Innes Ireland

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox person

Robert McGregor Innes Ireland (12 June 1930 – 22 October 1993) was a British racing driver and journalist, who competed in Formula One from Template:F1 to Template:F1. Ireland won the 1961 United States Grand Prix with Lotus.

Born in Mytholmroyd and raised in Scotland, Ireland initially served in the British Army, reaching the rank of lieutenant in 1955. Ireland competed in Formula One for Lotus, BRP, Reg Parnell Racing and Bernard White Racing, winning the Template:F1GP in Template:F1 with the former, as well as finishing fourth in the 1960 World Drivers' Championship and taking victories at eight non-championship races. He entered eight editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans from Template:24hLM to Template:24hLM, and was a race-winner in the British Saloon Car Championship.

Upon retiring from motor racing, Ireland started a career as a journalist in the late-1980s for ESPN, later working with automobile magazines Road & Track and Autocar. He was the president of the British Racing Drivers' Club from 1992 until his death the following year.

Early lifeEdit

Ireland was born 12 June 1930 in Mytholmroyd, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, the son of a Scottish veterinary surgeon. His family returned to Kirkcudbright, Scotland during his youth, and he trained as an engineer with Rolls-Royce, first in Glasgow and later in London. Commissioned as a second lieutenant in the King's Own Scottish Borderers,<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> he served with the Parachute Regiment in the Suez Canal Zone during 1953 and 1954.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1955 he transferred to the Territorial Army and was promoted to lieutenant,<ref>Template:London Gazette Correcting Template:London Gazette</ref> and in 1958 he was placed on the Reserve of Officers.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>

Racing careerEdit

Ireland began racing a Riley 9 in 1954. His first year of nationally competitive events was 1957,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> by which time he was running a small engineering firm in Surrey. Success in sports car racing saw him make his Formula One debut for Team Lotus in 1959. In 1960 he won three non-championship Formula One races and finished fourth in the World Drivers Championship. Badly injured in the 1961 Monaco Grand Prix, Ireland recovered to win the Solitude Grand Prix and Flugplatzrennen races, then finished the season with a victory in the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. He was sacked at the end of the season as team boss Colin Chapman considered Jim Clark a better bet.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Ireland entered a Ferrari in the 24 Hours of Daytona, with motorcycle racer Mike Hailwood as his intended co-driver, but broke down with gearbox problems after Template:Fraction hours, before Hailwood was scheduled to participate.<ref>"Hailwood home". Motorcycle News, 16 February 1966, p.1. Accessed 20 April 2024</ref>

Ireland was encouraged by Bill France Sr., founder of NASCAR, to participate in the 1967 Daytona 500, one of the last races of his career, where the V8 engine of his year-old Dodge exploded opposite the stands.

Ireland worked as a journalist for ESPN for several F1 races in the late 1980s, as well as the American Road & Track magazine and Autocar magazine. He also operated fishing trawlers in the North Atlantic. Towards the end of his life, he was elected president of the British Racing Drivers' Club, a post he still held at the time of his death from cancer on 22 October 1993,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> in Reading, Berkshire.

WritingEdit

As a writer, Ireland produced an autobiography, All Arms and Elbows (1967; Template:ISBN). Another book, Marathon in the Dust (1970), is Ireland's account of the gruelling 1968 Daily Express London-Sydney Marathon, which he completed with two friends, fellow Formula One competitor Michael Taylor and British bobsledder Andy Hedges, in a Mercedes Benz 280 SE.

Personal lifeEdit

Template:Refimprove On 30 October 1954 Ireland married Scarborough schoolteacher Norma Thomas. They had two daughters before divorcing in 1967. He then married Edna Humphries also in 1967. Ireland married his third wife Jean Mander (née Howarth), a former fashion model, on 11 June 1993 at Newbury register office. Jean had been engaged to Mike Hawthorn at the time of Hawthorn's death in 1959. Ireland also had a son who died in 1992.

Ireland was described as a larger-than-life character who, according to a rival team boss, "lived without sense, without an analyst, and provoked astonishment and affection from everyone."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Racing recordEdit

Complete Formula One World Championship resultsEdit

(key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	WDC	Pts.
Template:F1	Team Lotus	Lotus 16	Climax FPF 2.5 L4	MON	500	NED Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR	GER Template:Small	POR Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	USA Template:Small		14th	5
Template:F1	Team Lotus	Lotus 18	Climax FPF 2.5 L4	ARG Template:Small	MON Template:Small	500	NED Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	POR Template:Small	ITA	USA Template:Small	4th	18
Template:F1	Team Lotus	Lotus 21	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	MON Template:Small	NED	BEL Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small		USA Template:Small			6th	12
Template:F1	Team Lotus	Lotus 18/21	Climax FPF 1.5 L4							ITA Template:Small				6th	12
Template:F1	UDT-Laystall Racing Team	Lotus 24	Climax FWMV 1.5 V8	NED Template:Small	MON Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER	ITA Template:Small	USA Template:Small	RSA Template:Small		16th	2
Template:F1	British Racing Partnership	Lotus 24	BRM P56 1.5 V8	MON Template:Small					GER Template:Small					9th	6
Template:F1	British Racing Partnership	BRP Mk1	BRM P56 1.5 V8		BEL Template:Small	NED Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small		ITA Template:Small	USA	MEX	RSA	9th	6
Template:F1	British Racing Partnership	Lotus 24	BRM P56 1.5 V8	MON Template:Small	NED									14th	4
		BRP Mk1				BEL Template:Small	FRA Template:Small
		BRP Mk2						GBR Template:Small	GER	AUT Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	USA Template:Small	MEX Template:Small
Template:F1	Reg Parnell Racing	Lotus 25	BRM P56 1.5 V8	RSA	MON	BEL Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	NED Template:Small	GER				NC	0
Template:F1	Reg Parnell Racing	Lotus 33	BRM P56 1.5 V8								ITA Template:Small	USA Template:Small	MEX Template:Small	NC	0
Template:F1	Bernard White Racing	BRM P261	BRM P60 1.9 V8	MON	BEL	FRA	GBR	NED	GER	ITA	USA Template:Small	MEX Template:Small		NC	0

