Ken Wharton
Kenneth Wharton (21 March 1916, Smethwick – 12 January 1957, Ardmore, near Auckland, New Zealand) was a British racing driver from England. He began competing in the new National 500cc Formula in his own special, later acquiring a Cooper. Ken participated in 15 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 18 May 1952 and scored a total of 3 championship points. He also competed in some non-Championship Formula One races.
He also competed in rallies and won the Tulip Rally three times driving a Ford. On 4 July 1954, Wharton and Peter Whitehead piloted a new model Jaguar D-Type to win the 12-Hour Race of Reims.
Wharton was immensely successful in trials and hillclimbing, becoming British Trials Champion and winning the British Hill Climb Championship every year from 1951 to 1954; he remains the only driver to have claimed four successive BHCC titles. He also won the Brighton Speed Trials in 1954, 1955 and 1956 driving ERA R4D.
In 1951: "Wharton travelled abroad, with Peter Bell's 2-litre E.R.A., to finish 3rd overall in the Susa/Mont Cenis hill-climb and 4th overall in the Aosta/Grand Saint Bernard hill-climb. With a Cooper 500 he also competed in the German Freiburg hill-climb where he was runner-up in the 500 cc class to Stirling Moss." Wharton won the Freiburg event outright in the E.R.A., on 5 August, climbing the 7.4 miles of the Schauinsland Pass, in 8min 5.33sec. He also won the Vue des Alpes on 19 August, in 3min 57.8sec.
He was killed when he crashed driving a Ferrari Monza at the Ardmore Circuit in New Zealand.
Read more about Ken Wharton: Complete World Championship Results
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