David Piper (racing driver)

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

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.

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

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.