Dear Jaguar lovers; 3 June 2012 was one of the most depressing days of the year, when we came to know about the death of famous Grand Prix driver and Le Mans winner Roy Salvadori‘s death. Who spent all his life with eminence, never stopped holding a position of great distinction and superiority, died at his home in Monaco. He was a person of great achievements who always proved to be distinguished from others. He born on 12 May 1922 in Dovercourt, Essex to parents of Italian descent, Roy’s motorsport career started in 1949 at the wheel of Alfa Romeo P3 2.9. After driving a succession of cars, and in 1952 he finally reached Formula One at the wheel of a Ferrari 500 before becoming the part of Connaught team the very next year.
He also drove a privately entered Maserati 250F in addition to the works’ BRM and Cooper teams. The closest he came to an F1 win was at Watkins Glen in New York in 1961, but unluckily the engine of his Cooper failed when he was closing on Innes Ireland's Lotus, which he finally won. He took part in 47 World Championship Grand Prix and the one for which Salvadori is best recognized, was his topmost attainment of winning the 1959 Le Mans 24 Hour race with Carroll Shelby (who also died few weeks before Roy’s death) driving an Aston Martin DBR/1. He returned to Le Mans in 1960 with the DBR/1 and, joined this time by Jim Clark (another famous driver of his time), ended up a competitive third behind two Ferraris. Roy was closely linked with Jaguar cars all through his career, started with an XK 120 roadster but the first significant event he drove a Jaguar in was during 1953. David Murray, patron of Ecurie Ecosse, convinced Roy to come and join the Scottish team for the World Sportcar Championship, a 1,000 kilometers race at the Nürburgring, where Murray had entered the team's three C-types. Built for Le Mans, these cars were barely proper for the ’Ring. Roy shared KSF 181 (XKC041) with Ian Stewart, who wrote: “The fact that he brought it home in second place was to his great credit.. Roy wasn't just a good driver on his day – he was a very brave one as well.” That second place (to a Ferrari) was one of the best results ever achieved by a Jaguar on the old Nürburgring.
Roy came back to Jaguar power in 1959 when he drove a 3.4 Jaguar saloon for motor seller come car racer, John Coombs, followed later by a 3.8 Mk 2. Roy was also selected by Coombs to drive the famous BUY 1 in the E-type's debut race at Oulton Park in March 1961, when he finished third after the new E-type's brakes wilted. Nonetheless, Roy won shortly afterwards at Crystal Palace, vanquishing Jack Sears (who was driving the Oulton-winning car ECD 400). Roy drove the Coombs E-type during 1962 but his most remarkable accomplishment that year in Jaguar terms was a great fourth place at Le Mans, co-driving with Briggs Cunningham in a works-prepared fixedhead E-type. This would be the best result ever attained by an E-type at Le Mans.
With the advent of the lightweight E-type in 1963, Roy again joined the classic French endurance that year, though his Cunningham-entered car retired after co-driver Richards gone down. But he achieved some success in ’63. Partnered with the New Zealander, Denny Hume, Salvadori won the second Motor Six-Hour race at Brands Hatch in the CT Atkins-entered Mk 2 saloon. Roy's final race in a Jaguar was using Tommy Atkins’ lightweight E-type (86 PJ) when he finished fifth behind Graham Hill, Mike Salmon, Jack Sears and David Piper at a wet Silverstone.
In 1962 Roy Salvadori retired from F1, but people were pleased to see him back to Formula1 in the year 1966, when he managed the Cooper team, which he did for two seasons. From 1968 to 1969 he was involved with a car dealership in Surrey, before retiring to Monte Carlo, where his flat overlooking the Grand Prix finishing straight became a spot for alluring Grand Prix parties, a place where he will always be missed.
