Peter Ashdown

Last updated

Peter Ashdown
Born (1934-10-16) 16 October 1934 (age 89)
Danbury, Essex, England, UK
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality Flag of the United Kingdom.svg British
Active years 1959
Teamsnon-works Cooper
Entries1
Championships 0
Wins 0
Podiums0
Career points0
Pole positions 0
Fastest laps 0
First entry 1959 British Grand Prix
Last entry1959 British Grand Prix

Peter Hawthorn Ashdown (born 16 October 1934 in Danbury, Essex) [1] is a former motor racing driver. He drove in a single Formula One World Championship Grand Prix, racing a Cooper.

Ashdown is celebrated after winning his class and being 3rd overall, at the Kanonloppet race at Karlskoga racetrack (Gellerasen) on 26 August 1956 in his Lotus Mark IX license "KH9". On his return he drove this tiny car back to the UK, but had an accident from which this car was not to be repaired. 1956-08-26 Karlskoga WINNER Lotus IX Ashdown.jpg
Ashdown is celebrated after winning his class and being 3rd overall, at the Kanonloppet race at Karlskoga racetrack (Gelleråsen) on 26 August 1956 in his Lotus Mark IX license "KH9". On his return he drove this tiny car back to the UK, but had an accident from which this car was not to be repaired.

Ashdown had trained as a vehicle mechanic, and had been a few years in the Royal Air Force when he started racing. First seen in a Dellow with a Ford 10 engine, [2] he continued around 1955 to race in a Lotus Mark IX as a privateer, not being part of any particular racing team. [3]

Prior to Formula One, he was one of the leaders of the British Formula Junior scene, but an accident at Rouen-Les-Essarts in 1958, in which he broke his collarbone, considerably hampered his career. [4]

He continued racing, and competed in a Formula Two (F2) Cooper-Climax entered by Alan Brown at the 1959 British Grand Prix at Aintree. He finished in 12th position, third of the F2 cars and six laps down. [5]

From there he drove a Formula Junior Lola and many small-engined sports cars, winning his class in the 1960 and 1962 1000km of Nürburgring. On the latter occasion at the Nordschleife, he and the co-driver Bruce Johnstone scored the debut win for Lotus 23 in the 1L Sportscar class with a 997cc Cosworth Mk.III as a semi-works entry (Ian Walker Racing), while the other semi-works (Essex Racing Stable) Lotus 23 of Jim Clark crashed on lap 12 of the 44 lap race. [6] [7]

He retired in 1962 and focused his efforts on a Vauxhall dealership in Essex. [3]

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

YearEntrantChassisEngine123456789WDCPoints
1959 Equipe Alan Brown Cooper T45 (F2) Climax
Straight-4 		MON 500 NED FRA GBR
12		 GER POR ITA USA NC0
Source: [5]

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References

  1. ↑ "Drivers: Peter Ashdown". ChicaneF1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2007.
  2. 1 2 Forgotten F1 Drivers, Peter Ashdown , last accessed on 26 February 2023.
  3. 1 2 Peter Ashdown, Motorsport Magazine, last accessed on 26 February 2023.
  4. ↑ "Driver: Ashdown, Peter". Autocourse Grand Prix Archive. Retrieved 27 November 2007.
  5. 1 2 Small, Steve (1994). The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who. Guinness. p. 37. ISBN   0851127029.
  6. ↑ racingsportscars.com. "Nürburgring 1000 Kilometres".
  7. ↑ Balme, Julian (2012). Ian Walker Racing, The Man and His Cars (1st ed.). Coterie Press. ISBN   9781902351476.


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