David Prophet (9 October 1937 – 29 March 1981) was a British racing driver from England.
He participated in two Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 28 December 1963. He scored no championship points. He finished sixth in the non-Championship 1963 Rand Grand Prix.
Prophet was killed in a helicopter crash shortly after taking off from Silverstone Circuit on 29 March 1981. Info from Wiki
Bio by Stephen Latham
Although born in Hong Kong, David Prophet grew up in Britain, in the Midlands, and began racing with a Kieft Formula Junior car. In 1961 he took second places at Aintree and Mallory Park with it then continued the following season with an Alexis, taking a Libre victory at Rufforth.
In 1963 he switched to a Brabham BT6 and won at Snetterton and Goodwood plus had second place finishes at Aintree and Mallory Park. He took the car to South Africa, competing in the South African GP, but after qualifying fourteenth he retired in the race with failing oil pressure. He later went on to finish second in the Rhodesian Grand Prix at Kumalo, (behind John Love) and sixth in the Rand GP.
In 1964 he raced mainly in F2 with a Lotus 32 and a Brabham, plus raced an Elva in sports cars. With the Elva he took class wins at Aintree and in the Lavant Cup at Goodwood and at the end of the year he returned to South Africa. He raced the Brabham BT10 in the South African GP, which was on New Year’s Day and the opening round of the 1965 season, finishing fourteenth. He also raced the Brabham to third place in the Cape South Easter Trophy at Killarney. He continued to race in Formula 2 plus raced a Lotus 30 in sports cars, finishing fourth in the British GP support race plus took a win at Oulton Park. He continued in F2 during the following year, racing in Europe, at the Eifelrennen, Reims and Karlskoga plus took a class win in the Brabham at Phoenix Park. In sports cars, his best result with the McLaren Elva was second in Libre at Silverstone.
In 1967 he raced a Ferrari 250LM and a Ford GT40, in Britain and South Africa, winning a Libre race at Phoenix Park in the GT40 plus second in the Lourenco Marques 3 Hours race and third at the Rhodesian GP. He continued with the GT40 in 1968, finishing fourth in Oulton Park’s Gold Cup plus had a victory at Silverstone, and second place in the supporting Libre race, with a Lola T70.
In 1969 he finished eighth with Paul Hawkins in the Lola in the Spa 1000km and during the year raced a McLaren M6B at Hockenheim plus won at Crystal Palace with a McLaren M8GT.
1970 saw him in the newly formed F5000 series with a McLaren M10B and with a McLaren M12 he finished second at Diepholz and Magny Cours. There were also outings in a Chevrolet Camaro in the British Touring Car Championship, his best results being two third place class finishes at Silverstone and fourth at Croft.
The following year in F5000 started with fourth in the non championship Argentine GP and there were two wins and a second place in Silverstone Libre races, plus second in class in the Oulton Park Gold Cup. He continued with the car for a third season in 1972, his best results being fourth at Brands Hatch, fifth at Mallory Park and two victories and a second place in Silverstone Libre races.
During this period, in 1970, 1971 and 1972, he won the BRDC’s Chris Bristow Trophy for setting the fastest lap each year on Silverstone’s Club Circuit. He retired at the end of 1972 but returned to race a Surtees in Shellsport Group 8 races in 1977.
After retiring, he remained a keen enthusiast and continued to attend races but sadly, in March 1981, after watching the International Trophy Formula 2 race at Silverstone, he and his three passengers were killed when his helicopter crashed leaving the circuit.
