Michael John Clifford Taylor (24 April 1934 – 4 April 2017) 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 ...

. He participated in two

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 18 July 1959. He scored no championship points. He also participated in several non-Championship Formula One races. His racing career effectively ended when his steering column weld failed on his

Lotus 18 The Lotus 18 was a race car designed by Colin Chapman for use by Lotus in Formula One, Formula Two, and Formula Junior, which was used from 1960 until 1966 in F1. Overview Lotus 18 was the first mid-engined car built by Lotus and was a mark ...

in the

1960 Belgian Grand Prix The 1960 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on 19 June 1960. It was race 5 of 10 in the 1960 World Championship of Drivers and race 4 of 9 in the 1960 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. Stir ...

at . He was thrown from the car, cutting down a tree with his body and broke several bones ( Alan Stacey and

Chris Bristow Christopher William Bristow (2 December 1937 – 19 June 1960) was a British Formula One driver. Bristow was the son of a garage owner from London, and was unmarried. Bristow was called the "wild man of British club racing", as he had spun or h ...

were killed and

Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers to never win the Formula On ...

was also injured at the event, crashing his Lotus 18 in practice). He was paralysed, but after therapy was able to regain the ability to walk. Because of his car failure Taylor later sued Lotus successfully, one of the few successful actions against the makers of a racing car. After his accident, Taylor sporadically competed in long distance rallying, finishing third in the

London–Sydney Marathon The London–Sydney Marathon was a car rally from the United Kingdom to Australia. It was first run in 1968, a second event by the same organizers was run in 1977 and a third in 1993 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original. Three fur ...

in 1977 in a

Citroën CX The Citroën CX is a large, front-engined, front-wheel-drive executive car/luxury car manufactured and marketed by Citroën from 1974 to 1991. Production models were either a standard wheelbase or a stretched, more luxurious, four-door fastback ...

with

Paddy Hopkirk Patrick Barron Hopkirk (14 April 1933 – 21 July 2022) was a rally driver from Northern Ireland, he was considered to be one of the finest rally drivers that Ireland ever produced. Following his retirement from competing he became well known ...

and Bob Riley. Taylor also had a career in property speculation. He died on 4 April 2017 after a battle with cancer.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key)

Sources

Profile at www.grandprix.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Mike English racing drivers English Formula One drivers 1934 births 2017 deaths 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers Formula One team owners 20th-century English sportsmen