Derek By Degrees

Multiple Le Mans winner Derek Bell was awarded an honorary fellowship degree from Cirencester’s Royal Agricultural University where he is an alumni. He spoke to the congregation of students, who were receiving various degrees, about finding a passion, never giving up and always aiming high. It was a beautiful sunny day for the after ceremony…

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The Founders – Part 6 – Paul Frere

By Graham GauldJune 1, 2016September 30, 2016 Articles, Founders, Hide from News Paul Frere Leave a comment

Paul Frere was one of the youngest founder members of the Grand Prix Drivers Club and had only retired from racing two years before. He was also a very talented man with deep technical knowledge and an ability to write. Even whilst he was racing he was writing interesting technical articles for magazines and was…

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Fathers and Sons – Part 5 – The Hills

By F1 GPDCJune 1, 2016June 1, 2016 Articles, Hide from News Damon Hill, Graham Hill Leave a comment

Graham and Damon Hill are unique in our Club as they are the only father and son members who have also been World Drivers Champions, Graham in 1962 and 1968 and Damon in 1996. In some respects Graham Hill was an unlikely racing driver. He had trained as an engineer at a technical college and…

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The Founders – Part 5 – Yves-Giraud Cabantous

By Graham GauldApril 1, 2016September 30, 2016 Articles, Founders, Hide from News Cabantous Leave a comment

Of all the founder members of the Grand Prix Drivers Club the one who is probably least known to racing enthusiasts is Yves-Giraud Cabantous and yet his career in racing had some memorable highlights. For example he was the first French driver to score points in the newly created World Championship when he finished 4th…

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Fathers and Sons – Part 4 – The Stucks

By F1 GPDCApril 1, 2016April 1, 2016 Articles Stuck Leave a comment

An early member of the Grand Prix Drivers Club was Hans Stuck who had a successful career in racing even before World War II as a member of the Auto Union team in grand prix racing. However ten years before that, at the age of 23, he started his motor sport career driving a privately-owned…

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The Founders – Part 4 – Juan Manuel Fangio

By Graham GauldFebruary 1, 2016September 30, 2016 Articles, Founders, Hide from News Fangio Leave a comment

When the Grand Prix Drivers Club was formed fifty four years ago the great Juan Manuel Fangio had been retired for just four years. He competed in his last grand prix at Reims in the 1958 French Grand Prix driving a Maserati 250F and despite losing his clutch still finished fourth. It was exactly ten…

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Fathers and Sons – Part 3 – The Nakajimas

By F1 GPDCFebruary 1, 2016April 1, 2016 Articles, Hide from News Nakajima Leave a comment

The great Jim Clark once said, after racing in the United States for the first time, “….the Americans don’t need European drivers and races as they have their own racing scene from Midgets to NASCAR” In a sense one could say the same about racing in Japan which, over the years, has created its own…

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The Founders – Part 3 – Albert Divo

By Graham GauldDecember 1, 2015September 30, 2016 Articles, Founders, Hide from News Albert Divo Leave a comment

When the original group of drivers got together to form what is now the Grand Prix Drivers club, the oldest was Albert Divo who, in 1962, was 67 years of age; a driver from another era. Divo was born in 1895, the dawn of the automobile age, and yet by the time he was in…

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Fathers and Sons – Part 2 – The Pilettes

By Graham GauldOctober 1, 2015April 1, 2016 Articles, Hide from News, News Pilette Leave a comment

In the second part of this series we turn to a motor racing family that stretches back over one hundred years, the Pilettes. Teddy Pilette, vice-President of the Grand Prix Drivers Club is the third generation of the Pilette family from Belgium to go motor racing. His grandfather, Theodore Pilette – after whom he was…

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