Ken Downing
| File:Ken Downing driver.jpg Downing at Zandvoort, 1952 | |
| Born | 5 December 1917 Chesterton, Staffordshire, England |
|---|---|
| Died | 3 May 2004 (aged 86) Monte Carlo, Monaco |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  British |
| Active years | 1952 |
| Teams | Connaught (including non-works) |
| Entries | 2 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1952 British Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1952 Dutch Grand Prix |
Kenneth Henry Downing (5 December 1917 – 3 May 2004) was a British racing driver, soldier and diamond prospector. Downing was born into a wealthy family, whose interests included material manufacturing and transport.[1] He began racing at 21, competing in his first event the Eastbourne Rally in a Healey, and competed in sports car races throughout the 1940s. Initially racing a Brooke Special, he switched to a Connaught in 1951,[1] winning 17 races throughout the year.[2]
Downing fought in the British expeditionary force during the Second World War after which he began a career race driving. Downing switched to single seaters in 1952 racing a Connaught A-Type, and won the Madgwick Cup at Goodwood and second place at the Grand Prix des Frontières at Chimay, Belgium, where he lost the lead at the end of the race several metres before the finish line.[3] He finished ninth in his first World Championship event at Silverstone, but had run fourth in the race before spinning while avoiding a backmarker.[1] He competed in the Dutch Grand Prix later that year, but retired from an oil-pressure problem.[3] He switched to an Aston Martin DB3S for 1953, but decided to retire from racing soon after.[2]
Downing emigrated to South Africa in 1955, where he began a business mining diamonds at the mouth of the Orange river. This business was later sold to the De Beers. Later he lived in Monaco where he died in 2004.[4]
His daughter Anne married Patrick McNally, whose company Allsport Management controlled the corporate hospitality and circuit advertising for Formula One.[1]
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Connaught Engineering | Connaught Type A | Lea-Francis | SUI | 500 | BEL | FRA | GBR 9 |
GER | NED | ITA | NC | 0 |
| Kenneth Downing | SUI | 500 | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | NED Ret |
ITA | |||||
Source:[5]
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References
- ^ a b c d "Ken Downing profile". GrandPrix.com. Inside F1. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- ^ a b "Statistics: Ken Downing". Grand Prix Archive. Crash Media Group. Archived from the original on 17 January 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- ^ a b Williamson, Martin. "Ken Downing profile". ESPNF1.com. ESPN. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- ^ Jenkins, Richard. "Where are they now: Ken Downing". Old Racing Cars. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- ^ Small, Steve (1994). The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who. Guinness. p. 124. ISBN 0851127029.
- Use dmy dates from May 2015
- Use British English from May 2015
- Articles with missing files
- Articles without Wikidata item
- 1917 births
- 2004 deaths
- Connaught Formula One drivers
- English expatriates in Monaco
- English emigrants to South Africa
- English racing drivers
- English Formula One drivers
- People from Chesterton, Staffordshire