Peter Nield Whitehead (12 November 1914 – 21 September 1958) was a British racing driver. He was born in Menston, Yorkshire and was killed in an accident at Lasalle, France, during the Tour de France endurance race. A cultured, knowledgeable and well-travelled racer, he was excellent in sports cars. He won the 1938 Australian Grand Prix, which along with a 24 Heures du Mans win in 1951, probably was his finest achievement, but he also won two 12 Heures internationales de Reims events. He was a regular entrant, mostly for Peter Walker and Graham Whitehead, his half-brother. His death in 1958 ended a career that started in 1935 – however, he was lucky to survive an air crash in 1948.
Early life and pre-war racing
Yorkshireman Whitehead, coming from a wealthy background, gained from the wool industry, started racing in a Riley when he was 19. He moved up to an ERA B-Type the following season and then scored the first major result for the Alta, when he finished third in the Limerick Grand Prix, a Formula Libre race. In 1936, he shared his ERA with Peter Walker, and finished third in the Donington Grand Prix. He took the ERA to Australia in 1938 while touring on business, where he scored his first major victory, winning the 1938 Australian Grand Prix at Bathurst, as well as the inaugural Australian Hillclimb Championship. He returned in England in 1939 and gained a third place in the Nuffield Trophy.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Post-war racing career
During World War II, Whitehead was a pilot with the Royal Air Force, and he was back in competition as soon as racing was revived, taking his trusty ERA to second place in the British Empire Trophy, held at the Douglas Circuit on the Isle of Man in the summer of 1947. He also raced in the Lausanne Grand Prix, finishing sixth.[2][4][6][7]
In 1948, he survived a plane crash at Croydon Aerodrome, when he was on his way to Milano, to arrange the purchase a Ferrari 125. The accident left him badly hurt and out of racing for a year.[1][2][4][5][6]
Grand Prix racer
Peter Whitehead and his good friend and co driver Dudley Folland are notable as being the first people to whom Enzo Ferrari ever sold a Formula One car: a Ferrari 125 in 1949. Dudley Folland had the car painted green, with a red Welsh Dragon painted on the bonnet, being a proud Welshman.
Peter won the Velká cena Československa. In doing so, he became the first Englishman to win a major international motor race outside of the United Kingdom since Richard Seaman. The following season, Whitehead made his debut in the Drivers' World Championship at Monaco, but did not start. His next outing in the championship came in the Grand Prix l’A.C.F., where he came close to winning but was slowed with a gearbox problem which he dropped to third. That was to be his only podium finished in 11 championship starts between 1950 and 1954.[2][3][4][5][6][8][9]
During 1950 season, he won two minor Formula One races, the Jersey Road Race and the Ulster Trophy, but the biggest career victory came in Sports Cars. He continued to race and win in Formula Two across Europe. Later, he added victories in the 1954 Lady Wigram Trophy, in New Zealand, and repeated the feat in 1956 and 1957. He also won the 1956 Rand Grand Prix. All four of those victories, he was driving a Ferrari.[2]
1950 saw Whitehead start his first 24 Hours of Le Mans race, together with John Marshall in a Jaguar XK120. The pair finished in 15th place. He teamed up with Peter Walker to win the 1951 race, however, in a Jaguar C-Type, at an average speed of 93.112 mph (149.849 km/h).[2][3][5][10]
In 1953, Whitehead decided to concentrate on sports cars, and in July, he saw more success sharing a Jaguar C-Type with Stirling Moss in the 12 Heures Internationales de Reims. He returned again in 1954, in a full works supported Jaguar D-Type to win the event again partnered by Ken Wharton. Prior to that first win at Reims, he also won the Hyères 12 Hours.[2][5][6][11][12]
Later in 1954, again paired with Wharton, he was placed sixth in the RAC Tourist Trophy road race.[13][14]
Death
Whitehead's last great performance was at Le Mans in 1958 where he came second in an Aston Martin DB3S, sharing the driving with his half-brother, Graham. A couple of months later, on 21 September 1958, Peter and Graham were competing together in the Tour de France, when their Jaguar 3.4-Litre crashed off a bridge into a 30-foot (9.1 m) ravine at Lasalle, near Nîmes after overturning twice, with Graham at the wheel. Graham escaped with serious but not life-threatening injuries, but Peter was killed instantly.[2][3][4][5][15][16]
Racing record
Career highlights
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(key)
Non-Championship Formula One results
(key)
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
Complete 12 Hours of Reims results
Complete 12 Hours of Hyères results
Complete 12 Hours of Pescara results
Complete 12 Hours of Casablanca results
References
^ a b cBrown, Allen. "Peter Whitehead". Retrieved 16 November 2016.
^ a b c d e f g h i"Grandprix.com". Retrieved 16 November 2016.
^ a b c d"THE GOLDEN ERA OF GP RACING 1934-40 - DRIVERS (W)". Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
^ a b c d e"Peter Whitehead". Retrieved 16 November 2016.
^ a b c d e f"Peter Whitehead - Historical Research, in memory of David McKinney". Retrieved 16 November 2016.
^ a b c d ehttp://www.historicracing.com/driver_az/cfm?typer=drivers_alpha&tStartRow=1&AlphaIndex=W&driverID=1265[permanent dead link]
^Galpin, Darren. "1947 Grands Prix". Retrieved 16 November 2016.
^Richard Williams, “Enzo Ferrari: A Life" (Yellow Jersey Press, ISBN 0-224-05986-6, 2002)
^"Grandprix.com". Retrieved 16 November 2016.
^Two Britons Drive Record 93.112 M.P.H. For 24 Hours to Capture French Auto Race, New York Times, 25 June 1951, Page 24.
^French Auto Races To British Drivers, New York Times, 6 July 1953, Page 22.
^Article 3-No Title, New York Times, 5 July 1954, Page 15.
^"Tourist Trophy 1954 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars". Retrieved 16 November 2016.
^Laureau, in French Car, Takes Ulster Trophy, 12 September 1954, Page S9.
^"British Driver Killed On Tour in France". The New York Times. 21 September 1958. p. C2.
^The Manchester Guardian, 22 September 1958, Page 2.
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