| Mike Parkes | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| Driver Details | ||
| Nationality | {{{{{natflag}}}}} British 
| |
| Date of Birth | 24/9/1931[1] | |
| Date of Death | 28/8/1977[1] | |
| Début | Farningham Trophy 1960 | |
| Championships | 0 (2nd 1961) | |
| Previous Teams | Sunbeam Talbot Ltd. Equipe Endeavour | |
| Career Statistics | ||
| Total Entries | 0 (0 Starts) | |
| Pole Positions | 0 | |
| Fastest Laps | 0 | |
| Wins | 0 (0 in Class) | |
| Total Points | 0 | |
MIchael Johnson Parkes (better known as Mike Parkes) was a former British Saloon Car Championship driver and class winner, having won the Class D championship in 1961.[2] Parkes also finished as runner up in the championship in 1961.
Background[]
Parkes' career began in 1952, driving an MG TD in sports car races.[3] Parkes continued to race in sports cars beyond the start of his BSCC career, while also making a limited number of appearences in Formula One.[4] The first of these came in 1959, when Parkes entered the British Grand Prix, although he failed to qualify, Parkes would continue to pursue a career in F1 into the late 1960s.[1]
BTCC History[]
Parkes' first BSCC race came during the 1960 season, where he would retire his Sunbeam Rapier (running under the Sunbeam Talbot Ltd. banner) during the Farningham Trophy meeting.[5] Parkes decided to enter the championship full time, obtaining a drive from the Tommy Sopwith run Equipe Endeavour team.[2] Using a Jaguar Mk II, Parkes competed against the likes of Graham Hill and Roy Salvadori for race wins, taking four that year.[2] Parkes claimed second in the championship (unable to match the more dominant performance in Class A by John Whitmore) and won the Class D championship, placing him into the BSCC record books.[2]
In 1962, Parkes continued to show his form, however his other commitments meant his focus was drawn else where.[6] Two further wins, alongwith more duels with the other Jaguars saw Parkes clinch fifth in the final standings, as well as third in Class D.[6] From 1963, Parkes decided to focus his attention on endurance racing and getting back to Formula One, meaning he would not return to the BSCC.
BTCC Record[]
A table containing Mike Parkes's best results in the BTCC. The figures after the information about the car used indicate Mike Parkes's best finish at that meeting.
| British Touring Car Championship Record | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Class | Rounds | Pts. | Pos. | ||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | ||||
| 1960 | 1600+ | BHI | SNTI | MALP | OTNP | SNTII | BHKT | BHFT | BHIV | — | — | |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | Ret | — | |||||
| 1961 | D | SNLT | GWMT | ANTR | SSIT | CPLT | SSET | BHRT | OPGC | SNET | 44 | 2nd |
| Ret | 1 | 4 | 2 | Ret | 1 | 1 | Ret | 1 | ||||
| 1962 | D | SNLT | GWMT | ANTR | SSBT | CRYP | ABGP | BHMT | OPGC | 32 | 5th | |
| 1 | Ret | 5 | 2 | — | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||||
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 http://www.driverdb.com/drivers/mike-parkes/
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/1961%20BSCC.html
- ↑ http://www.racingsportscars.com/driver/archive/Mike-Parkes-GB.html
- ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Parkes
- ↑ http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/1960%20BSCC.html
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/1962%20BSCC.html