John Sprinzel (October 25, 1930 – May 2021) was an English
motor racing
Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of tw ...
driver renowned for competing in saloon and sports car races in addition to his main career in
rallying. He was born in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
, where his father was a film director for Paramount Newsreel and his mother a dress designer. Three years later the family moved to England, as John's father had been tasked with setting up Paramount Newsreel's London branch. (The move had nothing to do with the Nazi persecution of Jews, as has been shrilly claimed in obituaries published in once-respected national newspapers. The family were members of the Lutheran Church.)
Sprinzel finished third overall in the inaugural
1958 British Saloon Car Championship season driving for his own Team Speedwell in an
Austin A35
The Austin A35 is a small family car that was sold by Austin from 1956 until 1968. About 280,897 A35s of all types were produced.
Design
Introduced in 1956, it replaced the highly successful Austin A30. The name reflected the larger and more ...
. Navigated by future BMC and Ford Competitions Manager Stuart Turner, he won the
British Rally Championship
The British Rally Championship is a rallying series based in the United Kingdom. The first championship was run in 1958 and it has been licensed by the Motor Sports Association (MSA) since 1999. MSA has opted not to run the series in 2015, ins ...
in 1959, driving an
Austin-Healey Sprite
The Austin-Healey Sprite is a small open sports car produced in the United Kingdom from 1958 until 1971. The Sprite was announced to the press in Monte Carlo by the British Motor Corporation on 20 May 1958, two days after that year's Monaco Gran ...
and an
Alfa Romeo Giulietta Alfa Romeo Giulietta is the name of three different automobiles made by Italian car manufacturer Alfa Romeo:
* The first Giulietta (Type 750 and 101) was a rear-wheel drive car made from 1954 to 1965, in 4-door saloon/sedan, coupé, spider and e ...
TI.
['Lucky John' (The Coulthard Press, 2013) by John Sprinzel] In International events during 1960, he won his class in the
12 Hours of Sebring race in Florida and scored 2nd place overall in the RAC Rally of Great Britain and third overall in Belgium's gruelling
Liège-Rome-Liège. These successes were all achieved in Austin-Healey
Sebring Sprite
The Austin-Healey Sebring Sprite is a small sports car that was produced by the Donald Healey Motor Company at its Cape Works in Warwick, the Healey's Speed Equipment Division in Grosvenor Street, London and subsequently by John Sprinzel Ltd fr ...
s, a car he was instrumental in developing.
He published three volumes of memoirs: 'Sleepless Knights' (1962), 'Spritely Years' (1994 and 2008) and 'Lucky John' (2013), as well as a tuning manual for BMC cars 'Modified Motoring' (1959 and 1961). John died of natural causes in Hawaii where he had lived for many years with his life-partner Caryl.
See also
*Austin-Healey
Sebring Sprite
The Austin-Healey Sebring Sprite is a small sports car that was produced by the Donald Healey Motor Company at its Cape Works in Warwick, the Healey's Speed Equipment Division in Grosvenor Street, London and subsequently by John Sprinzel Ltd fr ...
References
External links
*
Sebring Sprite website
1930 births
2021 deaths
People from Berlin
British Touring Car Championship drivers
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