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Peter Gethin

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Peter Gethin
Gethin at the 1971 Dutch Grand Prix
Born
Peter Kenneth Gethin

(1940-02-21)21 February 1940
Ewell, Surrey, England
Died5 December 2011(2011-12-05) (aged 71)
Haslemere, Surrey, England
Formula One World Championship career
NationalityUnited Kingdom British
Active years19701974
TeamsMcLaren, BRM, Hill
Entries31 (30 starts)
Championships0
Wins1
Podiums1
Career points11
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1970 Dutch Grand Prix
First win1971 Italian Grand Prix
Last win1971 Italian Grand Prix
Last entry1974 British Grand Prix

Peter Kenneth Gethin (21 February 1940 – 5 December 2011) was a British racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from 1970 to 1974. Gethin won the 1971 Italian Grand Prix with BRM.

Born and raised in Surrey, Gethin started his career in sportscar racing, competing in the British Sports Car Championship as a privateer until 1965. He progressed to Formula Three the following year, competing in the French and British Championships before graduating to Formula Two. Gethin won several titles in Formula 5000, prompting McLaren to sign him in 1970 to replace the recently-deceased Bruce McLaren. Despite retaining his seat for 1971, Gethin moved to BRM from the Austrian Grand Prix onwards, winning the following race in Italy with an average speed of 242.615 km/h, a record which stood for 32 years. He remained at BRM in 1972 but was dropped at the end of the season, only making one-off appearances for BRM and Hill in 1973 and 1974, respectively. In addition to his victory in Italy, Gethin had won two non-championship races, including the 1973 Race of Champions with Chevron. Gethin returned to European Formula 5000 upon his departure, twice finishing runner-up in 1974 and 1975, amongst winning the Tasman Series in the former. After competing in the 1974 World Sportscar Championship, driving the Chevron B26, Gethin further finished runner-up in the Canadian-American Challenge Cup and the Rothmans International Series in 1977, before retiring at the end of the season.

Upon retiring from motor racing, Gethin founded Peter Gethin Racing in 1986, a Formula 3000 team. He was the director of the British Racing Drivers' Club from 2005 until 2008.

Career

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McLaren driver

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1970

[edit]

Gethin made his debut in F1 for McLaren at the 1970 Dutch Grand Prix, replacing the team's founder, Bruce McLaren, who had been killed at the Goodwood Circuit earlier in the month. He joined a three car team which also included Andrea de Adamich and Dan Gurney. He qualified strongly at Zandvoort, taking 11th, 2.110s behind Jochen Rindt's pole time for Lotus. He was nine-tenths of a second ahead of his more illustrious but ageing teammate Gurney. He engaged in a good fight early in the race with Henri Pescarolo's Matra, but soon got the better of the Frenchman and was still running in 10th when he had an accident on lap 19.

Gethin missed the French and British Grands Prix, as former McLaren legend and 1967 world champion Denny Hulme drove the car, but he returned for the German Grand Prix. He qualified less impressively, being only 17th, and a tenth of a second behind Hulme, who had remained with the team on Gethin's return at the expense of Gurney. It was a disappointing race, as Gethin dropped to the back early on and retired after just 3 laps with a throttle failure.

The Austrian Grand Prix at the Österreichring was next, and it was another disappointing qualifying session for Gethin, who was down in 21st and comprehensively trounced by his teammates Hulme and de Adamich. As other drivers fell by the wayside in the race, however, Gethin climbed consistently up the order, and was running as high as 8th before he was passed by Ignazio Giunti's Ferrari and Jo Siffert's March late on, but it was his first grand prix finish as he came home 10th.

Gethin was again the rearmost of the McLaren cars at Monza for the Italian Grand Prix, but it was an improved performance, as he was 17th and as close as he had been to the pole time, 2.050 seconds behind Jacky Ickx's Ferrari. He started well in the race and was quickly up to 13th after good passes on teammate de Adamich and Ronnie Peterson's March. However, both Gethin and de Adamich soon suffered technical problems, and dropped to the back of the field, where they would stay until the end of the race, apart from brief periods ahead of Giunti and Tim Schenken's De Tomaso when they were experiencing their own problems. Due to the sheer attrition of the race, de Adamich was 8th at the end and Gethin 9th, although the Englishman was 8 laps down and therefore not classified.

The Canadian Grand Prix at Mont-Tremblant saw the season leave Europe and head towards its finale in the Americas, and it saw a resurgence in Gethin's form, as he out-qualified both de Adamich and Hulme, coming 11th just 1.7 seconds behind Jackie Stewart's pole time. He played the race strategy well, and did not have to make any moves on the track, save one against Pescarolo. He was behind Hulme for a while, but the Kiwi retired with wheel problems. This left Gethin free to take 6th and his first points in F1.

