David Piper (born 2 December 1930) is a British former Formula One and sports car racing driver from England.
He participated in 3 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 18 July 1959. He scored no championship points. Info from Wiki
Bio by Stephen Latham
Although he raced since seaters for a number of years, it is sport cars that David Piper is most associated with, taking five consecutive victories in the Kyalami 9 Hours, winning the Angola and Swedish Grands Prix, plus had strong finishes and class wins in races from Finland to Sicily, from Canada to Africa. His love for Ferraris stemmed from the 1956 Targa Florio when he was driving a Jaguar C-type and Peter Collins overtook him in a 375MM, giving a cheery wave and a fanfare on the horn, and he determined to eventually own one himself one day.
Born in 1930, he started racing with an MG J4 though switching to a Lotus Mk6 saw victories in 1955 at Goodwood, twice at Snetterton and Castle Combe and a class win at a Wormingford Speed Trial. He also won the Leinster Trophy, in Ireland, much to his surprise, though sadly Don Beauman died in a crash during in the race. Later in a nearby pub, a tall blond man asked if he could try his car out for a lap and when he returned, praising the car and telling how he won the event some years before, he realised it was Mike Hawthorn.
For 1956 he switched to a Lotus X1 and took victories abroad at Sables D’Olonne and the Coppa della Silla at Cosenza plus was second in the Rome Grand Prix. Other notable results were a class win in the Coupe du Salon, third in class at the Nurburgring and second in Snetterton’s Double 12 Trophy. He was fourth in class with Jo Bonnier in an Alfa Romeo at a 5 Hour Messina race plus
He and Dan Margulies raced a Jaguar C-Type to fourth in class in the Mille Miglia but before this, during a race at Goodwood he crashed off and went through some ladies’ lavatories, though fortunately they were made of canvas so not much damage was caused. Following this they drove the C-type to Genoa, travelled on a cattle boat to Palermo and arrived to compete in the race. He and Jo Bonnier contested the 5 Hour Messina, which was won by Phil Hill in a Ferrari 750 Monza. After the race he was having a drink at the hotel when an Italian came into the bar and hit Phil Hill with a piece of wood, claiming he had cut him up in the race. Eventually another driver, Benoit Musy, went outside and got his revolver, then returned and forced the Italian out at gunpoint.
After purchasing a Lotus 11 he raced around Europe (a number of drivers drove their cars to races) driving the car on the road from race to race, with the start and prize money from a race helping him compete at the next one. In 1957 his best results were third in the Coupe de Vitesse at Montlhery plus fourth in class in Oulton Park’s British Empire Trophy. After Oulton Park, he drove overnight from there to Paris and raced in the Coupe de Vitesse at Montlhéry the following day, and then drove a further 1300 miles to Sicily for the Giro di Sicilia. During the year he was lucky to escape at St.Etienne when his car overturned and caught fire and later described how he opened his eyes and was surrounded by hooded, black-robed figures. At first he thought he had died but then discovered he was in a hospital being looked after by nuns.
After rebuilding the Lotus, in the following year he raced it to second place in a Goodwood handicap and took third places at Brands Hatch and in the Scott Brown Memorial at Snetterton. He was fifth overall and took a class win at Vila Real, competed in a support race at the German GP plus finished fifth in class at the Nurburgring 1000km. 1959 saw his Grand Prix debut, at the British GP at Aintree, though his Robert Bodle Dorchester Service Station sponsored Lotus 16 retired due to a blown headgasket after 19 laps. He won F2 races at Whitchurch and Snetterton, plus a Libre race at Brands Hatch while other strong results included second at Snetterton and in the Farnignham Trophy at Brands Hatch plus second in class in a sports car race at the British GP.
There were two Grands Prix entered in the following year, though he failed to start the French race as his engine blew in qualifying, but finished twelfth at Silverstone in the Lotus-Climax. There were occasional races in a Formula Junior Elva, a victory in a Snetterton Libre race and, travelling to New Zealand, he was second in the Lady Wigram Trophy. Racing in sports cars, he finished third at Snetterton and Oulton Park plus took a win and third place at Brands Hatch.
1960 saw him continue with a Lotus 15, taking a win at a Brands Hatch Easter race, while the following year he raced in non championship F1 races plus competed in FJunior with a Lotus 20, his best result being second at Cesenatico. There was also a shared drive in a Lancia Flaminia at the 6 Hour race at Brands Hatch.
Having competed in Europe over the years with various Lotus cars, he then began his long association with Ferrari sports cars. After purchasing a 250 GT0 he persuaded BP to sponsor him and in return painted the car in the company’s shade of green. The first big international event with it was the Tour de France; 3000 miles on the road, seven hillclimbs and five circuits, Spa, Le Mans, Pau, Albi and Reims and finished fourth with Dan Margulies. He finished fifth in 1962’s TT and won the Kyalami 9 Hours with Bruce Johnstone. Getting to South Africa involved the car being shipped to Cape Town and then driving 1000 miles to Kyalami, crossing the Karoo semi desert. After this it was a journey by boat up the coast, where he finished third in the Angolan Grand Prix. The circuit took place around the streets of Luanda, with straw bales against the lamp posts and the hotel he was staying in was on a corner so sandbags were placed there to stop cars finishing up in the foyer.
Following this he travelled back and then put the GTO on the QE2 and across to New York. He then drove south through Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia to Florida, to compete at Daytona and Sebring.
When he purchased his second GTO, he modified it by chopping seven inches out of the windscreen, lowering the roof, removed excess weight, put the rear wheels on the front and had new 10in wheels for the back. He travelled across to race in the Canadian sports car Grand Prix, finishing tenth, then on to Kyalami where he won the 9 Hours race again, this time with Tony Maggs. There were two races with Ed Cantrell, at the Sebring 12 Hours and the Nurburgring 1000km, taking a sixth place finish there.
