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Innes Ireland

British racing driver (1930–1993)

Field	Value
honorific_prefix	Lieutenant
name	Innes Ireland
image	Innes Ireland.jpg
caption	Ireland in 1966
birth_name	Robert McGregor Innes Ireland
birth_date
birth_place	Mytholmroyd, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
death_date
death_place	Reading, Berkshire, England
spouse	{{plainlist
* {{marriage	Norma Thomas	1954	1967	end	div}}
* {{marriage	Edna Humphries	1967	1972	end	div}}
children	3
embed	yes
nationality	GBR British
years	–
teams	Lotus, BRP, Parnell, White
races	53 (50 starts)
championships	0
wins	1
podiums	4
poles	0
fastest_laps	1
points	47
first_race	1959 Dutch Grand Prix
first_win	1961 United States Grand Prix
last_race	1966 Mexican Grand Prix
embed	yes
years	–, –
teams	Lotus, Écurie Écosse, BRP, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Ford
best_finish	6th ()
class_wins	0
embed	yes
allegiance	United Kingdom
branch	British Army
serviceyears	1953–1958
rank	Lieutenant
commands	Territorial Army (1955–1958)
Parachute Regiment (1953–1954)
King's Own Scottish Borderers (1953)

Parachute Regiment (1953–1954) King's Own Scottish Borderers (1953)

Robert McGregor Innes Ireland (12 June 1930 – 22 October 1993) was a British racing driver and journalist, who competed in Formula One from to . Ireland won the 1961 United States Grand Prix with Lotus.

Born in Mytholmroyd and raised in Scotland, Ireland initially served in the British Army, reaching the rank of lieutenant in 1955. Ireland competed in Formula One for Lotus, BRP, Reg Parnell Racing and Bernard White Racing, winning the in with the former, as well as finishing fourth in the 1960 World Drivers' Championship and taking victories at eight non-championship races. He entered eight editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans from to , and was a race-winner in the British Saloon Car Championship.

Upon retiring from motor racing, Ireland started a career as a journalist in the late-1980s for ESPN, later working with automobile magazines Road & Track and Autocar. He was the president of the British Racing Drivers' Club from 1992 until his death the following year.

Early life

Ireland was born 12 June 1930 in Mytholmroyd, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, the son of a Scottish veterinary surgeon. His family returned to Kirkcudbright, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland during his youth, and he trained as an engineer with Rolls-Royce, first in Glasgow and later in London. Commissioned as a second lieutenant in the King's Own Scottish Borderers, he served with the Parachute Regiment in the Suez Canal Zone during 1953 and 1954. In 1955 he transferred to the Territorial Army and was promoted to lieutenant, and in 1958 he was placed on the Reserve of Officers.

Racing career

Ireland began racing a Riley 9 in 1954. His first year of nationally competitive events was 1957, by which time he was running a small engineering firm in Surrey. Success in sports car racing saw him make his Formula One debut for Team Lotus in 1959. In 1960 he won three non-championship Formula One races and finished fourth in the World Drivers Championship. Badly injured in the 1961 Monaco Grand Prix, Ireland recovered to win the Solitude Grand Prix and Flugplatzrennen races, then finished the season with a victory in the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. He was sacked at the end of the season as team boss Colin Chapman considered Jim Clark a better bet.

Ireland entered a Ferrari in the 24 Hours of Daytona, with motorcycle racer Mike Hailwood as his intended co-driver, but broke down with gearbox problems after hours, before Hailwood was scheduled to participate.

Ireland was encouraged by Bill France Sr., founder of NASCAR, to participate in the 1967 Daytona 500, one of the last races of his career, where the V8 engine of his year-old Dodge exploded opposite the stands.

Ireland worked as a journalist for ESPN for several F1 races in the late 1980s, as well as the American Road & Track magazine and Autocar magazine. He also operated fishing trawlers in the North Atlantic. Towards the end of his life, he was elected president of the British Racing Drivers' Club, a post he still held at the time of his death from cancer on 22 October 1993, in Reading, Berkshire.

Writing

As a writer, Ireland produced an autobiography, All Arms and Elbows (1967; ). Another book, Marathon in the Dust (1970), is Ireland's account of the gruelling 1968 Daily Express London-Sydney Marathon, which he completed with two friends, fellow Formula One competitor Michael Taylor and British bobsledder Andy Hedges, in a Mercedes Benz 280 SE.

Personal life

On 30 October 1954, Ireland married Scarborough schoolteacher Norma Thomas. They had two daughters before divorcing in 1967. He then married Edna Humphries also in 1967. Ireland married his third wife Jean Mander (née Howarth), a former fashion model, on 11 June 1993 at Newbury register office. Jean had been engaged to Mike Hawthorn at the time of Hawthorn's death in 1959. Ireland also had a son who died in 1992.

