Joe Kelly (racing driver)

Joe Kelly
	Kelly driving his Jaguar C-Type
Born	Joseph Michael Kelly; 13 March 1913; Dublin, Ireland
Died	28 November 1993 (aged 80); Neston, Cheshire, England
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Irish
Active years	1950 – 1951
Teams	privateer Alta
Entries	2
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1950 British Grand Prix
Last entry	1951 British Grand Prix

Joseph Michael Kelly (13 March 1913 – 28 November 1993) was an Irish

racing driver and businessman, who entered into the 1950 and 1951 British Grand Prix

.

Biography

Racing career

By profession Kelly was a motor dealer from Dublin and he used the profits from this business to indulge his interest in motorsport. He raced a

St. John Horsfall

in an accident during the final race.

In 1950, Kelly – using his own

naturally aspirated Bristol straight-6 engine to become the Irish Racing Automobile. He also owned and raced a Jaguar C-Type sports car which he raced in Ireland at "The Curragh", known throughout the world as the home of Irish horse racing, and could also boast of having no less than two motor racing circuits in the late 1940s and early fifties. Known as the "Short" circuit and the "Big" circuit, both played host to great entries and attracted huge crowds. The Short circuit was first used in 1947 and catered for both car and motorcycle events. It was used until the late fifties, whereas the "Big" circuit was the venue for the famous International Wakefield Trophy car races which were held annually from 1949 to 1954. At a June meeting the lap record was broken by Kelly, this time driving a Maserati. This was the first purpose-built racing car to compete at the Curragh. Up until then the entries consisted mostly of MGs and home or garage built "specials". The crowd had become a great fan of Kelly and he certainly gave them a demonstration of high speed racing that day. The record which he set that day was to remain unbroken until 1954, when he again shattered it by almost 10 mph, this time in a Ferrari sports car

.

His own full-time driving career came to an end in 1955, following a serious accident at the Oulton Park circuit. However, he did compete in some hill climbs in later life driving Porsche and Ferrari sports cars, at Wicklow in Ireland. His Jaguar C-Type is still raced in historic meetings around the world, as is his Ferrari Monza.^[1]

Business life

Kelly was first a businessman; his racing took second place to making money. His car dealing and property trading came high on his list of priorities; he owned many very famous homes during his property dealing days in the 1970s and 80's in Ireland and England. He was very well known in his native Dublin. He hit the Irish Press in the Fifties due to being the first Irishman to get a royal invitation to the first British Grand Prix at Silverstone.^{[citation needed]} Following his withdrawal from racing, Kelly concentrated on his business interests, which included the Irish Ferrari concession.

Collections and later life

After 1955 and the crash at Oulton Park, Kelly worked on building up car showrooms in England, then in 1969 sold them all and decided to move back to Athy, Ireland. This is where he started his property portfolio which resulted in Kelly owning some of the most impressive estates in the country, including Old Conna Hill near Dublin.^{[citation needed]}

In the late 1970s and 80s Kelly started a collection of rare and expensive cars which included Lamborghini, Ferrari and Rolls-Royce.^{[citation needed]}

Whilst he spent most of his life in Ireland, Kelly died in

Neston, Cheshire, England.^[2]

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	WDC	Points
1950	Joe Kelly	GP	L4 s	GBR NC	MON	500	SUI	BEL	FRA	ITA		NC	0
1951	Joe Kelly	GP	L4 s	SUI	500	BEL	FRA	GBR NC	GER	ITA	ESP	NC	0

References

^ "Driver: Kelly, Joe". Autocourse Grand Prix Archive. Archived from the original on 21 December 2007. Retrieved 16 March 2008.
^ "Drivers: Joe Kelly". Grandprix.com GP Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16 March 2008.

External links

[agpa-1] "Driver: Kelly, Joe". Autocourse Grand Prix Archive. Archived from the original on 21 December 2007. Retrieved 16 March 2008.

[gpe-2] "Drivers: Joe Kelly". Grandprix.com GP Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16 March 2008.

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