Alfred Ethelbert Moss (30 May 1896 – 23 April 1972) was an English dentist and racing driver. Born in Kensington,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, Moss was the son of Sarah Jane and Abraham Moses Moss. His father was Jewish, while his mother was a Christian. 1919AVMonocar

Moss became a successful London dentist, and from his mid-twenties he was also an enthusiastic competition driver, beginning his racing career at the Essex Motor Club's Winter Trial in 1921 driving a 1000 cc AV cyclecar. He was disqualified for seeking help after his rear tyres had burst twice. His AV later caught fire in

Park Lane Park Lane is a dual carriageway road in the City of Westminster in Central London. It is part of the London Inner Ring Road and runs from Hyde Park Corner in the south to Marble Arch in the north. It separates Hyde Park to the west from ...

, and Moss then acquired a GN cyclecar, with which he enjoyed success in trials and hillclimbs, and which he raced at

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 ...

. In 1922, he bought and began to race a Crouch Le Mans sports car which had no front brakes.Stuart Turner, ''Harnessing Horsepower: The Pat Moss Carlsson Story''
p. 6
/ref> In the

1924 Indianapolis 500 The 12th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 30, 1924. Lora Lawrence Corum started the race in the #15 entry, and was relieved during the race by Joe Boyer. Boyer proceeded to driv ...

, he placed 14th or 16th (sources differ) in a Fronty

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

.P. R. H. Newsome, "Alfred Moss, the Dentist Who Became a Champion Race-Car Driver" in ''Bulletin of the History of Dentistry'' (American Academy of the History of Dentistry, 1988), pp. 22–25 Moss met his future wife, Aileen Craufurd, at Brooklands. She had been an ambulance driver in the First World War, and also did some racing. They were married at St Marylebone in 1928"MOSS Alfred E / Craufurd Nora A" in ''Register of Marriages for Marylebone Registration District'', vol. 1a (1928), p. 1041 and were the parents of the

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, ...

driver Stirling Moss and the rallying champion

Pat Moss Patricia Ann Moss-Carlsson (''née'' Moss; 27 December 1934 – 14 October 2008) was one of the most successful female auto rally drivers of all time, achieving three outright wins and seven podium finishes in international rallies. She was cro ...

. In 1957 Moss and his son's manager Ken Gregory established the Formula One team

British Racing Partnership British Racing Partnership (BRP) was a racing team, and latterly constructor, from the United Kingdom. It was established by Alfred Moss and Ken Gregory – Stirling Moss's father and former manager, respectively – in 1957 to run cars for Stir ...

with the objective to run cars for Stirling, when not under contract with other firms, along with other up-and-coming drivers. Moss died aged 75 in Stoke Mandeville, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, on the 10th anniversary of his son being seriously injured in a car racing crash at Goodwood.

Indianapolis 500 results

References

1896 births 1972 deaths English people of Jewish descent English racing drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers English dentists Formula One team owners 20th-century dentists {{England-autoracing-bio-stub