Ireland was described as a larger-than-life character who, according to a rival team boss, "lived without sense, without an analyst, and provoked astonishment and affection from everyone."

Racing record

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5
	MON	500	NED
4	FRA
Ret	GBR	GER
Ret	POR
Ret	ITA
Ret	USA
5
	ARG
6	MON
9	500	NED
2	BEL
Ret	FRA
7	GBR
3	POR
6	ITA	USA
2
	MON
DNS	NED	BEL
Ret	FRA
4	GBR
10	GER
Ret		USA
1
						ITA
Ret
	NED
Ret	MON
Ret	BEL
Ret	FRA
Ret	GBR
16	GER	ITA
Ret	USA
8	RSA
5
	MON
Ret					GER
Ret
	BEL
Ret	NED
4	FRA
9	GBR
Ret		ITA
4	USA	MEX	RSA
	MON
DNS	NED
		BEL
10	FRA
Ret
				GBR
10	GER	AUT
5	ITA
5	USA
Ret	MEX
12
	RSA	MON	BEL
13	FRA
Ret	GBR
Ret	NED
10	GER
							ITA
9	USA
Ret	MEX
DNS
	MON	BEL	FRA	GBR	NED	GER	ITA	USA
Ret	MEX
Ret

Non-championship Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
1957	BUE	SYR	GLV	NAP	RMS	CAE	INT
Ret	MOD	MOR
1959	GLV	AIN	INT
11	OUL
				SIL
Ret
1960	BUE
Ret	GLV
1	INT
1	SIL
Ret	LOM
1	OUL
Ret
1961	LOM
Ret	GLV
5	PAU	BRX
9	VIE	AIN
10	SYR
Ret	NAP	LON	SIL		KAN
Ret		MOD
DNQ
										SOL
1		DAN
2		*FLG*
1	OUL
Ret	LEW	VAL	RAN	NAT	RSA
1962	CAP	BRX
3	LOM
Ret	LAV	GLV
3	PAU	AIN
Ret
							INT
4
								NAP	MAL	CLP
1
											RMS
3	SOL
DNA	KAN
4	MED	DAN
3	OUL
Ret	MEX
3	RAN
Ret	NAT
1963	LOM
3	GLV
1	PAU	IMO	SYR	AIN
2	INT
4	ROM		KAN	MED	AUT	OUL
Ret	RAN
								SOL
3
1964	DMT
1	NWT
Ret	SYR
			AIN
Ret	INT
Ret	SOL
Ret	MED
3	RAN
1965	ROC	SYR
Ret	SMT	INT	MED
5
					RAN
6
1966	RSA
Ret	SYR	INT
			OUL
4

: The Parnell Lotus driven by Ireland in 1965 and 1966 was a written-off 25 rebuilt around a 33 monocoque.

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
1962	SNE	GOO	AIN	SIL
ovr:?
cls:1	CRY	AIN	BRH	OUL	2nd
1964	SNE	GOO	OUL	AIN	SIL
ovr:7
cls:4	CRY	BRH	OUL

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.
Pos.
GBR Team Lotus	GBR Mike Taylor	Lotus 11	S 1.1	162	DNF	DNF
GBR Écurie Écosse	USA Masten Gregory	Jaguar D-Type	S 3.0	70	DNF	DNF
GBR Team Lotus	GBR John Whitmore	Lotus Elite Mk. 14	S 2.0	0	DNS	DNS
GBR UDT Laystall Racing Team	USA Masten Gregory	Ferrari 250 GTO	GT 3.0	165	DNF	DNF
GBR David Brown Racing Dept.	NZL Bruce McLaren	Aston Martin DP214	GT +3.0	59	DNF	DNF
GBR Maranello Concessionaires	ZAF Tony Maggs	Ferrari 250 GTO	GT 3.0	328	6th	2nd
GBR Ford Advanced Vehicles	GBR John Whitmore	Ford GT40	GT 5.0	72	DNF	DNF
GBR F.R. English Ltd. \ Comstock Racing	AUT Jochen Rindt	Ford GT40 Mk I	S 5.0	8	DNF	DNF

NASCAR: Grand National

Daytona 500

Year	Team	Manufacturer	Start	Finish
1967	Ray Fox	'66 Dodge Charger	20	27

References

{{London Gazette. (2 February 1954)
(22 October 2006). "Innes Ireland".
{{London Gazette. (20 January 1956 Correcting {{London Gazette). (23 August 1955)
{{London Gazette. (22 August 1958)
"All Results of Innes Ireland".
Doug Nye. (1978). "Theme Lotus". Motor Racing Publications.
"Hailwood home". ''[[Motorcycle News]]'', 16 February 1966, p.1. Accessed 20 April 2024
Gauld, Graham. (October 1, 2018). "Remembering Innes".
Robert Newman. (2014). "Motor Racing Heroes: The Stories of 100 Greats". Veloce Publishing Ltd.
"British Saloon Car Championship".

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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