John
Fitch

John Fitch was born in Indianapolis in 1917. His stepfather was an executive at Stutz, which brought him into contact with cars and racing at an early age. He studied civil engineering at Lehigh University and served as a pilot in the US Army Air Corps during the Second World War. Shortly before the end of the war he was shot down and held as a prisoner of war. After the war he raced an MG TC at circuits such as Bridgehampton, Thompson and Watkins Glen.

The racing enthusiast Briggs Cunningham took notice of him. In 1951 Fitch won the Gran Premio de Eva Duarte Perón and drove for Cunningham at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He became the first champion of the SCCA National Sports Car Championship. At Le Mans in 1952 he set the fastest lap but retired late in the race. In 1953 he won the 12 Hours of Sebring with Phil Walters in a Cunningham C4R.

Fitch made two starts in the Formula One World Championship. In 1953 he entered the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in an HWM and did not finish. In 1955 he finished ninth in the same race in a Maserati 250F. That year he also belonged to the Mercedes-Benz sports car team alongside Juan Manuel Fangio, Karl Kling and Stirling Moss. He won the GT class of the Mille Miglia, finishing fifth overall, and won the RAC Tourist Trophy with Moss. At Le Mans in 1955 he shared a car with Pierre Levegh, who died in the serious accident that struck that race. The event sparked Fitch's interest in safety in motor racing and on the road.

After the 1955 season he managed Chevrolet's Corvette racing team for two years. In 1960 he won the GT class at Le Mans with Bob Grossman, finishing eighth overall. He was circuit director of Lime Rock Park and developed safety systems, including the impact barrier that bears his name and a driver capsule. In 1998 he received the Kenneth Stonex Award for his contributions to road safety. Fitch died in 2012.

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