Reg
Parnell

Reg Parnell was born in Derby on 2 July 1911 into a family that ran a garage business. After watching the first motor race held at Donington Park in 1933, he decided to try the sport himself. He won at Brooklands and Donington Park, but in 1937 he lost his licence for two years after a practice accident at Brooklands. He built up a large collection of racing cars and also sold racing cars himself.

He won the BRDC Gold Star in 1947 and again in 1948. In 1947 he won the Swedish Winter Grand Prix at Rommehed in an ERA, the first race run to the newly introduced Formula 1 regulations. His many successes at Goodwood earned him the nickname Emperor of Goodwood.

In the Formula One World Championship, Parnell started six races between 1950 and 1954 from seven entries. At the first championship round, at Silverstone in 1950, he drove the fourth works Alfa Romeo and finished third, his only podium. He ended that season ninth in the standings. In 1951 he was entered with BRM and Ferrari, and he came fourth in the French Grand Prix at Reims driving the Thinwall Special, a modified Ferrari run by Tony Vandervell. He finished that year tenth. One start for Cooper followed in 1952 and one for Ferrari in 1954.

He also raced sports cars for Aston Martin. He was sixth at Le Mans and, in 1953, fifth in the Mille Miglia in a DB3, the best result by a British car in that event. In early 1957 he won the New Zealand Grand Prix, and at the end of that year he ended his driving career.

As team manager of Aston Martin, Parnell oversaw the one-two finish at Le Mans in 1959 and led the Formula 1 programme until the end of 1960. In 1961 he took over the management of Yeoman Credit Racing, running John Surtees and Roy Salvadori, and in 1962 Surtees finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship with the team. Parnell then set up a team under his own name. He died on 7 January 1964, aged 52. His son Tim, also a racing driver, took over the running of the team.

Source: Wikipedia, “Reg Parnell”. Text licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.