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Trevor Taylor (racing driver)

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Trevor Taylor
Born(1936-12-26)26 December 1936
Died27 September 2010(2010-09-27) (aged 73)
Formula One World Championship career
NationalityUnited Kingdom British
Active years1959, 1961–1964, 1966
TeamsLotus (incl. non-works), BRP, Shannon, non-works Cooper
Entries29 (27 starts)
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums1
Career points8
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1959 British Grand Prix
Last entry1966 British Grand Prix

Trevor Patrick Taylor (26 December 1936 – 27 September 2010) was a British motor racing driver from England.

Early career

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Trevor Taylor was born in Sheffield, the son of a garage owner from Rotherham. He began his racing career in 500 cc (30.5 cu in) Formula Three racing, initially in a Staride and later a Cooper-Norton. Ten victories in 1958 earned him the British Formula Three Championship. After a frustrating year in 1959 spent with his own Formula Two Cooper, he received an invitation to run his Lotus 18 as a second works car for 1960. He finished equal first in the Formula Junior championship with Jim Clark, although he competed in two more races that counted towards the championship than Clark[1] who was already driving regularly for Team Lotus in Formula One. Taylor went on to win the title on his own account in 1961.[1] At the end of 1961, Taylor got a regular Formula One drive with Team Lotus and proved competitive with Clark and Moss in the South African series in December 1961.[citation needed]

Formula One career

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Taylor driving for Lotus at the 1962 Dutch Grand Prix.
Taylor driving for Lotus at the 1963 Dutch Grand Prix.

Taylor participated in 29 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, qualifying for 27 of them.[1] He made his debut on 18 July 1959, in the British Grand Prix held that year at Aintree, driving a privately entered 1.5-litre Cooper T51 but did not qualify.[1] In 1961, he was thirteenth at that year's Dutch Grand Prix, his only World Championship drive that year. He was second in the 1962 Formula One season opening Dutch Grand Prix,[1] his only World Championship podium finish. He led early in the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa and after his team leader Clark passed he engaged in a duel with Willy Mairesse who was driving before his home crowd. Following in Taylor's slip steam, Mairesse clipped the extension of Taylor's gearbox going uphill from Stavelot,[2] the Ferrari 156 having more power uphill, and while neither suffered serious injury both were lucky to survive the high speed encounter. Taylor said that, while Mairesse generally tried too hard and was over-eager for Championship honours, on this occasion, Mairesse was driving well and with precision and it was not his fault.

At the end of 1962, Taylor shared with Jim Clark the car and victory in the non-championship Mexican Grand Prix had a win and a second place at two non-championship events in South Africa confirming his place with Team Lotus in 1963. However, after a handful of top-three-finishes in non-championship events, his best World Championship result was sixth place in the opening race at Monaco, and thereafter he was rarely competitive, although on the fast Reims circuit, in the French Grand Prix, he was running second when he retired at two-thirds distance. Taylor admitted his confidence was shaken by two serious accidents at Spa and Enna-Pergusa. Team owner Colin Chapman suggested Taylor take a sabbatical after the end of the 1963 season and then return to Lotus.[3][4][5] Taylor differed and attempted to continue as an F1 driver. After an unsuccessful season with the British Racing Partnership in 1964, Taylor withdrew from Formula One competition.

During his career he achieved one podium finish, and scored a total of eight championship points. He also participated in numerous non-Championship Formula One races during this time and won three, including one shared with Clark, in 1962 and 1963. Taylor is credited with inventing the yellow stripe that ran down the middle of Team Lotus cars during the 1960s.[6]

After 1964 Taylor enjoyed lesser forms of racing, and tested a Cosworth Formula One car in 1969 which was entered for Grands Prix but did not race. In that, the opening year of F5000, Trevor Taylor was a strong contestant in the Guards Championship, winning F5000 rounds in a Surtees TS5 in the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and Ireland and finished runner up to Peter Gethin in the 1969 F5000 series.

