferrari 242 3.0 V12 ROC
    4
    INT
    3
    Ferrari 312/68 Ferrari 242C 3.0 V12 OUL
    2
    1969 Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 312/69 Ferrari 255C 3.0 V12 ROC INT
    10
    MAD OUL
    1970 March Engineering March 701 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ROC
    Ret
    INT
    1
    OUL
    1971 Équipe Matra Sports Matra MS120 Matra MS71 3.0 V12 ARG
    1
    ROC
    Matra MS120B QUE
    4
    SPR INT
    12
    RIN OUL VIC
    1972 Frank Williams Racing Cars
    FX3
    Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ROC BRA INT OUL REP VIC
    Ret
    1974
    Chris Amon Racing
    AF101
    Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8
    PRE
    ROC INT
    DNS
    1975
    HB Bewaking Team Ensign
    N175
    Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ROC INT SUI
    9
    1976
    Team Ensign
    N174
    Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ROC
    5
    INT
    DNS
    Source:[43]

    Complete Tasman Series results

    (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

    Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rank Pts
    1964 Reg Parnell Racing Lola Mk4A Climax FPF 2.5 L4 LEV
    Ret
    PUK
    Ret
    WIG
    Ret
    TER
    Ret
    SAN WAR LAK LON NC 0
    1968 Chris Amon
    Dino 246 Tasmania
    Ferrari 2.4 V6 PUK
    1
    LEV
    1
    WIG
    2
    TER
    4
    SUR
    Ret
    WAR
    4
    SAN
    2
    LON
    7
    2nd 36
    1969 Scuderia Veloce
    Dino 246 Tasmania
    Ferrari 2.4 V6 PUK
    1
    LEV
    1
    WIG
    3
    TER
    3
    LAK
    1
    WAR
    Ret
    SAN
    1
    1st 44
    1971
    STP Corporation
    March 701 Ford Cosworth DFW 2.5 V8 LEV
    3
    WIG
    5
    TER 5th 15
    Lotus 70 PUK
    9
    WAR
    2
    SAN
    4
    SUR
    1975 McCormack Racing
    Talon MR1
    Chevrolet 5.0 V8 LEV
    Ret
    PUK
    7
    WIG
    Ret
    TER
    1
    WAR
    4
    SUR
    Ret
    AIR
    4
    SAN
    5
    5th 17
    Source:[43]

    Complete British Saloon Car Championship results

    (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

    Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pos. Pts Class
    1963
    Sunbeam-Talbot Ltd
    Sunbeam Rapier Series IIIA
    B
    SNE
    OUL GOO AIN SIL
    ?
    CRY SIL BRH BRH OUL SIL NC 0 NC
    1973
    BMW Motorsport
    BMW 3.0 CSL
    D BRH SIL THR THR SIL ING BRH SIL
    DNS
    BRH NC 0 NC
    Source:[44]

    Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

    Year Team Co-drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
    pos.
    1964 United States Briggs S. Cunningham Germany Jochen Neerpasch Shelby Cobra Daytona-Ford GT +3.0 131 DSQ DSQ
    1965
    Shelby-American Inc.
    United States Phil Hill Ford GT40 Mk.II P +5.0 89 DNF DNF
    1966
    Shelby-American Inc.
    New Zealand Bruce McLaren Ford GT40 Mk.II P +5.0 360 1st 1st
    1967 Italy SpA Ferrari SEFAC Italy Nino Vaccarella Ferrari 330 P3 Spyder P +5.0 105 DNF DNF
    1969 Italy SpA Ferrari SEFAC Switzerland Peter Schetty
    Ferrari 312P
    Coupe
    P 3.0 0 DNF DNF
    1971 France Equipe Matra-Simca France Jean-Pierre Beltoise Matra-Simca MS660 P 3.0 DNF DNF
    1972
    Shell
    France Jean-Pierre Beltoise Matra-Simca MS670 S 3.0 1 DNF DNF
    1973 Germany BMW Motorsport Germany Hans-Joachim Stuck
    BMW 3.0CSL
    T 5.0 160 DNF DNF
    Source:[45]

    References

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    External links