Ron Flockhart (16 June 1923 – 12 April 1962) was a British
racing driver. He participated in 14 World Championship
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 ...
Grands Prix, achieving one podium finish and won the
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose w ...
sportscar race twice.
Racing career
Flockhart was born in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
. He started competing in 1951 in a
JP Formula 3
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 ...
car. He purchased the famous
ERA R4D from
Raymond Mays and in 1953 had a very successful season, beating one of the works
BRMs at
Goodwood. He achieved podium finishes at Goodwood, Charterhall,
Snetterton and
Crystal Palace, as well as several hill climb successes.
In 1956, driving for the Scottish team
Ecurie Ecosse
Ecurie Ecosse (French: "Scotland Stable") was a motor racing team from Edinburgh, Scotland. The team was founded in November 1951 by Edinburgh businessman and racing driver David Murray and mechanic Wilkie Wilkinson. Its most notable achieveme ...
, he won the
1956 24 Hours of Le Mans, sharing an ex-works
Jaguar
The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the thi ...
D-type with
Ninian Sanderson.
The following year he won again for the same team, this time sharing with
Ivor Bueb, setting a distance record of .
[''The Times-Picayune'', New Orleans, 12 June 1961, p. 34.]
Record flight attempts and death
In the early 1960s the
United Dominions Trust made plans to break the record for the time taken to fly from
Sydney to
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
in order to gain publicity for its
UDT Laystall racing team.
A
Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation-built
Mustang World War Two fighter was purchased in Australia and Flockhart was engaged to make the attempt.
Flockhart departed Sydney in the Mustang, registered G-ARKD, on 28 February 1961 and after several delays due to bad weather finally ended the attempt at
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...
due to engine problems.
Flockhart subsequently entered the London-Cardiff
Air Race to be held in June that year but withdrew because G-ARKD was still in Athens.
G-ARKD was abandoned and another CAC Mustang, registered VH-UWB, was bought in Australia for Flockhart to make a second attempt at the Sydney-London record.
On 12 April 1962, while on a test flight in preparation for the record attempt, Flockhart crashed VH-UWB in poor weather near
Kallista, Victoria, and was killed.
[Anderson, Peter N. ''Mustangs of the RAAF and RNZAF''. A. H. & A. W. Reed Pty. Ltd. Terry Hills, Sydney, NSW 1975. ]
Racing record
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
* Shared drive with
Prince Bira
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
Complete 12 Hours of Sebring results
References
External links
Ron Flockhart profile at The 500 Owners Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flockhart, Ron
1923 births
1962 deaths
Sportspeople from Edinburgh
Scottish Formula One drivers
Scottish racing drivers
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
24 Hours of Le Mans winning drivers
Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in Australia
Scottish aviators
BRM Formula One drivers
Connaught Formula One drivers
Team Lotus Formula One drivers
Cooper Formula One drivers
World Sportscar Championship drivers
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1962
12 Hours of Reims drivers
Ecurie Ecosse drivers