Tony
Brooks

Charles Anthony Standish Brooks was born in Dukinfield on 25 February 1932. He trained in dentistry and was nicknamed "the Racing Dentist". He began racing in 1952, driving a Healey and a Frazer Nash at club events. In 1955 he finished fourth in a Formula Two Connaught at Crystal Palace, and in the same year he won the non-championship Syracuse Grand Prix.

He made his World Championship debut at the 1956 Monaco Grand Prix with BRM. In 1957 he moved to Vanwall and took his first win at the British Grand Prix at Aintree, sharing the victory with Stirling Moss. It was the first win for a British-built car in a World Championship race. In 1958 he finished third in the championship with Vanwall.

In 1959 he drove for Ferrari and Vanwall and ended the season as runner-up to Jack Brabham. He won the French Grand Prix at Reims and the German Grand Prix at AVUS, which was run in two heats, and he won both of them. At the United States Grand Prix at Sebring he finished third. In 1960 he drove Cooper and Vanwall cars but did not reach the podium. In 1961 he raced for BRM and took his last podium at the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. He retired at the end of that season.

Brooks won six of his 38 starts, stood on the podium ten times and took three pole positions. In sports cars, he won the 1957 1000km of Nürburgring and the 1958 RAC Tourist Trophy driving an Aston Martin DBR1. He was also entered in the 24 Hours of Le Mans four times for Aston Martin between 1955 and 1958. Tony Brooks died on 3 May 2022, aged 90.

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