Ken Wharton in 1953. |
|
| Born | 21 March 1916 |
|---|---|
| Died | 12 January 1957 (aged 40) |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality | British |
| Active years | 1952 - 1955 |
| Teams | privateer Frazer-Nash & Cooper, BRM, Vanwall |
| Races | 16 (15 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 3 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First race | 1950 Monaco Grand Prix |
| Last race | 1954 British Grand Prix |
Kenneth Wharton (21 March 1916, Smethwick – 12 January 1957, Ardmore, near Auckland, New Zealand) was a British racing driver from England. He began competing in the new National 500cc Formula in his own special, later acquiring a Cooper. Ken participated in 15 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 18 May 1952 and scored a total of 3 championship points. He also competed in some non-Championship Formula One races.
He also competed in rallies and won the Tulip Rally three times driving a Ford. On 4 July 1954, Wharton and Peter Whitehead piloted a new model Jaguar D-Type to win the 12-Hour Race of Reims.[1]
Wharton was immensely successful in trials and hillclimbing, becoming British Trials Champion and winning the British Hill Climb Championship every year from 1951 to 1954; he remains the only driver to have claimed four successive BHCC titles. He also won the Brighton Speed Trials in 1954, 1955 and 1956 driving ERA R4D.
In 1951: "Wharton travelled abroad, with Peter Bell's 2-litre E.R.A., to finish 3rd overall in the Susa/Mont Cenis hill-climb and 4th overall in the Aosta/Grand Saint Bernard hill-climb. With a Cooper 500 he also competed in the German Freiburg hill-climb where he was runner-up in the 500 cc class to Stirling Moss." [2] Wharton won the Freiburg event outright in the E.R.A., on 5 August, climbing the 7.4 miles of the Schauinsland Pass [3], in 8min 5.33sec. He also won the Vue des Alpes on 19 August, in 3min 57.8sec. [4]
He was killed when he crashed driving a Ferrari Monza at the Ardmore Circuit in New Zealand.
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Scuderia Franera | Frazer-Nash FN48 | Bristol Straight-6 | SUI 4 |
500 |
BEL Ret |
FRA |
GBR |
GER |
13th | 3 | |||
| Frazer-Nash 421 | NED Ret |
|||||||||||||
| Cooper T20 | ITA 9 |
|||||||||||||
| 1953 | Ken Wharton | Cooper T23 | Bristol Straight-6 | ARG |
500 |
NED Ret |
BEL |
FRA Ret |
GBR 8 |
GER |
SUI 7 |
ITA NC |
NC | 0 |
| 1954 | Owen Racing Organisation | Maserati 250F | Maserati Straight-6 | ARG |
500 |
BEL |
FRA Ret |
GBR 8 |
GER DNS |
SUI 6 |
ITA |
ESP 8 |
NC | 0 |
| 1955 | Vandervell Products Ltd | Vanwall | Vanwall Straight-4 | ARG |
MON |
500 |
BEL |
NED |
GBR 9 |
ITA Ret |
NC | 0 |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Dennis Poore |
British Hill Climb Champion 1951-1954 |
Succeeded by Tony Marsh |
|
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