That Was The Week That Was – Anniversaries and Milestones From Motorsport’s Past

December 19

2002: 1990s British Touring Car Championship favourite Will Hoy succumbed to a brain tumour, aged just 50. The former Clubmans Champion and World Sportscar Championship racer won the BTCC title in a BMW M3 in 1991, the first year of the Supertouring era. He also won races for Toyota, Renault and Ford, taking his career tally to nine wins. 

December 20

1961: Motorcycle superhero and Goodwood convert Freddie Spencer was born. American ‘Fast Freddie’ won the 500cc World Championship for Honda in 1983 and two years later became the only man to win the 500cc and 250cc titles in the same year. He won seven races in the 250cc class and 20 top-class Grands Prix during a stellar career.

1966: Happy half-century Matt Neal! The Midlander has won three British Touring Car Championship titles in Honda machinery and, to date, has 59 wins on his career CV – third in the all-time rankings behind Jason Plato and Andy Rouse.

1968: Austrian Grand Prix and sportscar racer Karl Wendlinger was born. Part of the Mercedes Junior Team in the early 1990s, for which he won two World Sportscar Championship races for the Sauber-Mercedes squad, made his F1 debut in 1991. He raced for Leyton House/March and Sauber, taking a best result of three fourth places. A life-threatening accident in practice at Monaco in 1994, spelled the end of his competitive F1 career, although he did return for a few races in 1995. A move to sportscars brought numerous wins in the FIA GT Championship, American Le Mans and Grand-Am Series.

1970: Former British Rally Champion and WRC driver Alister McRae was born. The Scot, younger brother of 1995 World Champion Colin, took British title honours in 1995 in a Nissan Sunny. He made 78 WRC starts, with a best result of two fourth places. In recent seasons, he has competed in the Asia-Pacific Championship.  

December 23 

1956: Michele Alboreto was born. The Italian took five Grand Prix wins – for Tyrrell and Ferrari – from his 194 starts between 1981 ad 1994. A move into sportscars for 1997 brought Le Mans 24 Hours victory in 1997 for Porsche. He joined Audi for 1999, taking fourth place at Le Mans in the R8R LMP car. He won the Sebring 12 Hours in 2001 but was killed during a test at Lausitzring in Germany in an R8 a few months later. He was 44. 

December 24

1941: Kiwi racer Howden Ganley was born. His Grand Prix career began in 1971, with BRM. After two seasons with the British team, he raced an Iso-Marlboro in 1973, many believing he had a good claim to victory in the chaotic, safety-car interrupted Canadian GP. After two races with a March in 1974, his 35-race F1 career was over. 

1985: Thai royalty Prince Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh, who raced as B Bira, died in London, aged 71. He competed in Connaught, ERA, Gordon, Maserati machinery before the advent of the World Championship, and represented his country in Olympic sailing. The Old Etonian was also an accomplished pilot, flying from London to Bangkok in 1952.    

2000: The man who pioneered the rear-engined revolution in Formula 1, John Cooper, died aged 77. His Cooper Car Company, founded by father Charles and based in Surrey, had enjoyed huge success with motorcycle-engined single-seaters and was soon doing likewise at motorsport’s top level. Stirling Moss gave the Cooper marque its maiden F1 success, in Argentina in 1958, while Australian Jack Brabham won back-to-back titles in 1959 and ’60. From 1961 onwards, rear-engined cars became de rigueur in F1. 

December 25

1934: Italian racer Giancarlo Baghetti was born. He holds the unique distinction of being the only man to win a World Championship Grand Prix in his first start, with he exception of the inaugural race in 1950, of course. Baghetti won the French GP at Reims in 1961 in a Sharknose Ferrari, but failed to finish on the podium again in 20 further attempts. He died, aged 60, in November 1995.

1943: The only other World Championship F1 driver to be born on Christmas day is Wilson Fittipaldi, elder brother of double World Champion Emerson. He made 35 F1 starts between 1972 and 1975, for Brabham and, in his final year, his self-run Fittipaldi squad. His best result was fifth in the 1973 German GP at the Nürburgring.