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

December 26

1936: Trevor Taylor was born. The Yorkshireman, who was a winner in Formula Junior and F3, raced in 27 Grands Prix for Lotus, BRP and Shannon between 1961 and 1966, taking a best result of second in the 1962 Dutch GP in a Lotus 24. He also won five European F5000 races in a Surtees in the late-’60s. He died, aged 73, in September 2010.

1958: British Formula 1 design ace Adrian Newey was born. Arguably the sport’s greatest aerodynamicist, he penned World Championship-winning cars for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull. Having stepped back from frontline F1 design, he now competes in historic racing and is building a road-going hypercar in conjunction with Aston Martin. 

December 27

1900: Pre-war Grand Prix hero Hans von Stuck was born. The multiple race winner and European Mountain Champion also contested three World Championship GPs in an AFM during the early-1950s F2 era. His son Hans-Joachim also raced successfully in F1, sportscars and touring cars. Stuck Sr died in February 1978, aged 77.

1985: The only man to win the Le Mans 24 Hours in a car of his own manufacture, Jean Rondeau, was killed on a level crossing in the town that made him famous, aged 39. The Frenchman won the 24 Hours in a Rondeau M379-Cosworth alongside countryman Jean-Pierre Jaussaud. 

December 28

1963: Jim Clark won the South African Grand Prix at East London. The Scot’s Lotus 25 headed the Brabham BT7 of Dan Gurney by over a minute. The American’s consolation was fastest lap – a first for him and the Brabham team. Third went to Graham Hill’s BRM P57.

1988: Welsh rallying hotshoe Elfyn Evans was born. The son of former British Champion Gwyndaf, Evans Jr took the WRC Academy one-make title in 2012 and made his WRC-class debut in 2013. His best result remains second in Corsica in 2015. He stepped back to WRC2 in 2016 and tackled the British Championship, which he won.

December 29

1962: Graham Hill clinched the F1 Drivers’ title with victory in the inaugural South African GP at East London. The Englishman’s BRM P57 defeated the Coopers T60s of Bruce McLaren and local hero Tony Maggs. 

1969: Scottish racer Allan McNish was born. Despite success in junior single-seaters landing him a McLaren F1 testing contract, he switched to sportscar racing in 1997. He raced for Porsche and Toyota at Le Mans, winning for the former in 1998, before getting an F1 call-up with the latter for 2002. An unsuccessful season led to a move back to sportscar racing with Audi. He remained with the German marque until retiring at the end of 2013. In 10 years he won Le Mans twice more, the Sebring 12 Hours on four occasions, three American Le Mans Series titles and, in his final year, the World Endurance Championship crown. 

December 30

1942: British F1 and sportscar veteran Guy Edwards was born. He tackled 11 GPs for Lola and Hesketh in the mid-1970s, famously helping to rescue Niki Lauda from his burning Ferrari in the 1976 German GP. He also raced extensively in the World Sportscar Championship, winning two races in a Lola T600 in 1981 and finishing fourth in a Porsche 956B at Le Mans in 1985. He later became a well-known figure in motorsport marketing and helped land some big sponsorship deals, notably the Silk Cut/Jaguar tie-up. Son Sean was a successful GT racer who was killed while instructing in Australia in October 2013.

1999: It was announced that Britain’s greatest all-rounder, Stirling Moss, would receive a knighthood in the Queen’s 2000 New Year’s Honours list for services to motorsport. He was knighted, in the Queen’s absence, by Prince Charles in March 2000. 

December 31

1948: Britain’s legendary speed king Sir Malcolm Campbell died, aged 63. Pre-war Grand Prix racer Campbell broke the land- and water-speed record, becoming the first man to top 300mph on land in 1935. Four years later he raised the water-speed marker to 141mph. His son Donald would be the first man to hold both records simultaneously, in 1964. He died in 1967 on Coniston Water where his father had set the 1939 record.

1951: American motorcycle ace ‘King Kenny’ Roberts was born. He won three consecutive 500cc World Championship titles for Yamaha between 1978 and 1980, taking the crown from British hero Barry Sheene. Roberts took 24 GP wins in total – two in 250cc and 22 in 500cc. After retiring from riding at the end of 1983 he went on to run the works Marlboro Yamaha team, helping compatriot Wayne Rainey to three titles in the early 1990s. He developed his own bike for the 1997 season and ran it unsuccessfully for 10 years. His son, Kenny Jr, won the 500cc title on a Suzuki in 2000.

1974: IndyCar veteran Tony Kanaan was born. The Brazilian has won 17 races to date, across the ChampCar and IndyCar disciplines, including the 2013 Indianapolis 500. He also won the Daytona 24 Hours for current IndyCar team boss Chip Ganassi in 2015.