Ron Flockhart (auto racing)

Former F1 driver
Name = Ron Flockhart
Nationality = flagicon|UK British | Years = F1|1954, F1|1956 - F1|1960
Team(s) = Maserati, BRM, Connaught, Cooper, Lotus
Races = 14 (13 starts)
Championships = 0
Wins = 0
Podiums = 1
Points = 5
Poles = 0
Fastest laps = 0
First race = 1954 British Grand Prix
First win =
Last win =
Last race = 1960 United States Grand Prix

Ron Flockhart (b. 16 June 1923, Edinburgh - d. 12 April 1962, Dandenong Ranges, Victoria, Australia) was a Scottish racing driver. Ron started competing in 1951 in a Joe Potts Formula 3 car. He participated in 14 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on July 14, 1956. He achieved 1 podium, and scored a total of 5 championship points. He also participated in numerous non-Championship Formula One races.In 1956, driving an ex-works Jaguar D-type for the small Scottish team Ecurie Ecosse, he won the Le Mans 24 hours endurance race with co-driver Ninian Sanderson. The following year he won again for the same team, this time with Ivor Bueb. Flockhart died in an air crash in 1962.

Early career

Flockhart purchased the famous ERA R4D from Raymond Mays and in 1953 had a very successful season, beating one of the works BRMs at Goodwood. With podium finishes at Goodwood, Charterhall, Snetterton and Crystal Palace, as well as several hill climb successes, his rise to prominence had begun.

Formula One World Championship results

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Record flight attempts and death

In the early 1960s the United Dominions Trust made plans to break the record for the time taken to fly from Sydney to London in order to gain publicity for its UDT Laystall racing team. A Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation-built Mustang World War Two fighter was purchased in Australia and Flockhart was engaged to make the attempt. Flockhart departed Sydney in the Mustang, registered G-ARKD, on 28 February 1961 and after several delays due to bad weather finally ended the attempt at Athens due to engine problems. Flockhart subsequently entered the London-Cardiff Air Race to be held in June that year but withdrew because G-ARKD was still in Athens. G-ARKD was abandoned and another CAC Mustang, registered VH-UWB, was bought in Australia for Flockhart to make a second attempt at the Sydney-London record. On 12 April 1962, while on a test flight in preparation for the record attempt, Flockhart crashed VH-UWB in poor weather near Kallista, Victoria and was killed.Anderson, Peter N. "Mustangs of the RAAF and RNZAF". A. H. & A. W. Reed Pty. Ltd. Terry Hills, Sydney, NSW 1975. ISBN 0 589 07130 0]

References

External links

* [http://www.500race.org/Men/men.htm List of Formula 3 drivers]