Michael Simon Brindley Bream Beuttler (13 April 1940 – 29 December 1988) was a British

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...

driver who raced privately entered

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cars. He was born in

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, Egypt, the son of Colonel Leslie Brindley Bream Beuttler,

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, and a descendant on his mother's side of the Scottish ornithologist

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, grandson of the 6th Earl of Seafield.Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 2003, vol. 3, p. 3551 He was a talented

Formula Three Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One dr ...

driver from the late 1960s, who then graduated to

Formula Two Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name r ...

and then to Formula One in 1971. The finance for the team came from a group of stockbroker friends from whom the team took its name – at first ''Clarke-Mordaunt-Guthrie Racing'', and in 1973 it became ''Clarke-Mordaunt-Guthrie-Durlacher Racing''. This approach of funding the team earned his car the nickname of the "Stockbroker Special". He raced on one occasion, at the 1971 Canadian Grand Prix, for the works March team. Beuttler's best result was a seventh place in the 1973 Spanish Grand Prix. While Beuttler did not achieve a points-scoring finish during his career in Formula One, he did achieve five top-ten finishes in the 28 races in which he competed, results that would have delivered points by today's championship regulations. When his backers suffered amid the 1973 oil crisis, Beuttler retired from racing the following year, at the age of 34, after competing in the 1000 km of Brands Hatch.

Personal life

Beuttler is often described as the first openly gay Formula One driver, although former

Autosport ''Autosport'' is a global motorsport publishing brand headquartered based in Richmond, London. It was established in 1950 at the same time as the origins of the Formula One World Championship. Autosport began life as a weekly magazine in 1950 ...

editor and friend Ian Phillips has described Beuttler as "semi-closeted", adding "I'm not sure anybody really knew. We all just kind of suspected it. Because people weren’t open about being gay in those days and he took this lovely girlfriend to all the races which I suspect was just to distract because people didn’t come out as being gay in those days." Beuttler remains the only known LGBT+ male driver to have raced at that level to this day. While little is known about Beuttler's life after his career in motorsport, he eventually moved to the United States, where he died of complications resulting from AIDS in 1988, in

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, aged 48. Beuttler was also the brother-in-law of politician

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, who had married Beuttler's sister Jane.Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage, 146th edition, ed. Charles Kidd, David Williamson, Debrett's Peerage Ltd, 2000, p. 1494

Complete Formula One results

( key)

References

* Philippe Vogel et le sport automobile (French) * mikebeuttler.hautetfort.com/ * www.comultipress.fr/spip/spip.php?article165 {{DEFAULTSORT:Beuttler, Mike 1940 births 1988 deaths English racing drivers English Formula One drivers March Formula One drivers European Formula Two Championship drivers AIDS-related deaths in California World Sportscar Championship drivers Gay sportsmen LGBT sportspeople from England Sportspeople from Cairo LGBT racing drivers 20th-century LGBT people