David Piper (racing driver)

This article is about the racing driver. For the museum curator and author, see David Piper (curator).

David Piper

David Piper in 2011
Born	(1930-12-02) 2 December 1930 (age 94)
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	British
Active years	1959–1960
Teams	non-works Lotus
Entries	3 (2 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1959 British Grand Prix
Last entry	1960 British Grand Prix

David Ruff Piper (born 2 December 1930) ^[1] is a British former Formula One and sports car racing driver from England. He participated in 3 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 18 July 1959. He scored no championship points.

Racing career

Early career and Formula One

Piper was born in Edgware, Middlesex ^[1] and began his career in the mid-1950s by competing in sprints and hill-climbs, before beginning circuit racing with a Lotus Eleven. ^[2] He then moved up to a Lotus 16 which he used in 1959 and 1960 to compete in both Formula One and Formula Two, ^[2] by means of changing engines as appropriate. ^[2] His best result with the car was a second place in the Lady Wigram Trophy, in 1960, behind Jack Brabham in a Cooper. ^[2]

In 1961, Piper competed in European Formula Junior alongside Jo Siffert but drove the Gilby F1 car in the Gold Cup. ^[2] He also competed in non-championship races in 1962, but had become disenchanted with single-seater racing and moved into sports car racing initially with a Ferrari 250 GTO. ^[2]

Later career

Between 1962 and 1970, Piper raced frequently in many locations worldwide using his personally owned Ferraris and, later, Porsches. He was moderately successful and gained a reputation for reliability and consistency. ^[2]

Piper's personal sport cars of the period are typically painted in bright green, originally from his BP sponsor which replaced Esso after the Suez Crisis; eventually Piper liked the color and made it his own, having never liked the classic British racing green. ^[3]

Piper crashed a Porsche 917 during the 1970 shooting of the film Le Mans and lost part of one leg. ^[4]

Piper later raced his personal, green, Porsche 917 and other cars in historic events. ^[2]

Racing record

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	WDC	Points
1959	Dorchester Service Station	Lotus 16 (F2)	Climax 1.5l Straight-4	MON	500	NED	FRA	GBR Ret	GER	POR	ITA	USA		NC	0
1960	Robert Bodle Ltd.	Lotus 16	Climax 2.5l Straight-4	ARG	MON	500	NED	BEL	FRA DNS	GBR 12	POR	ITA	USA	NC	0

Complete British Saloon Car Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	DC	Pts	Class
1970	Pierre de Plessis	Chevrolet Camaro Z28	D	BRH DNS	SNE 7	THR	SIL	CRY 2†	SIL	SIL	CRO	BRH	OUL	BRH	BRH	31st	8	6th
1978	Ian Bracey	Triumph Dolomite Sprint	C	SIL	OUL	THR	BRH	SIL	DON	MAL Ret†	BRH	DON	BRH	THR	OUL	NC	0	NC
Source: [5]

† Events with 2 races staged for the different classes.

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1963	North American Racing Team	Masten Gregory	Ferrari 250 GTO/LMB	GT 3.0	312	6th	3rd
1964	North American Racing Team	Jochen Rindt	Ferrari 250 LM	P 4.0	0	DNF	DNF
1965	Maranello Concessionaires	Jo Bonnier	Ferrari 365 P2	P 5.0	101	DNF	DNF
1966	Maranello Concessionaires	Richard Attwood	Ferrari 365 P2	P 5.0	33	DNF	DNF
1967	JW Automotive Engineering	Dick Thompson	Mirage M1	P +5.0	59	DNF	DNF
1968	David Piper	Richard Attwood	Ferrari 250 LM	S 5.0	302	7th	2nd
1969	SpA Ferrari SEFAC	Pedro Rodriguez	Ferrari 312P Coupé	P 3.0	223	DNF	DNF
1970	AAW Racing Team	Gijs van Lennep	Porsche 917K	S 5.0	112	DNF	DNF

Gallery

• 
  Piper/Gardner, Porsche 917, 1969 ADAC 1000 km Nürburgring.
• 
  One of Piper's distinctive green cars; a Lola T70 Mk3B at Mallory Park
• 
  Piper's Porsche 917 which he has owned from new.
• 
  Piper's Porsche 917.

References

1. Jenkins, Richard. "The World Championship drivers - Where are they now?". OldRacingCars.com. Retrieved 29 July 2007.
2. Small, Steve (1994). The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who. Guinness. p. 292. ISBN   0851127029.
3. Widdows, Rob (August 2007). "David Piper: Forever green driving force". www.motorsportmagazine.com. No. 108. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
4. "Le Mans 24 Hours June 13, 1970 cont". www.a2zracer.com. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
5. de Jong, Frank. "British Saloon Car Championship". History of Touring Car Racing 1952-1993. Retrieved 3 October 2022.