Non-championship Formula One resultsEdit

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21
1957	Equipe Endeavour	Cooper T43 F2	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	BUE	SYR	GLV	NAP	RMS	CAE	INT Template:Small	MOD	MOR
1959	Team Lotus	Lotus 16 F2	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	GLV	AIN	INT Template:Small	OUL
1959	Team Lotus	Lotus 16	Climax FPF 2.5 L4					SIL Template:Small
1960	Team Lotus	Lotus 18	Climax FPF 2.5 L4	BUE Template:Small	GLV Template:Small	INT Template:Small	SIL Template:Small	LOM Template:Small	OUL Template:Small
1961	Team Lotus	Lotus 18	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	LOM Template:Small	GLV Template:Small	PAU	BRX Template:Small	VIE	AIN Template:Small	SYR Template:Small	NAP	LON	SIL		KAN Template:Small		MOD Template:Small
1961	Team Lotus	Lotus 21	Climax FPF 1.5 L4											SOL Template:Small		DAN Template:Small		FLG Template:Small	OUL Template:Small	LEW	VAL	RAN	NAT	RSA
1962	UDT-Laystall Racing Team	Lotus 18/21	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	CAP	BRX Template:Small	LOM Template:Small	LAV	GLV Template:Small	PAU	AIN Template:Small
		Ferrari 156	Ferrari 178 1.5 V6								INT Template:Small
		Lotus 24	BRM P56 1.5 V8									NAP	MAL	CLP Template:Small
		Lotus 24	Climax FWMV 1.5 V8												RMS Template:Small	SOL DNA	KAN Template:Small	MED	DAN Template:Small	OUL Template:Small	MEX Template:Small	RAN Template:Small	NAT
1963	British Racing Partnership	Lotus 24	BRM P56 1.5 V8	LOM Template:Small	GLV Template:Small	PAU	IMO	SYR	AIN Template:Small	INT Template:Small	ROM		KAN	MED	AUT	OUL Template:Small	RAN
1963	British Racing Partnership	BRP Mk1	BRM P56 1.5 V8									SOL Template:Small
1964	British Racing Partnership	BRP Mk1	BRM P56 1.5 V8	DMT Template:Small	NWT Template:Small	SYR
1964	British Racing Partnership	BRP Mk2	BRM P56 1.5 V8				AIN Template:Small	INT Template:Small	SOL Template:Small	MED Template:Small	RAN
1965	Reg Parnell Racing	Lotus 25	BRM P56 1.5 V8	ROC	SYR Template:Small	SMT	INT	MED Template:Small
1965	Reg Parnell Racing	Lotus 25/33^{{{#if:1\|1\|[1]}}}	BRM P60 2.0 V8						RAN Template:Small
1966	Reg Parnell Racing	Lotus 25/33^{{{#if:1\|1\|[2]}}}	BRM P60 2.0 V8	RSA Template:Small	SYR	INT
1966	Bernard White Racing	BRM P261	BRM P60 1.9 V8				OUL Template:Small

<templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>^1{{#if:| }} The Parnell Lotus driven by Ireland in 1965 and 1966 was a written-off 25 rebuilt around a 33 monocoque.

Complete British Saloon Car Championship resultsEdit

(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	Template:Tooltip	Pts	Class
1962	Ford Motor Company	Ford Zodiac Mk 3	Template:Tooltip	SNE	GOO	AIN	SIL ovr:? cls:1	CRY	AIN	BRH	OUL	17th	9	2nd
1964	McKechnie Racing	Ford Cortina Lotus	Template:Tooltip	SNE	GOO	OUL	AIN	SIL ovr:7 cls:4	CRY	BRH	OUL	27th	2	11th
Template:Small {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters\|check\|unknown=\|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"\|ignoreblank=y\| 1 \| style }}

24 Hours of Le Mans resultsEdit

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon Team Lotus	Template:Flagicon Mike Taylor	Lotus 11	S 1.1	162	DNF	DNF
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon Écurie Écosse	Template:Flagicon Masten Gregory	Jaguar D-Type	S 3.0	70	DNF	DNF
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon Team Lotus	Template:Flagicon John Whitmore	Lotus Elite Mk. 14	S 2.0	0	DNS	DNS
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon UDT Laystall Racing Team	Template:Flagicon Masten Gregory	Ferrari 250 GTO	GT 3.0	165	DNF	DNF
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon David Brown Racing Dept.	Template:Flagicon Bruce McLaren	Aston Martin DP214	GT +3.0	59	DNF	DNF
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon Maranello Concessionaires	Template:Flagicon Tony Maggs	Ferrari 250 GTO	GT 3.0	328	6th	2nd
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon Ford Advanced Vehicles	Template:Flagicon John Whitmore	Ford GT40	GT 5.0	72	DNF	DNF
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon F.R. English Ltd. \ Comstock Racing	Template:Flagicon Jochen Rindt	Ford GT40 Mk I	S 5.0	8	DNF	DNF

NASCAR: Grand NationalEdit

Daytona 500Edit

Year	Team	Manufacturer	Start	Finish
1967	Ray Fox	'66 Dodge Charger	20	27

ReferencesEdit

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External linksEdit

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