Peter
Revson

Peter Revson was born in New York on 27 February 1939. He took up racing in 1960 while studying in Hawaii, buying a Morgan and finishing second in his very first sports car race. In 1962 he competed in Formula Junior, and the following year he moved to Britain. Racing a Cooper across mainland Europe, he took on future Formula One drivers such as Denny Hulme and Jochen Rindt. Reg Parnell then offered him a place in his team for 1964.

Revson entered six rounds of the 1964 World Championship for Lotus and started four of them. He finished only two, with 13th at the Italian Grand Prix as his best result. From 1965 he raced mainly in the United States, in sports cars, Can-Am and Trans-Am, as well as in the USAC Championship. He finished fifth at the 1969 Indianapolis 500 and second overall at Sebring in 1970, sharing a Porsche 908 with Steve McQueen. In 1971 he took pole position at the Indianapolis 500 and finished second, and he won five races on his way to the Can-Am title with McLaren. At the 1971 United States Grand Prix he started for Tyrrell from 19th on the grid but retired after a single lap with a mechanical problem.

In 1972 he drove for McLaren in Formula One. Revson contested nine races, reached the podium four times, finished second in Canada and ended the season fifth in the championship. In 1973 he won the British and Canadian Grands Prix in the McLaren M23, added two more podiums and was fifth in the standings again. His champagne celebrations in victory lane earned him the nickname Champagne Peter. Emerson Fittipaldi took his McLaren seat for 1974, and Revson moved to Shadow. He retired from both of his races with the team.

Revson was killed on 22 March 1974 in a testing crash at Kyalami, ahead of the South African Grand Prix. Tom Pryce replaced him. In Formula One he made 30 starts, with two wins, eight podiums and one pole position. Alongside Dan Gurney, he was one of two drivers who won races in Formula One, IndyCar, Can-Am and Trans-Am. The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America inducted him in 1996, in its sports car category.

Source: Wikipedia, “Peter Revson”. Text licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.