Hoping to continue this form, they arrived in Watkins Glen for the United States Grand Prix. It appeared that Gethin's Canada pace had not been carried over, as he was back behind Hulme and in 21st on the grid, 3.05 seconds behind Ickx on pole, although he was ahead of de Adamich. He raced strongly in the first half of the race, crucially getting ahead of the Brabhams of Jack Brabham and Rolf Stommelen, but both were able to pass him before too long. Tim Schenken and Clay Regazzoni, who was recovering from technical problems, also exposed his deficiencies in racecraft, leaving him 14th and last, and this was where he finished, 8 laps down on winner Emerson Fittipaldi in the Lotus.

The season concluded with the Mexican Grand Prix at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, and Gethin was back on form, qualifying a season best 10th, over half a second ahead of Hulme. He raced strongly again, keeping the faster car of 1964 world champion John Surtees, in the car bearing his name, behind for a number of laps. However, the McLaren's reliability issues reared their ugly head again, and he slowed and finally stopped with engine failure on lap 28.

The season ended with Gethin in 23rd in the world championship, with just 1 solitary point earned in Canada.

1971

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Gethin remained with McLaren for 1971, in a team now reduced to two cars, with Gethin partnering Hulme for another year. The first qualifying session at Kyalami went badly for the Englishman, who finished the session 11th, half a second behind his more illustrious teammate and 1.8 seconds behind pole man Jackie Stewart, driving for Tyrrell. In a race where Hulme was only denied victory by suspension problems four laps from the end, Gethin dropped back very quickly and retired just 7 laps in with a fuel leak.

Peter Gethin during practice of the 1971 German Grand Prix.

The Montjuïc Circuit was the venue for the Spanish Grand Prix, which was next on the calendar. Gethin took a career best 7th, only 0.9 seconds behind Jacky Ickx's Ferrari on pole and over three-tenths ahead of Hulme. He fast dropped behind Hulme and the second Ferrari of Mario Andretti, and when things straightened out he was down in 10th, behind François Cevert's Tyrrell and the Lotus of Emerson Fittipaldi as well. However, the retirements of Andretti and Fittipaldi left him 8th, which is where he finished the race – depressingly he had been comfortably outperformed by Hulme, who had taken 5th.

Gethin's first appearance at Monaco which was the next challenge, and Gethin did not impress in qualifying, being down in 14th, 1.6 seconds behind Hulme and almost four seconds behind Stewart's pole time. He dropped a further place on the first lap, to Rolf Stommelen's Surtees. He gradually gained places, however, due to others' retirements and a good overtake on John Surtees. He ran as high as 11th before he hit the barriers on lap 23.

He won the 1971 Italian Grand Prix with the fastest average speed in Formula One history (until the record was broken by Michael Schumacher in the same race in 2003), but this was his only podium finish. There was only 0.01 seconds between him and second placed Ronnie Peterson, also a record. Indeed, he never led an entire lap of Formula One racing, as he passed from fourth to first in the last lap.

Death

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Gethin died at the age of 71 in December 2011 after a long illness.[1]

Racing record

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Complete European Formula Two Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Pos. Pts
1967 Gerard-Cooper Racing Cooper T82 Ford SNE SIL NÜR
14
HOC TUL JAR ZAN PER BRH VAL NC 0
1968 Frank Lythgoe Racing Chevron B10 Ford HOC
Ret
THR
Ret
JAR PAL
DNS
TUL 12th 4
Brabham BT23C ZAN
Ret
PER
13
HOC
NC
VAL
3
1972 Chevron Racing Cars Chevron B20 Ford MAL
DSQ
THR
Ret
HOC PAU
1
PAL HOC
Ret
ROU
DNS
ÖST
Ret
IMO
Ret
MAN
Ret
PER SAL
5
ALB HOC
Ret
9th 12
1973 Chevron Racing Cars Chevron B25 Ford MAL
DNS
HOC
Ret
THR
Ret
NÜR PAU KIN NIV
Ret
HOC ROU
DNS
MNZ MAN KAR
2
PER SAL NOR ALB
14
VAL 13th 6
Source:[2]

Complete British Saloon Car Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DC Pts Class
1967 Robert Ashcroft Ford Falcon Sprint D BRH SNE SIL SIL MAL SIL SIL
7
BRH OUL BRH 31st 2 9th
Source:[3]

