Leslie
Johnson

Leslie Johnson was born on 22 March 1912 in Walthamstow, London. He began in rallying, winning the Scottish Rally in 1937 and the Torquay Rally in a BMW 328. After the Second World War he added hill climbs, sports car racing and single-seater racing. In 1953 and 1954 he won the team prize on the Monte Carlo Rally alongside Stirling Moss in Sunbeam-Talbots.

In sports car racing, Johnson won the 1948 Spa 24 Hours with St. John Horsfall in a prototype Aston Martin, the marque's first international victory after the war. In the Jaguar XK120 he won the model's first race at Silverstone in 1949, and in 1950 took his class at Palm Beach Shores in Florida, finishing fourth overall. He took part in the Le Mans 24 Hours five times and came third overall in a Nash-Healey in 1952. On the 1950 Mille Miglia he was fifth in an XK120. At Montlhéry he set world records with Jaguar: in 1950, sharing the car with Stirling Moss, he averaged 107.46 mph for 24 hours, the first time a production car had averaged more than 100 mph over that duration. In 1952 he, Moss, Bert Hadley and Jack Fairman covered seven days and nights at an average of 100.31 mph.

From 1946 to 1950 Johnson also raced single-seaters, using Delage, Talbot-Lago and ERA cars. His only start in the Formula One World Championship was the 1950 British Grand Prix at Silverstone in an ERA. He lined up on the fourth row but retired after two laps when the supercharger failed and the car caught fire. He ended his career in motor sport in 1954. Leslie Johnson died on 8 June 1959 in Foxcote, Gloucestershire.

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