Mike
Spence

Michael Henderson Spence was born on 30 December 1936 in Purley, Surrey. He began racing in his father's Turner and an AC Ace sports car, then moved into Formula Junior in 1960. In 1961 he drove an Emeryson in two non-Championship Formula One races and finished second in the Lewis-Evans Trophy at Brands Hatch. By 1963 he was part of the works Lotus Formula Junior team.

He made his World Championship debut at the 1963 Italian Grand Prix, standing in for the injured Trevor Taylor in a Lotus 25 and finishing 13th. In 1964 he joined the Lotus Formula One team after Peter Arundell's accident. Sixth place in Italy and fourth in Mexico left him 12th in the standings. He stayed with Lotus in 1965, won the Race of Champions at Brands Hatch and finished eighth in the championship. Third place in the season finale in Mexico was his only World Championship podium.

In 1966 he began by winning a non-Championship race in South Africa. Colin Chapman then took Arundell back, and Spence drove a BRM-powered Lotus for the privateer Reg Parnell Racing team, finishing fifth in both the Netherlands and Italy. For 1967 he replaced Graham Hill at BRM, scored points in five races and ended the year tenth in the standings. He retired from the 1968 season opener in South Africa. In total he started 36 Grands Prix, with no wins and no pole positions.

In sports cars he drove for Chaparral alongside Phil Hill in 1967 and won the BOAC 500 at Brands Hatch. In 1968 he drove the Ford P68 for Alan Mann Racing. After the death of Jim Clark, Chapman brought him back to Lotus for the Indianapolis 500. On 7 May 1968 Spence crashed in practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway while driving a gas turbine Lotus 56, and he died that evening.

Source: Wikipedia, “Mike Spence”. Text licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.