Ron
Flockhart

Ron Flockhart was born in Edinburgh on 16 June 1923. He began racing in 1951 in a JP Formula 3 car. He bought the ERA R4D from Raymond Mays. In 1953 he beat a works BRM at Goodwood. He also finished on the podium at Goodwood, Charterhall, Snetterton and Crystal Palace, and had several hill climb successes.

In the Formula One World Championship he started 13 races between 1954 and 1960, driving for Maserati, BRM, Connaught, Cooper and Lotus. His only podium came at the 1956 Italian Grand Prix, where he finished third in a Connaught Type B. He ended that season 12th in the standings. In 1959 he won the Lady Wigram Trophy in a BRM P25. In the same year he also took pole position, set the fastest lap and won the Silver City Trophy, a non-championship race.

In sportscar racing, Flockhart won the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice, both times for the Scottish team Ecurie Ecosse. In 1956 he shared a Jaguar D-type with Ninian Sanderson, and in 1957 he drove with Ivor Bueb and set a distance record of 4,398.0 km.

In the early 1960s he tried to break the record for the flight from Sydney to London. In 1961 he left Sydney in a Mustang, but he ended the attempt in Athens because of engine problems. On 12 April 1962, during a test flight in poor weather ahead of a second attempt, he crashed near Kallista in Victoria, Australia, and was killed.

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