Mike Parkes
Born | Michael Johnson Parkes 24 September 1931 Richmond, Surrey, England |
---|---|
Died | 28 August 1977 Riva presso Chieri, Italy | (aged 45)
Formula One World Championship career | |
Nationality | British |
Active years | 1959, 1966–1967 |
Teams | Fry, Ferrari |
Entries | 7 (6 starts) |
Championships | 0 |
Wins | 0 |
Podiums | 2 |
Career points | 14 |
Pole positions | 1 |
Fastest laps | 0 |
First entry | 1959 British Grand Prix |
Last entry | 1967 Belgian Grand Prix |
Michael Johnson Parkes (born 24 September 1931 in
He participated in seven Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 18 July 1959. He achieved two podiums, and scored a total of 14 championship points. He also secured one pole position. When not racing cars, Parkes worked as an automotive engineer,[3] and whilst working for the Rootes Group was involved in the project which led to production of the Hillman Imp.
Sports car career
Parkes began his racing career in the mid-1950s initially with an
In 1960 Parkes drove a
In May 1962, Mairesse and Parkes came second in the
Parkes finished a mere car length behind Graham Hill in the 28th Royal Automobile Club tourist trophy race in August 1963.[5] Umberto Maglioli and Parkes drove one of the Ferraris which claimed the top five qualifying positions for the 1964 12 Hours of Sebring. The Ferraris were equipped with new power plants. Parkes was timed at 3:10.4.[6] In the race Parkes established a speed record and completed the most miles ever for a winner.Parkes and Maglioli, finished a considerable distance ahead of the Ferrari of Ludovico Scarfiotti and Nino Vaccarella.[3] Parkes teamed with Jean Guichet in a Ferrari to capture the 1,000 kilometre Classic of
Parkes and Guichet placed 2nd to Surtees and Scarfiotti in a 620-mile race at the Nürburgring in May 1965. The winning pair led the full 44 laps. It was a 4th consecutive victory for Ferrari.[8] Dan Gurney eclipsed the time of Parkes in the sole factory Ferrari in the final practice for the 1966 12 Hours of Sebring. The blue Ford was clocked at 2:54.6, 2 seconds faster than a lap run by Parkes the previous day. In a Ferrari P3 prototype, Parkes lap was so fast that none of the time-speed conversion charts would accept it. Parkes and Bob Bondurant started 2nd after Gurney and his co-driver, Jerry Grant.[9]
Surtees and Parkes were in a Ferrari prototype in their victory in a 620-mile Monza sports car event in April 1966.[10] Chris Amon and Lorenzo Bandini were triumphant in a 100 lap, 1,000 kilometre Monza race in April 1967. They drove a four-litre Ferrari for an average speed of 122.30 m.p.h. Parkes and Scarfiotti finished second with a time of 5:10:59.2. The winning time was 5 hours seven minutes, 43 seconds. The Ferraris were in front after the Chaparrals of Phil Hill and Mike Spence had to make pit stops following the 17th and 18th laps.[11] He finished second at the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans, paired with Ludovico Scarfiotti, in a Ferrari 330P4.
After the crash at the Spa Belgian GP 1967 Parkes returned to race sport cars events in 1970, with remarkable 4th place at the Daytona 24 hours on a Ferrari 312P entered by NART (paired with Sam Posey), at Sebring 12 hours he finished 6th on the same car (together with Chuck Parsons). He continued the season racing on the Filipinetti Ferrari 512S, reaching 5th place at the Targa Florio and 4th at the Nurburgring 1000 km together with Herbert Muller.
Parkes competed in a 1,000 kilometre sports car race in Argentina in January 1971, he was just ahead of Ignazio Giunti's Ferrari 312PB when the Italian driver crashed on the Beltoise's Matra. He was paired with
Formula One career
Parkes first entered a World Championship Grand Prix at
Parkes was killed in a road accident near Turin, Italy on 28 August 1977.
