Kenneth McAlpine (21 September 1920 – 8 April 2023) was a British

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

from England.

Biography

McAlpine was born in

Cobham, Surrey Cobham () is a large village in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, centred south-west of London and northeast of Guildford on the River Mole, Surrey, River Mole. It has a commercial/services High Street, a significant number of pr ...

and was a grandson of Scottish civil engineer

Sir Robert McAlpine, 1st Baronet Sir Robert McAlpine, 1st Baronet (13 February 1847 – 3 November 1934) was a Scottish businessman who founded the British construction firm which is now known as Sir Robert McAlpine. He was made a baronet in June 1918, the first of the M ...

. He participated in seven

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 19 July 1952 at the

British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor racing event organised in the United Kingdom by Motorsport UK. First held by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) in 1926 British Grand Prix, 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 ...

alongside fellow Connaught driver Kenneth Downing. During the development of the Connaught Racing Team based at Send in Surrey, McAlpine became a considerable financial backer and enjoyed several team owner triumphs including Tony Brooks's memorable F1 victory at the

1955 Syracuse Grand Prix The 1955 Syracuse Grand Prix was a Formula One race, held on 23 October at the Syracuse Circuit in Sicily. The race was won by Tony Brooks, in his first Formula One race, driving a Connaught type B. This was the first international Grand Prix win ...

. The team was eventually broken up in 1957 and cars sold off after McAlpine ceased receiving tax concessions. McAlpine and co-driver

Eric Thompson Eric Norman Thompson (9 November 1929 – 30 November 1982) was an English actor, scriptwriter and stage director. He is best remembered for creating and performing the English narration for ''The Magic Roundabout'', which he adapted from ...

took part in the

1955 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 23rd 24 Hours of Le Mans and took place on 11 and 12 June 1955 on Circuit de la Sarthe. It was also the fourth round of the 1955 World Sportscar Championship, F.I.A. World Sports Car Championship. During the r ...

driving a Connaught ALSR. They retired after 6 hours with engine failure. After retiring from motor racing, McAlpine returned full-time to his civil engineering business and later established a successful English wine growing and bottling business at his estate in Lamberhurst, Kent. He was also a member of The Air Squadron. McAlpine died on 8 April 2023, at the age of 102.McAlpine
Obituary, telegraph.co.uk

Complete Formula One World Championship results

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Non-championship results

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McAlpine, Kenneth 1920 births 2023 deaths 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Connaught Formula One drivers British businesspeople Deputy lieutenants English Formula One drivers English racing drivers

Kenneth Kenneth is a given name of Gaelic origin. The name is an Anglicised form of two entirely different Gaelic personal names: ''Cainnech'' and '' Cináed''. The modern Gaelic form of ''Cainnech'' is ''Coinneach''; the name was derived from a byna ...

Sportspeople from Cobham, Surrey World Sportscar Championship drivers Formula One team owners British men centenarians 20th-century English sportsmen Officers_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire