Henry
Taylor

Henry Taylor was born in Shefford, Bedfordshire, in 1932. He began in speedway in East London before moving to a 500cc Formula Three Cooper in 1954. He won two Formula Three championships in 1955 and repeated the feat in 1956 with 15 victories. He also won in sports cars at the wheel of a Jaguar D-Type, and in 1958 he collected several good results in Formula Two in Britain and France.

Taylor started eight World Championship races between 1959 and 1961. He drove for Cooper in 1959 and 1960 and for Lotus in 1961. His best result was fourth place in the 1960 French Grand Prix in a Cooper T51. His three points that year left him 19th in the drivers' standings. In 1960 he also won twice for Ken Tyrrell's Formula Junior team, and in 1961 he finished second twice in Formula One races in Britain.

Following a serious accident in the 1961 British Grand Prix, Taylor turned away from single-seater racing and took up rallying, including the Monte Carlo Rally. Over four seasons he rallied a Ford Anglia, a Ford Cortina and a Lotus Cortina, recording a number of top six finishes. In 1964 he also raced the Lotus Cortina in the European Touring Car Championship, finishing second in two races of that series. After retiring from rallying in 1965 he became Ford's Competition Manager and also drove for the British Olympic bobsleigh team. Taylor died in Vallauris, France, in 2013.

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