Jack Fairman

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Jack Fairman
Formula One Career
Nationality United Kingdom British
Active years 1953, 1955 - 1961
Team(s) HWM, Connaught, BRM, Cooper, Ferguson
Grands Prix 13
Championships 0
Wins 0
Podium finishes    0
Pole positions 0
Fastest laps 0
First Grand Prix 1953 British Grand Prix
Last Grand Prix 1961 Italian Grand Prix

Jack Fairman (b. 15 March 1913, Horley - d. 7 February 2002, Rugby) was a British racing driver from England. He participated in 12 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on July 18, 1953. He scored a total of 5 championship points, all of which came in the 1956 season.

[edit] Career summary

Fairman was only an occasional racing driver, his main source of income coming from running the family precision tool manufacturing company. He got his first taste of motorsport before WWII, driving an Alvis 12/50 in trials and hill climb events from 1934. He quickly moved on to races at the Brooklands circuit, but the war intervened and he spent the duration on active service in the Tank Corps.

Postwar, Fairman's reliable and dogged driving attributes saw him achieve many sucesses in sports car racing, particularly in endurance events. He drove for a number of top-rank teams during this time, including Bristol, Jaguar, Ecurie Ecosse, and Aston Martin. It was with Aston that Fairman won his most significant events, partnering Stirling Moss in the 1959 Nürburgring 2000km, and Tourist Trophy at Goodwood. He also made a brief Formula One debut at the 1953 British Grand Prix, driving and retiring an HWM 53.

His engineering experience and dependable driving made him an obvious choice for constructors to contact when they needed a test driver. His most significant contribution in this role was during the development of Connaught's Formula 2 and later F1 cars. Between sports car comittments and his own factory, Fairman managed to fit in occasional F1 starts, usually at the British or Italian Grands Prix. He took a Connaught Type B to two points finishes during the 1956 Formula One season, his only points in a very long F1 career, finishing tenth in the World Championship that year.

Following Bernie Ecclestone's purchase of the remains of Connaught in 1958, Fairman continued with his sporadic F1 career in a wide variety of machines. His only noteable entry in the years that followed was when he became simultaneously the last man ever to start a Grand Prix with a front engined car and the first to drive a four-wheel drive car, at the 1961 British Grand Prix. The car in question was the experimental Ferguson P99, designed by Ferguson Research Ltd. and run by the Rob Walker Racing Team. Unfortunately for Fairman, his RWR team mate Stirling Moss suffered brake failure in his Lotus 18 and took over the 4WD machine in Fairman's stead. Moss was then later disqualified for receiving a push start, which also ended Fairman's race. Fairman's last F1 race was in the 1963 non-Championship City of Imola Grand Prix event, driving a Porsche for Ecurie Maarsbergen.


[edit] Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 WDC Points
1953 HW Motors HWM 53 Alta ARG INDY DUT BEL FRA GBR
Ret
GER SWI - 0
Connaught Engineering Connaught Type A Lea Francis ITA
NC
1955 Connaught Engineering Connaught Type B Alta ARG MON INDY BEL DUT GBR
DNS
ITA - 0
1956 Connaught Engineering Connaught Type B Alta ARG MON INDY BEL FRA GBR
4
GER ITA
5
10th 5
1957 Owen Racing Organisation BRM P25 BRM ARG MON IND FRA GBR
Ret
GER PES ITA - 0
1958 BC Ecclestone Connaught Type B Alta ARG MON DUT IND BEL FRA GBR
Ret
GER POR ITA - 0
Cooper Car Company Cooper T45 Coventry Climax MOR
8
1959 High Efficiency Motors Cooper T45 Coventry Climax MON IND DUT FRA GBR
Ret
GER POR - 0
Cooper T45 Maserati ITA
Ret
USA
1960 CT Atkins Cooper T51 Coventry Climax ARG MON IND DUT BEL FRA GBR
Ret
POR ITA USA - 0
1961 Rob Walker Racing Ferguson P99 Coventry Climax MON DUT BEL FRA GBR
DSQ
GER - 0
Fred Tuck Cars Cooper T45 Coventry Climax ITA
Ret
USA


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