Michael Henderson Spence was a British racing driver from England.
12 Facts About Mike Spence
1.
2.
Mike Spence participated in 37 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 8 September 1963.
3.
Mike Spence achieved one podium, and scored a total of 27 championship points.
4.
Mike Spence participated in numerous non-Championship Formula One races, as well as sports car racing.
5.
Mike Spence was born in Purley, Surrey, and began his motorsport career driving his father's Turner and an AC Ace sports car.
6.
Mike Spence moved into open-wheel racing in Formula Junior in 1960.
7.
Mike Spence drove the Emeryson in two non-Championship Formula One races in 1961, the Solitude Grand Prix near Stuttgart and the Lewis-Evans Trophy at Brands Hatch.
8.
Mike Spence retired early from the Solitude race with a gearbox failure, but finished second behind Tony Marsh's BRM in the Lewis-Evans Trophy.
9.
However, shortly before the British Grand Prix, Arundell suffered a severe accident in an F2 race at Reims-Gueux, and Mike Spence was called up to replace him in the F1 team for the rest of the season.
10.
Mike Spence thus finished tenth in the Drivers' Championship with nine points.
11.
For 1968 Mike Spence moved to the Ford-backed Alan Mann Racing team.
12.
Mike Spence became one of the few people ever to drive the ill-fated Ford P68 in competition, although an engine mount failure on his own entry, followed by a driveshaft failure on the team's second car during the race, prevented Spence from reaching the chequered flag.