Mike Parkes

Ferrari works driver - and co-creator of the Hillman Imp

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CONVERSATION WAS conducted at high volume, and with many emphatic gestures. It was a typically chaotic Ferrari press conference, or at least it was until Il Commendatore spoke, held in December 1966, three months after lead driver John Surtees had come close to losing his life following a crash at Mosport Park. Naturally, the identity of the driver who would take his place in F1 in 1966 while Il Grande John recuperated was a hot topic. Enzo talked in hushed tones of an ace wheelman who was the obvious choice.

The 100-strong assemblage was mystified; even more so when the name of this superstar was revealed. Mike Parkes had earned legendary status as a test driver at Ferrari. He also excelled in racing sports-prototypes, but a ‘driver-and-a-half’? Perhaps the Old Man was referring to the Brit's six-foot-four stature. Nobody was ready for the mantle of ‘only complete driver’ to be placed so firmly on Parkes’ lean shoulders, it seemed.