Jack Fairman (15 March 1913 – 7 February 2002) was a British racing driver from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He participated in 13

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

Grands Prix, making his debut on 18 July 1953. He scored a total of five championship points, all of which came in the 1956 season.

Career summary

Fairman was born in

Horley Horley is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England, south of the towns of Reigate and Redhill. The county border with West Sussex is to the south with Crawley and Gatwick Airport close to the town. It has its own eco ...

, and was only an occasional racing driver, his main source of income coming from running the family precision tool manufacturing company. He got his first taste of motorsport before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, driving an

Alvis 12/50 The Alvis 12/50 is a car introduced by British business Alvis Car and Engineering Company Ltd in 1923. It went through a series of versions, with the last ones being made in 1932. A range of factory bodies (made by Carbodies and Cross & Ellis ...

trials In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribun ...

and hill climb events from 1934. He quickly moved on to races at the

Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfie ...

circuit, but the war intervened and he spent the duration on active service in the

Tank Corps An armoured corps (also mechanized corps or tank corps) is a specialized military organization whose role is to conduct armoured warfare. The units belonging to an armoured corps include military staff, and are equipped with tanks and other armo ...

. Postwar, Fairman's reliable and dogged driving attributes saw him achieve many successes in

sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing is ...

, particularly in endurance events. He drove for a number of top-rank teams during this time, including

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, Jaguar,

Ecurie Ecosse Ecurie Ecosse (French: "Scotland Stable") was a motor racing team from Edinburgh, Scotland. The team was founded in November 1951 by Edinburgh businessman and racing driver David Murray and mechanic Wilkie Wilkinson. Its most notable achievem ...

, and Aston Martin. It was with Aston that Fairman won his most significant events, partnering Stirling Moss in the 1959 Nürburgring 1000 km, and Tourist Trophy at Goodwood. He also made a brief

debut at the

1953 British Grand Prix The 1953 British Grand Prix was a Formula Two motor race held on 18 July 1953 at Silverstone Circuit. It was race 6 of 9 in the 1953 World Championship of Drivers, which was run to Formula Two rules in 1952 and 1953, rather than the Formula One re ...

, driving and retiring an HWM 53. His engineering experience and dependable driving made him an obvious choice for constructors to contact when they needed a test driver. His most significant contribution in this role was during the development of Connaught's

Formula Two Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009– 2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name ...

and later Formula One cars. Between sports car commitments and his own factory, Fairman managed to fit in occasional Formula One starts, usually at the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

or Italian Grands Prix. He took a

Connaught Type B The Connaught Type B was a racing car made by Connaught Engineering of England used in Formula One racing between 1955 and 1958. Although not a success in the Formula One World Championship, it became the first British car since 1924 to win a Con ...

to two points finishes during the

1956 Formula One season The 1956 Formula One season was the tenth season of FIA's Formula One motor racing. It featured the seventh World Championship of Drivers, and numerous non-championship races. The championship series commenced on 22 January 1956 and ended on 2 S ...

, his only points in a very long Formula One career, finishing tenth in the World Championship that year. Following Bernie Ecclestone's purchase of the remains of Connaught in 1958, Fairman continued with his sporadic Formula One career in a wide variety of machines. His only notable entry in the years that followed was when he became simultaneously the last man ever to start a Grand Prix with a front engined car ''and'' the first to drive a

four-wheel drive Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer cas ...

car, at the 1961 British Grand Prix. The car in question was the experimental

Ferguson P99 The Ferguson P99 was a four-wheel drive Grand Prix car built by Ferguson Research Ltd. It was raced on behalf of the company by the Rob Walker Racing Team. Officially named as Ferguson Climax, it derived its P99 name from its Harry Ferguson Resea ...

, designed by Ferguson Research Ltd. and run by the

Rob Walker Racing Team Rob Walker Racing Team was a privateer team in Formula One during the 1950s and 1960s. Founded by Johnnie Walker heir Rob Walker (1917–2002) in 1953, the team became F1's most successful privateer in history, being the first and (along with ...

. Unfortunately for Fairman, his RWR teammate Stirling Moss suffered brake failure in his

Lotus 18 The Lotus 18 was a race car designed by Colin Chapman for use by Lotus in Formula Junior, Formula Two, and Formula One. Overview Lotus 18 was the first mid-engined car built by Lotus and was a marked improvement over Chapman's early and only ...

and took over the 4WD machine in Fairman's stead. Moss was then later disqualified for receiving a push start, which also ended Fairman's race. Fairman's last Formula One race was in the 1963 non-Championship Imola Grand Prix event, driving a Porsche for

Ecurie Maarsbergen Ecurie Maarsbergen (French for ''Stable Maarsbergen'') was a name used by Dutch racing driver Carel Godin de Beaufort to enter his own cars in Formula One and sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utili ...

. Fairman died, aged 88, in

Rugby, Warwickshire Rugby is a market town in eastern Warwickshire, England, close to the River Avon. In the 2021 census its population was 78,125, making it the second-largest town in Warwickshire. It is the main settlement within the larger Borough of Rugby whi ...

. The pub chain

Wetherspoons J D Wetherspoon plc (branded variously as Wetherspoon or Wetherspoons, and colloquially known as Spoons) is a pub company operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company was founded in 1979 by Tim Martin and is based in Watford. It o ...

has opened a pub named The Jack Fairman in his birthplace of Horley. Opened on 12 February 2007, it occupies the buildings in Victoria Road which originally housed Fairman's garage and has pictures of him around the walls and details can be located on their website. Prior to the pub opening, it was the local Kwik Fit for many years.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key)

References

External links

Career synopsis at Autocourse Grand Prix ArchiveCareer synopsis at gpracing.net

Jack Fairman page at the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairman, Jack English Formula One drivers English racing drivers 1913 births 2002 deaths British Army personnel of World War II 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Hersham and Walton Motors Formula One drivers Connaught Formula One drivers BRM Formula One drivers Cooper Formula One drivers Rob Walker Racing Team Formula One drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers People from Horley Royal Tank Regiment soldiers 12 Hours of Reims drivers Ecurie Ecosse drivers