Jackie Oliver

Interesting facts

Colin Chapman signed him to replace the late Jim Clark at Lotus for 1968, and in that debut season he led the British Grand Prix outright before an engine failure ended his chance of a fairytale start. His spell at BRM, from 1969 to 1970, went rough enough that team boss Louis Stanley later summed him up as 'good, but not nearly as good as he thought.' He shared a Ford GT40 with Jacky Ickx to win the 1969 Le Mans 24 Hours, a race decided by barely 120 metres between the two leading cars, then added Sebring and the 1971 Daytona 24 Hours, alongside Pedro Rodriguez, to become only the second driver ever to complete endurance racing's informal Triple Crown. Leading Shadow's line-up in 1973, he finished third in that year's chaotic, rain-soaked Canadian Grand Prix, though confusion over the safety car's timing left much of the paddock convinced he had actually won it. At the end of 1977 he left Shadow, teaming up with financier Franco Ambrosio and designers Tony Southgate and Alan Rees to found his own team, Arrows, which went on to become the most-raced team in Formula One history without ever winning a grand prix, a record it still holds. He also topped the 1974 Can-Am championship for Shadow at the wheel of the DN4, adding a major North American sports car title to his endurance racing résumé. Jackie Oliver made his Formula 1 debut in 1967 and raced until 1977, 8 seasons in total as a British driver. He scored a total of 13 championship points over his career.