Simon TAYLOR
Classic & Sports Car|November 2023
'Thinking he might need a snifter after 12 hours at the wheel, his pit crew brought him in for a few glasses of Champagne'
Simon TAYLOR
 

Rob Walker's passport gave his profession as 'Gentleman'. Quite right. Charming, courteous and honourable, he was probably the last gentleman in Formula One. Certainly, he was its last successful private entrant.

In today's billion-dollar F1 circus you can't imagine someone buying a chassis and an engine for a few thousand quid, getting three or four people in a shed to put it together, turning up at a Grand Prix, and beating the works Ferraris and Maseratis to victory. This was in 1958, a different era; but the Walker Racing Team remained a force in F1 into the 1970s.

Rob came from Johnnie Walker whisky wealth. While still at Cambridge, he bought a magnificent Delahaye 135S and ran it in the 1939 Le Mans 24 Hours. After a leaking exhaust burned his co-driver's feet, he drove the majority of the race single-handed. Wearing goggles but no helmet, he started the race in a dark pinstripe suit, suitable wear for a gentleman on a Saturday afternoon. But one can't really wear a pinstripe on a Sunday morning, can one? So during a pitstop he changed into a Prince of Wales check.

This story is from the November 2023 edition of Classic & Sports Car.

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This story is from the November 2023 edition of Classic & Sports Car.

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