Complete European F5000 Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Pos. Pts
1969 Church Farm Racing McLaren M10A Chevrolet 5.0 V8 OUL
1
BRH
1
BRH
1
MAL
1
SIL
16
MON KOK ZAN SNE HOC
4
OUL
14
BRH
13
1st 2365
1970 Sid Taylor Racing McLaren M10B Chevrolet 5.0 V8 OUL
2
BRH
1
ZOL
1
ZAN
1
SIL
Ret
BRH
1
CAS
1
MAL
1
MON
2
SIL
1
MNZ AND
1
SAL
Ret
THR
2
SIL OUL SNE HOC OUL BRH 1st 90
1971 Sid Taylor Racing McLaren M18 Chevrolet 5.0 V8 MAL SNE BRH MON SIL CAS
2
MAL
6
MNZ MAL THR SIL OUL SNE HOC OUL BRH BRH 12th 7
1973 Chevron Racing Cars Chevron B24 Chevrolet 5.0 V8 BRH
1
MAL
4
SIL SNE BRH MON
Ret
SIL
C
BRH
Ret
OUL
1
JYL ZAN SNE
Ret
BRH
Ret
8th 65
Anglo-American Racing Team OUL
2
MAL MIS MAL
1974 Chevron Racing Team V.D.S. Chevron B28 Chevrolet 5.0 V8 BRH
1
MAL
Ret
SIL
2
OUL
Ret
BRH
4
ZOL
1
THR
2
ZAN
1
MUG
Ret
MNZ
1
MAL
2
MON
Ret
THR
2
BRH
Ret
OUL
Ret
SNE
NC
MAL
3
BRH
3
2nd 186
1975 Racing Team V.D.S. Lola T400 Chevrolet 5.0 V8 BRH
Ret
OUL
NC
BRH
Ret
SIL
4
ZOL
1
ZAN
1
THR
6
SNE
2
MAL
4
THR
Ret
BRH
6
OUL
4
SIL
Ret
SNE
Ret
MAL
6
BRH
1
2nd 143
Source:[4]

Complete Formula One World Championship results

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(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 WDC Pts
1970 Bruce McLaren Motor Racing McLaren M14A Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 RSA ESP MON BEL NED
Ret
FRA GBR GER
Ret
AUT
10
ITA
NC
CAN
6
USA
14
MEX
Ret
23rd 1
1971 Bruce McLaren Motor Racing McLaren M14A Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 RSA
Ret
ESP
8
MON
Ret
9th 9
McLaren M19A NED
NC
FRA
9
GBR
Ret
GER
Ret
Yardley Team BRM BRM P160 BRM P142 3.0 V12 AUT
10
ITA
1
CAN
14
USA
9
1972 Marlboro BRM BRM P160B BRM P142 3.0 V12 ARG
Ret
RSA
NC
MON
Ret
BEL
Ret
FRA
DNS
GBR
Ret
GER 21st 1
BRM P180 ESP
Ret
BRM P160C AUT
13
ITA
6
CAN
Ret
USA
Ret
1973 Marlboro BRM BRM P160E BRM P142 3.0 V12 ARG BRA RSA ESP BEL MON SWE FRA GBR NED GER AUT ITA CAN
Ret
USA NC 0
1974 Embassy Racing with Graham Hill Lola T370 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ARG BRA RSA ESP BEL MON SWE NED FRA GBR
Ret
GER AUT ITA CAN USA NC 0
Source:[5]

Non-championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1968 Frank Lythgoe Racing Brabham BT21 (F2) BMW M12 2.0 L4 ROC
NC
INT OUL
1969 Church Farm Racing Team McLaren M10A (F5000) Chevrolet 5.0 V8 ROC INT MAD
2
OUL
1970 Bruce McLaren Motor Racing McLaren M7A Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ROC
6
Sid Taylor Racing McLaren M10B (F5000) Chevrolet 5.0 V8 INT
16
OUL
1971 Bruce McLaren Motor Racing McLaren M14A Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ARG ROC
Ret
QUE
8
SPR
2
INT
2
RIN
Ret
Yardley Team BRM BRM P160 BRM P142 3.0 V12 OUL
Ret
VIC
1
1972 Marlboro BRM BRM P160B BRM P142 3.0 V12 ROC
4
BRA
Ret
INT
6
OUL
Ret
REP
Ret
BRM P160C VIC
5
1973 Chevron Racing Cars Chevron B24 (F5000) Chevrolet 5.0 V8 ROC
1
INT
1974 Chevron Racing Team V.D.S. Chevron B28 (F5000) Chevrolet 5.0 V8 PRE ROC
10
INT
7
1975 Racing Team V.D.S. Lola T400 (F5000) Chevrolet 5.0 V8 ROC
DNQ
INT SUI
Source:[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Peter Gethin, winner of the 1971 Italian Grand Prix, dies aged 71". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. 5 December 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Peter Gethin – Biography". Motor Sport. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  3. ^ de Jong, Frank. "British Saloon Car Championship". History of Touring Car Racing 1952-1993. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  4. ^ "British and European Formula 5000 1969-1977". OldRacingCars. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  5. ^ "Peter Gethin – Involvement". StatsF1. Retrieved 7 December 2019.

Further reading

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Sporting positions
Preceded by
Inaugural
European Formula 5000 Championship
Champion

1969–1970
Succeeded by
Preceded by Brands Hatch Race of Champions
Winner

1973
Succeeded by
Preceded by Tasman Series
Champion

1974
Succeeded by