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Today marks 60 years since the death of Britain's first Formula 1 World Champion, Mike Hawthorn.
Gallery: Mike Hawthorn, 60 years on
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Encouraged by his father Leslie, a motorsport enthusiast, what began as a weekend hobby, racing a relatively simple, inexpensive Riley, blossomed into an impressive Formula one career.
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Glory day at Easter Goodwood 1952 when the chicane was first used for an International meeting - and Mike won several times in the brand-new Cooper-Bristol.
His first drive in a single seater was at Goodwood in the 1952 Easter Meeting, behind the wheel of a Formula Two Cooper-Bristol borrowed from a family friend. Not only did he claim pole position but he won the race, against drivers like Juan Manuel Fangio and Froilan Gonzalez. It was this surprise win that caught the attention of Enzo Ferrari, and within eight months he was given a works Ferrari contract.
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Typical Mike - turning round to grin at Harry Schell from his Vanwall cockpit, Aintree 1955.
Although Hawthorn had to wait until the 1958 season to claim his first and only Formula 1 world championship title, and despite being involved in the 1955 Le Mans disaster, a crash that claimed the lives of 84 spectators and Mercedes driver Pierre Levegh, he was regarded as one of the bravest, funniest and most brilliant Grand Prix drivers of his time.
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Mike winning the 1954 Spanish GP in the works Ferrari 555 Super Squalo.
Having lived through such a dangerous period for racing drivers and fans alike, Hawthorn was killed just three months into his retirement on 22nd January 1959, skidding off the road near his home in Farnham. He was 29-years-old.
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Having a laugh with his great friend Peter Collins.
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Doug Nye began writing about racing cars at ‘Motor Racing’ magazine in 1963-64. Today he is a multiple award-winning motor sports journalist and author of over 50 years’ experience, with some 70 books to his name. He is Goodwood Motorsport’s founding Historian and consultant and fulfils similar roles for Bonhams Auctioneers and the Collier Collection/Revs Institute in Naples, FL, USA. He is a member of the National Motor Museum Advisory Council at Beaulieu, Hants, and is a regular columnist for ‘Motor Sport’ magazine, while contributing to many other specialist periodicals worldwide.
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