Racing record
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | WDC | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1959 | David Fry | Fry (F2) | Straight-4
|
MON | 500 | NED | FRA | GBR DNQ |
GER | POR | ITA | USA | NC | 0 | ||
1966 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 312/66 | Ferrari V12 | MON | BEL | FRA 2 |
GBR | NED Ret |
GER Ret |
ITA 2 |
USA | MEX | 8th | 12 | ||
1967 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 312/66 | Ferrari V12 | RSA | MON | NED 5 |
BEL Ret |
FRA | GBR | GER | CAN | ITA | USA | MEX | 16th | 2 |
Source:[2]
|
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 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1959 | David Fry | Fry (F2) | Straight-4
|
GLV | AIN | INT | OUL | SIL 12 | |||||||||||||||
1962 | Cooper Car Company | Cooper T56 | Climax V8 | CAP | BRX | LOM | LAV | GLV | PAU | AIN | INT | NAP | MAL 4 |
CLP | RMS | SOL | KAN | MED | DAN | OUL | MEX | RAN | NAT |
1967 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 312 | Ferrari V12 | ROC | SPC | INT 1 |
SYR 1 |
OUL | ESP |
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 | DC | Pts | Class |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1960
|
Sunbeam-Talbot Ltd | Sunbeam Rapier Series III | 1001-1600cc | BRH | SNE
|
MAL | OUL | SNE
|
BRH | BRH Ret* |
BRH | NC* | 0* | ||
1961
|
Equipe Endeavour | Jaguar Mk II 3.8
|
D | SNE Ret |
GOO 1 |
AIN 4 |
SIL 2 |
CRY Ret |
SIL 1 |
BRH 1 |
OUL Ret |
SNE 1 |
2nd | 44 | 1st |
1962
|
Equipe Endeavour | Jaguar Mk II 3.8
|
D | SNE 1 |
GOO Ret |
AIN 5 |
SIL 2 |
CRY | AIN 2 |
BRH 1 |
OUL 3 |
5th | 32 | 3rd | |
Source:[17]
|
- Car over 1000cc – Not eligible for points.
Automotive engineering
Parkes worked for the Rootes Group from 1950 to 1962, initially as an apprentice. One of his roles at Rootes was as project engineer in the development of the Hillman Imp.
In 1963 Parkes joined Ferrari as development engineer for their road cars, notably the 330 GTC, and also as a GT sports car driver. Following his absence from work after his serious F1 accident, he returned to Ferrari in 1969 to find the company partly under the control of Fiat and at that point decided to work for Scuderia Filipinetti as engineer as well as driver. His departure from Ferrari was partly due to Enzo Ferrari's refusal to allow him to return to F1 after his accident, claiming that he was too valuable as an engineer.[15]
In 1974 Parkes took a job as principal development engineer for the Lancia Stratos.[18]
References
- ^ Jenkins, Richard. "The World Championship drivers – Where are they now?". OldRacingCars.com. Retrieved 29 July 2007.
- ^ ISBN 0851127029.
- ^ a b Sebring 'Crasher' Swept By Ferrari, Los Angeles Times, 22 March 1964, Page B5.
- ^ Phil Hill Wins Nürburgring, Los Angeles Times, 28 May 1962, Page B6.
- ^ Datelines in Sports, Los Angeles Times, 25 August 1963, Page K5.
- ^ Ferraris Taking Over Top 5 Sebring Spots, Los Angeles Times, 20 March 1964, Page B7
- ^ Swiss Driver Dies at Monza, Los Angeles Times, 26 April 1965, Page B3.
- ^ Ferrari Pair Wins Race Marred by Driver Death, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 1965, Page B3
- ^ Gurney Roars 107 m.p.h. in Final Tineup, Los Angeles Times, 26 March 1966, A5
- ^ Datelines:Monza, Los Angeles Times, 26 April 1966, Page B3
- ^ Ferraris Run 1-2 at Monza, Los Angeles, 26 April 1967, Page C5.
- ^ "Ferrari To Enter New Car in Argentine Race 10 Jan.", New York Times, 3 January 1971, Page S6.
- ^ "Brabham Wins Formula One Race at Rheims", Los Angeles Times, 4 July 1966, Page B6.
- ^ "English Race Driver Wins in Ferrari", Los Angeles Times, 30 April 1967, Page I8.
- ^ a b Hughes, Mark (May 1999). "Mike Parkes: the F1 driver with too many talents?". Motor Sport magazine archive. p. 76. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
- ^ "Ferrari to Enter Two Cars at Syracuse", Los Angeles Times, 17 May 1967, Page C6.
- ^ de Jong, Frank. "British Saloon Car Championship". History of Touring Car Racing 1952-1993. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
- ^ Davenport, John (March 2004). "Quantum Yump". Motor Sport magazine archive. p. 44. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
External links
- www.mikeparkes.eu This is the official biography created by Parkes' sister and brother, namely Annabel Campigotto and Johnny Parkes and includes over 150 photos.
- Mike Parkes, biography at imps4ever.info