Ron Flockhart (16 June 1923 – 12 April 1962) was a British racing driver.
He participated in 14 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, achieving one podium finish and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans sportscar race twice. Info from Wiki
Bio by Stephen Latham
After studying engineering at Edinburgh University, Ron Flockhart then went on to serve during the Second World War with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, reaching the rank of Captain. While in the military he raced motor bikes in Italy and the Middle East and after leaving the services he continued racing them.
In 1949 he switched to cars, making his first competition appearance with an MG TC. He continued racing the MG before acquiring a JP Vincent in 1951, winning the Ulster Trophy plus taking second and third place finishes at Crimond and Croft. He then raced an ERA in the following seasons, winning a libre race at Crimond in 1952 while 1953 was a successful year for him with victories at Snetterton, Charterhall (twice) and in a Goodwood Handicap. In hillclimbs there were wins at Bo’ness and a class win at Rest & be Thankful and he competed in a number of races in an F2 Connaught and took a second place at Snetterton in an Aston Martin DBS3.
His exploits brought him to the attention of BRM, who signed him up in 1954, and racing their V16 he took wins at Ibsley, Snetterton (twice) plus podium placings at Goodwood, Castle Combe and Aintree. There were also sports car races with a Healey plus the year saw his Grand Prix debut, in the British GP. Prince Bira had to stop during the race due to illness and handed over his Maserati 250F but Ron rolled the car at Copse, fortunately without injury.
The following year wasn’t as successful for him, with his best results being second place finishes with the BRM in Formula Libre races at Snetterton and Castle Combe plus a second and fourth with an Austin Healey 100 at Charterhall.
1956 saw another British GP appearance, with a BRM P25 though his engine failed on the third lap. However he returned later in the year in the Italian GP with a Connaught, where he finished in a strong third place. He was invited to race for Ecurie Ecosse in sports cars and it was at Le Mans that he enjoyed his greatest triumphs, racing a Jaguar D-Type to victory with Ninian Sanderson in 1956 and the following year with Ivor Bueb. Racing for Ecurie Ecosse in national events saw wins at Snetterton, Goodwood (twice) and Chaterhall plus podium finishes at Snetterton, Oulton Park, Silverstone and three times at Goodwood. There were also podium placings with the Austin Healey at Charterhall and a Lotus Eleven at Oulton Park.
In winning again at Le Mans in 1957, the Jaguar covered 4397 Km, at an average speed of 183kmh, a record which remained unbroken for four years. Also, D Types finished in second, third, fourth and sixth places which was an unparalleled result at that time. There was also a victory for him with Ecurie Ecosse at St.Etienne but at Buenos Aires later in the year (co-driving with R.Mieres) he crashed. Unfortunately the high of his Le Mans victory was soured when he suffered burns to his arms and legs in an accident in the BRM in the French GP. In his other GP outing that year, at Monaco, his race ended due to engine problems though he later raced to third place finishes in the Glover Trophy at Goodwood and Silverstone’s International Trophy. He finished second in a 2.4 litre Jaguar in a saloon car race at the International Trophy plus racing a Lotus Eleven he won at Silverstone, had class wins in the Empire Trophy and at Rouen, plus was second at Goodwood’s Chichester Cup.
The following year saw further saloon car races with the Jaguar, taking second place finishes at Aintree and in a support race at the International Trophy. He won with the D-Type at Goodwood plus had a win and a second place at Charterhall though retired at Le Mans. In Formula 1, he failed to qualify Rob Walker’s Cooper Climax at Monaco and racing the BRM in the Moroccan GP, he was forced to retire with a broken camshaft. He was luckily uninjured during a crash at Silverstone’s International Trophy but bizarrely was injured during practice at a sports car race at Rouen, when his Lotus hit an ambulance carrying Peter Ashdown. The Lotus caught fire and though pulled clear he sustained broken ribs and three crushed vertebrae.
