Roy
Salvadori

Roy Salvadori was born on 12 May 1922 in Dovercourt in the United Kingdom, to parents of Italian descent. After the Second World War he began racing in 1946 in minor events. In 1947 he drove an Alfa Romeo P3 that had once belonged to Tazio Nuvolari and finished fifth in the Grand Prix des Frontières. He then decided to become a professional driver. His wins at airfield circuits such as Silverstone and Snetterton earned him the nickname "King of the Airfields".

Salvadori made his World Championship debut at the 1952 British Grand Prix, driving a Ferrari 500 for G. Caprara, and finished eighth. In 1953 he drove for Connaught. From 1954 to 1956 he raced a Maserati 250F, mostly run by Gilby Engineering. In 1957 he started races for BRM, Cooper and Vanwall. In 1958 he was team-mate to Jack Brabham at Cooper and finished fourth in the World Championship. That year he took third place in the British Grand Prix and second in the German Grand Prix, his only two podiums in the championship.

In 1959 and 1960 he raced for Aston Martin as well as in a privately entered Cooper, and in 1961 he drove for Cooper. At the United States Grand Prix that year he was running second when his engine failed. In 1962 he drove a Lola, which proved to be his final Formula One season. He made 47 starts without winning a championship race, though he did win non-championship races in Australia, New Zealand and England.

In sports cars, he won the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans for Aston Martin alongside Carroll Shelby. In 1960 he finished third at Le Mans with Jim Clark. In 1962 he shared a Jaguar E-Type with Briggs Cunningham, finishing fourth overall and winning their class. He stopped racing in early 1965. In 1966 and 1967 he managed the Cooper team. Salvadori later lived in Monaco, where he died on 3 June 2012 at the age of 90.

Source: Wikipedia, “Roy Salvadori”. Text licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.