Duncan
Hamilton

Duncan Hamilton was born in Cork, Ireland, on 30 April 1920 and was a British racing driver. During the Second World War he flew with the Fleet Air Arm. Once the war was over he began racing at local events, in cars such as an MG and a Bugatti. In 1948 he drove a Maserati 6CM, and after that he switched to a Talbot-Lago.

In the Formula One World Championship, Hamilton started five races between 1951 and 1953. He took part in two with Talbot-Lago in 1951, then drove for HWM in 1952 and 1953, starting two races in the first of those years and one in the second. He also contested 18 Formula One races outside the championship. At the 1951 BRDC International Trophy at Silverstone he finished second in a Talbot-Lago behind Reg Parnell, ahead of Juan Manuel Fangio.

Hamilton also raced sportscars. With Tony Rolt he finished fourth at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1950 and sixth in 1951, both times in a Nash-Healey. In 1953 the pair won the race in a Jaguar C-Type, the first to average more than 100 mph at Le Mans. In 1954 he was second in a Jaguar D-Type, beaten by a Ferrari. He won the 1956 12 Hours of Reims with Ivor Bueb, and in 1957 he finished sixth at Le Mans with Masten Gregory. He started Le Mans nine times in all, the last in 1958. He ended his racing career at the end of the 1950s and died on 13 May 1994. His grandson Archie Hamilton also raced at Le Mans, in 2013 and 2014.

Source: Wikipedia, “Duncan Hamilton (racing driver)”. Text licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.