1. Michael Johnson Parkes was a British racing driver and engineer, who competed in Formula One at six Grands Prix from 1966 to 1967.
32 Facts About Mike Parkes
1. 2.
In endurance racing, Mike Parkes won the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1964 with Ferrari.
3.
Mike Parkes participated in seven Formula One Grands Prix, debuting at the 1959 British Grand Prix in a Formula Two car entered by Fry.
4.
Outside of motor racing, Mike Parkes worked as an automotive engineer; whilst working for the Rootes Group, he was involved in the development of the Hillman Imp.
5.
Michael Johnson Mike Parkes was born on 24 September 1931 in Richmond, Surrey, England.
6.
Mike Parkes was the eldest son of John Mike Parkes, who was chairman and managing director of the Alvis Group; he was an aviator.
7.
Mike Parkes began his racing career in the mid-1950s initially with an MG before moving on to a Frazer Nash.
8.
Mike Parkes then became involved with the Fry Formula Two project in 1958 and 1959, before returning to sportscars in 1960.
9.
In 1960 Mike Parkes drove a Lotus Elite for Sir Gawaine Baillie before moving to Tommy Sopwith's Equipe Endeavour in 1961, where he drove in sportscars and Formula Junior.
10.
Mike Parkes drove a Ferrari GT for UK Ferrari franchise, Maranello Concessionaires.
11.
In May 1962, Mairesse and Mike Parkes came second in the 1000km Nurburgring race in a Ferrari behind the winning car of the same marque driven by Phil Hill and Olivier Gendebien.
12.
Mike Parkes finished a mere car length behind Graham Hill in the 28th Royal Automobile Club tourist trophy race in August 1963.
13.
Umberto Maglioli and Mike Parkes drove one of the Ferraris which claimed the top five qualifying positions for the 1964 12 Hours of Sebring.
14.
Mike Parkes teamed with Jean Guichet in a Ferrari to capture the 1,000 kilometre Classic of Monza Italy in April 1965.
15.
Surtees and Mike Parkes were in a Ferrari prototype in their victory in a 620-mile Monza sports car event in April 1966.
16.
The Ferraris were in front after the Chaparrals of Phil Hill and Mike Parkes Spence had to make pit stops following the 17th and 18th laps.
17.
Mike Parkes finished second at the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans, paired with Ludovico Scarfiotti, in a Ferrari 330P4.
18.
Mike Parkes competed in a 1,000 kilometre sports car race in Argentina in January 1971, he was just ahead of Ignazio Giunti's Ferrari 312PB when the Italian driver crashed on the Beltoise's Matra.
19.
Mike Parkes was paired with Joakim Bonnier in a five-litre Ferrari entered and owned by the Swiss Filippinetti stable which maintained operations in Modena.
20.
Mike Parkes competed in the 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans in a modified Ferrari 512M paired with Henri Pescarolo.
21.
Mike Parkes was involved in the development of this car, which proved to be very fast, winning a non-championship race at Vallelunga, Rome ahead of the Jo Siffert Porsche 917K.
22.
Mike Parkes-Pescarolo were running well at Le Mans when a mechanical failure during the night ended their race.
23.
Mike Parkes came back to Le Mans in 1972 with a Ferrari 365GTB entered by Filipinetti.
24.
Mike Parkes's teammates were Lafosse and Cochet, the trio finished in seventh place, third in the GT class behind two other Ferraris.
25.
Mike Parkes first entered a World Championship Grand Prix at Aintree in 1959 driving a Formula 2 Fry-Climax 1.5-litre Straight-4.
26.
When John Surtees unexpectedly left Ferrari in 1966, Mike Parkes was promoted to the Grand Prix team and with an extended chassis to accommodate his height of six feet four inches, was immediately successful, finishing in second place in the 1966 French Grand Prix at Reims.
27.
Mike Parkes won an international Formula One race at Silverstone by one third of a lap over Brabham in April 1967.
28.
In 1967, Mike Parkes competed in two further Grands Prix for Ferrari finishing fifth at Zandvoort but retiring through accident at Spa, after sliding on oil being sprayed from Jackie Stewart's H16 BRM, on the first lap, suffering broken legs that would ultimately end his Grand Prix career.
29.
Mike Parkes worked for the Rootes Group from 1950 to 1962, initially as an apprentice.
30.
In 1963 Mike Parkes joined Ferrari as development engineer for their road cars, notably the 330 GTC, and as a GT sports car driver.
31.
In 1974 Mike Parkes took a job as principal development engineer for the Lancia Stratos.
32.
Mike Parkes was killed in a road collision on 28 August 1977 near Riva presso Chieri, Turin, Italy.