22.1.09

50 years ago today, Mike Hawthorn, Britain's first Formula 1 World Champion was killed when his tuned Jaguar saloon hit a tree after spinning off the road on the A3, not far from his home in Farnham Surrey.

This tragedy occurred just three months after Hawthorn had won the F1 title whilst driving for Scuderia Ferrari, immediately announcing his retirement at the end of a season in which three drivers, his Ferrari team-mates Luigi Musso and close friend Peter Collins, and Vanwall driver Stuart Lewis-Evans had been killed. We have covered the events 1958 season extensively in two articles (Part I & Part II), but wished to commemorate Hawthorn's life on the 50th anniversary of his death.

John Michael Hawthorn was born in 1929 in Mexborough, Yorkshire. His father Leslie was a trained engineer who raced motor bikes, entered the motor trade and moved south to be close to Brooklands which for many years was the only permanent motor racing circuit in Britain. In 1931 the family settled in Farnham in Surrey, and Leslie opened what was to become the Tourist trophy Garage.

Mike was not academic and it was decided that he should pursue a career in motor racing. What happended next is simply beyond belief to modern eyes. Mike started competing in 1950 in pre-war Rileys tuned by his father. In 1952 they acquired a new Formula 2 Cooper-Bristol, Mike winning his first two events in the car at Goodwood. In 1952 Formula 1 was moribund and the World Drivers' Championship being run to F2 rules, so at a stroke Hawthorn was able to compete at the highest level.

Also, at the time, such few F1 cars that were around raced in the odd event. Thus in the UK Mr Vandervell's "Thinwall Special" 4.5 litre Ferrari would race against Mr Owen's V16 BRMs and occasionally Ing. Ferrari's F1 cars would join in - when the start money was right. They would be matched against obsolescent Talbot-Lagos and OSCAs, but there was not enough of them to provide a decent field, so F2 cars would make up the numbers. Luigi Villoresi was entered in one such race, the Daily Mail trophy at Boreham in August 1952 in a Factory 375. He won, but not before being outpaced in the wet by Mike Hawthorn in his underpowered F2 Cooper. Then as now, the wet provided a wonderful opportunity for young talent to shine through.

Lofty England, who ran the works Jaguar sportscar team, offered Hawthorn a test in a 'C' Type at Silverstone and soon he was under the lap record. Someone else had noted his performance at Boreham and kept an eye on later efforts both in the Cooper and for Frazer Nash. After he crashed the Cooper in testing in 1952, Enzo Ferrari offered him a works drive for 1953, so Mike went from the Brighton Speed trials to the World Drivers' Championship as a Scuderia Ferrari pilota in two seasons!

Hawthorn raced for Ferrari for 1953 and 1954, winning his first GP, the French, in 1953 in a 500 and also racing sportscars, retiring at Le Mans but winning the Spa 24hrs with Maglioi in a 340MM. In 1955 he left Ferrari to race for Vanwall in F1. They were not yet a reliable force in F1 and there was a parting of ways. In 1956 he went to BRM with a similar lack of success. His start of his British sportscar career was a different matter, he won his first race for Jaguar, the 1955 Sebring 12 hours in a Briggs Cunningham 'D' Type. However that same year saw Hawthorn involved in the worst motor racing accident of all time at the Le Mans 24 hour race when Pierre Levegh's Mercedes was launched into the crowd and 80 spectators killed. The race went on and Hawthorn and Ivor Bueb won. This seems unbelievable to modern sensibilities, but attitudes were very different then. Hawthorn was subsequently absolved of any responsibility for the accident.

Ferrari had been trying to re-sign Hawthorn for F1 but his loyalty to Jaguar prevented this - it being forbidden to race for Ferrari's rivals in this important market. In October 1956 Jaguar announced their retirement from competition leaving Hawthorn free to return to Ferrari in 1957. He did race Jaguar sportscars and saloons for private entrants, but they were not a serious threat to Ferrari. The first year of his return Hawthorn drove the Lancia-based D50/D50A and 801 tipi to fourth in the Drivers' Championship with a third in the British GP his best result.

These cars were no match for Fangio and the Maserati 250F, but their era was ending. The new Dino 246 was on it's way for 1958 and with it Hawthorn would achieve his life's ambition, taking the Championship by a single point in the final race. Also in 1958 his Tourist trophy Garage became the first official importer of Ferrari cars to the UK. Sadly, he did not live long to enjoy either.

Mike Hawthorn is by no means forgotten. There will be a memorial service on Sunday 25th January at 1.30pm at St Andrews Church Farnham, where he is buried and afterwards a parade of cars round the town centre. Details of this service, a new biography and on every.phpect of his life and career can be found on this extensive tribute site.