Taylor died at the age of 73 after contracting cancer.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

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(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 WDC Points
1959 Ace Garage (Rotherham) Cooper T51 Climax Straight-4 MON 500 NED FRA GBR
DNQ 		GER POR ITA USA NC 0
1961 Team Lotus Lotus 18 Climax Straight-4 MON NED
13 		BEL FRA GBR GER ITA USA NC 0
1962 Team Lotus Lotus 24 Climax V8 NED
2 		MON
Ret 		BEL
Ret 		GBR
8 		GER
Ret 		10th 6
Lotus 25 FRA
8 		ITA
Ret 		USA
12 		RSA
Ret
1963 Team Lotus Lotus 25 Climax V8 MON
6 		BEL
Ret 		NED
10 		FRA
13 		GBR
Ret 		GER
8 		ITA USA
Ret 		MEX
Ret 		RSA
8 		17th 1
1964 British Racing Partnership BRP 1 BRM V8 MON
Ret 		NED AUT
Ret 		ITA
DNQ 		22nd 1
BRP 2 BEL
7 		FRA
Ret 		USA
6 		MEX
Ret
Lotus 24 GBR
Ret 		GER
1966 Aiden Jones / Paul Emery Shannon Climax V8 MON BEL FRA GBR
Ret 		NED GER ITA USA MEX NC 0
Source:[7]

Non-Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
1959 Ace Garage (Rotherham) Cooper T51 F2 Climax Straight-4 GLV AIN
NC 		INT OUL SIL
9
1961 Team Lotus Lotus 18 Climax Straight-4 LOM GLV PAU
Ret 		BRX
Ret 		VIE AIN
19 		SYR NAP LON SIL
9 		SOL
9 		KAN DAN MOD FLG OUL
Ret 		LEW VAL
Lotus 21 RAN
2 		NAT
Ret 		RSA
Ret
1962 Team Lotus Lotus 21 Climax Straight-4 CAP
1 		BRX
10 		LOM
Ret 		LAV GLV
Lotus 24 Climax V8 PAU
11 		AIN
5 		INT
10 		NAP MAL CLP
Ret 		RMS
Ret 		SOL
3 		KAN MED
Lotus 25 DAN
6 		OUL
Ret 		MEX
1‡ 		RAN
2 		NAT
1
1963 Team Lotus Lotus 25 Climax V8 LOM
DNA 		GLV PAU
2 		IMO
9 		SYR
WD 		AIN
3 		INT
3 		ROM SOL
Ret 		KAN
2 		MED
Ret 		AUT OUL
Ret 		RAN
10
1964 British Racing Partnership Lotus 24 BRM V8 DMT
Ret 		NWT
3 		SYR
BRP 1 AIN
Ret 		INT
Ret 		SOL MED
Ret 		RAN
1968 Ken Shepperd McLaren M2B Climax V8 ROC INT
WD 		OUL
1969 Team Surtees Surtees TS5 F5000 Chevrolet V8 ROC INT MAD OUL
4
1970 Team Surtees Surtees TS5 F5000 Chevrolet V8 ROC INT
12
Doug Hardwick Lola T190 F5000 OUL
5
1971 Malaya Garages Leda LT25 F5000 Chevrolet V8 ARG ROC QUE SPR INT
Ret 		RIN OUL
Ret 		VIC
Ret
1972 Leda Engineering Leda LT27 F5000 Chevrolet V8 ROC BRA INT
Ret 		OUL REP VIC

‡ Win shared with Jim Clark, who took over the car after being disqualified for a push start.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Steve Small. The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who. pp. 380–381. ISBN 0851127029.
  2. ^ Tremayne, David (24 November 2010). "Trevor Taylor: Racing driver who overcame bad luck on the track to forge a successful career". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  3. ^ "Trevor Taylor obituary". theguardian.com. 1 November 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  4. ^ "TrevorTaylor". Motor Sport magazine archive. December 2010. p. 28. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  5. ^ "Trevor Taylor Remembers". Motor Sport magazine archive. April 1981. p. 36. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  6. ^ Trevor Taylor dies aged 73 Autosport.com
  7. ^ Small, Steve (1994). The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who. Guinness. p. 381. ISBN 0851127029.
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