Back in action for 1959, there were victories with Ecurie Ecosse in a Lister Jaguar at Snetterton, and a win and fourth at Goodwood and Aintree with a Tojeiro. He took fourth in the International Trophy with the D-Type and also competed with it in a USAC race at Pomona, California, though retired from it. There were five GP starts, where he finished at Portugal and Italy, though had to retire at Monaco and Aintree. However, though he finished sixth in the French GP, this was achieved despite a stone smashing his goggles and he drove on to the chequered flag virtually without the use of one eye and a badly cut face. He also took victories with the BRM in the Silver City Trophy at Snetterton, plus a third place at Silverstone and travelled to New Zealand to compete with it. The Grand Prix of New Zealand, held on Ardmore airfield, was open to Formule Libre and attracted drivers such as S.Moss, J.Bonnier, C.Shelby, H.Schell J.Brabham and B.McLaren. It was run with two heats and a final and he won the first heat though in the final he stalled his engine at the start, but then ran strongly in third place for 23 laps until being forced to stop after suffering an oil-breather break and lost oil. After this race he stayed on to compete in the Lady Wigram Trophy, and in the race he and Jack Brabham passed and re-passed each other a number of times, with Ron eventually taking victory. In a third race, at Invercargill, he was beaten to second place by Bruce McLaren, though finished ahead of J.Brabham.
1960 saw him repeat his previous year’s sixth place finish in the French GP, where he sadly replaced the recently deceased Alan Stacey in a Lotus 18-Climax. His final GP came in America, at Riverside, though he retired the Cooper with a transmission problem. He raced for Alan Brown in Formula 2 and finished second in the GP des Frontiers at Chimay and fourth at Pau plus won the Empire Trophy and British GP sports car races in a Cooper Monaco. Besides his racing, another passion was flying and he had been one of the first drivers to fly their own plane to races, having gained a pilot’s licence in 1948 with a Tiger Moth, and he owned an Auster 5 G-ANHO during 1954–57.
He competed at 1961’s Le Mans (co-driving an Aston Martin DBR1 with Jim Clark), though retired from the race, but won with it at Charterhall. He also raced Border Reivers’ Cooper T53 Climax at Ballarat Airfield, in Australia, finishing third behind Dan Gurney and Graham Hill’s BRMs.
He had begun to fly more and race less during this time plus become interested in flying records and applied himself to beating the London-Sydney record; the solo record was held by by H F ‘Jim’ Broadbent, who had covered the 9,612 miles in five days 4hr 21minutes. In early 1961, preparations began for the flight to the UK though leading up to it he had only logged twelve flying hours in his World War Two Mustang. The planned route was Sydney—Alice Springs—Darwin—Sourabaya—Singapore —Rangoon—Calcutta—Karachi—Bahrain—Beirut—Brindisi—Nice and then London, with overnight stops at Singapore, Karachi and Brindisi. He intended flying only during daylight hours and in a maximum of five hour segments. Unfortunately the attempt ended 1500 miles from London when his Mustang suffered serious engine failure, due to rain getting into the engine while on the ground in Greece. Later in the year the plane was written off after suffering a cockpit fire.
1962 saw early season races in a Lotus, finishing fifth at Warwick Farm but he retired from the Lady Wigram Trophy race. He was also in Australia to race a Lotus-Climax and while there was preparing for a second attempt on the Sydney to London record. Another Mustang had been obtained for this second attempt and a few days before it he had to fly to Sydney to have maintenance done and additional fuel tanks added. The weather conditions were bad and, sadly, not long after taking off from Moorabbin Airport in Melbourne, he was killed when the plane crashed.
Ron’s ashes were later scattered from an aeroplane over the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh.
In 2016, the R.Flockhart/I.Bueb 1956 Le Mans winning Jaguar D-Type was sold at auction at Monterey, California for $19.8 million (with auction fees it was $21.78 million)