His Le Mans debut came in 1963 (he would go on to compete their eight times), with Masten Gregory in a 250LMB and despite Masten putting the car in the sand at Mulsanne, he managed to dig it out and they went on to finish sixth. He also took fourth in the Coppa Europa at Monza, fifth in the TT and Mallory Park’s Guards Trophy, plus competed in the Auvergne Trophy.
David then obtained a mid-engined 250LM in 1964 and while living in Modena for a period, he rented a small workshop behind the pits at the Modena Autodromo. He came second in the Tourist Trophy and back at Daytona, finished second with Lucien Bianchi at the 2000km race. There was a second in Angola plus third places at Monza and in Goodwood’s Sussex Trophy, plus raced with T.Maggs in the Paris 1000km and Nurburgring 1000km races. At the Sebring 12 Hours he, Pedro Rodríguez and Mike Gammino, won their class plus he would also finish second in the British GP support race. During this time he unfortunately broke his back after crashing heavily at Snetterton, though he returned to racing wearing a form of brace until it healed. The car needed rebuilding and as he had no car for the Kyalami Nine Hours, Maranello Concessionaires loaned him a 250LM, and he and Tony Maggs went on to win the race.
During 1965, alternating between a Ferrari 250LM, a 330P and 365 P2 there were podium finishes in the Tourist Trophy, Spa 500km, Silverstone’s Martini Trophy, the Coppa Citta di Enna and the Sebring 12 Hours (with T.Maggs). There was also a race in a Porsche 904 at Mugello but he didn’t finish while the end of the year saw him take his fourth win at Kyalami (with Richard Attwood) and not long afterwards he won the Angola Grand Prix.
Alternating between the Ferraris in 1966 David took victories in the Trophée d’Auvergne at Clermont Ferrand, the Eagle Trophy at Brands Hatch, Oulton Park’s Gold Cup, the Anerly Trophy at Crystal Palace and the 3 Hour Cape Town. In shared drives there were wins in the 1000km Paris (with M.Parkes), the Kyalami 9 Hours (with R.Attwood) plus he and Bob Bondurant won in a Shelby Cobra at a Brands Hatch 500 mile race. 1967 saw wins at Brands Hatch, the 3 Hour Cape Town, the Silverstone International plus podium placings at Crystal Palace, 12 Hour Reims and Wills Trophy races at Silverstone and Croft.
Shared drives achieved second place finishes in the Reims 12 Hours (with J.Siffert) and the Cape 3 Hours (with R.Attwood) while away from his Ferraris, there were several drives in a Mirage M1, including Le Mans with Dick Thompson. While attempting a sixth victory at Kyalami, Richard Attwood was driving along the pitlane when somebody stepped in front of the car. It damaged the car’s front and screen and due to the time it took repairing it they only finished sixth.
During this time the sponsorship from BP ended but he continued with the cars’ colour scheme, as race organisers all knew the ‘Piper Green’ Ferraris. There were victories the next year at the Norisring 200 Miles, the Swedish GP, Vila Real and Hockenheim in a 412 P. With R.Attwood at Le Mans, which had been put back until September because of massive protests in France, they finished seventh with a 250LM and were the best of all Ferrari crews. There were also several drives in a Ford GT40 plus one in a Chevron B12 at Watkins Glen.
He was one of the first privateers to buy a Porsche 917K and in winning the 9 Hour Kyalami again (with R.Attwood) he became the most successful driver in the history of the race. There was a shared drive with J.Siffert in the GP Japan and alternating between the 917 and 908 there was also victory in the 6 Hour Vila Real (with C.Craft), second at the Swedish GP plus second and third with C.Craft in the 1000km Paris and 12 Hour Barcelona races. A new addition in 1969 was a Lola T70, taking wins with it at Hockenheim and a Coupes de Vitesse plus podiums at Magny Cours, Dijon, Silverstone, Oulton Park, Salzburg and Zandvoort. There were also co-drives with Frank Gardner in the 917 at the Nurburgring 1000km (finishing eighth) plus with Pedro Rodriguez in a Ferrari 312P to second place in the Spa 1000km though they didn’t finish at Le Mans. He described how Pedro was a tiger in the car then gentle and polite out of it and he travelled from race to race in his old Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn.
He continued with the Porsche 917K in 1970, though it was a frustrating season and best results were second place finishes at Dijon and the Coupes de l’ACIF at Monthlery, plus third at Magny Cours. During the year he became involved with the Steve McQueen ‘Le Mans’ movie, driving plus supplying Lola T70s which featured Ferrari 512 bodies, plus he had his transporter repainted in Ferrari colours and hired it out to the producers. Sadly, while driving a 917 camera car, a tyre punctured at speed and in the resultant crash the car was cut in two and he later had to have part of his leg amputated. While recovering from this, one of his visitors was Douglas Bader, and David leant to drive using left foot braking; though it became natural for him he stated that “the original equipment was better.”
Besides his historic racing he and Mike Knight later formed the International Sports Racing Prototypes Racing Club and in 1988 they took their ISP Cars to South Africa for a three race series at Cape Town, East London and Durban. In 1990 he won the European Historic Championship.
In 2013 he sued Mark Hales (a writer and driver) for damaging his Porsche 917 when the engine failed catastrophically during a test drive for a magazine article. It was claimed that the damage was caused by his failing to engage the right gear and ‘over-revving’ it. D.Piper wanted him to pay for the repairs the car needed, stating at London’s High Court: “If you bend it, you mend it.”
