Michael John Clifford Taylor (24 April 1934 – 4 April 2017) was a British

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

. He participated in two

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, ...

World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 18 July 1959. He scored no championship points. He also participated in several non-Championship Formula One races. His racing career effectively ended when his steering column weld failed on 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 ...

in the

1960 Belgian Grand Prix The 1960 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on 19 June 1960. It was race 5 of 10 in the 1960 World Championship of Drivers and race 4 of 9 in the 1960 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. Stirl ...

at . He was thrown from the car, cutting down a tree with his body and broke several bones (

Alan Stacey Alan Stacey (29 August 1933 – 19 June 1960) was a British racing driver. He began his association with Lotus when he built one of the MkVI kits then being offered by the company. Having raced this car he went on to build an Eleven, eventua ...

and

Chris Bristow Christopher William Bristow (2 December 1937 – 19 June 1960) was a British Formula One driver. Bristow was the son of a garage owner from London, and was unmarried. Bristow was called the "wild man of British club racing", as he had spun or h ...

were killed and

Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British Formula One racing driver. An inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, he won 212 of the 529 races he entered across several categories of comp ...

was also injured at the event, crashing his Lotus 18 in practice). He was paralysed, but after therapy was able to regain the ability to walk. Because of his car failure Taylor later sued Lotus successfully, one of the few successful actions against the makers of a racing car. After his accident, Taylor sporadically competed in long distance rallying, finishing third in the

London–Sydney Marathon The London–Sydney Marathon was a car rally from the United Kingdom to Australia. It was first run in 1968, a second event by the same organizers was run in 1977 and a third in 1993 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original. Three furt ...

in 1977 in a

Citroën CX The Citroën CX is a large, front-engined, front-wheel-drive executive car manufactured and marketed by Citroën from 1974 to 1991. Production models took the form of a four-door fastback sedan, station wagon (estate), and a long-wheelbase fastb ...

with

Paddy Hopkirk Patrick Barron Hopkirk (14 April 1933 – 21 July 2022) was a rally driver from Northern Ireland. Hopkirk was appointed MBE in the 2016 New Year Honours list. In early 2016, Hopkirk became the IAM RoadSmart Mature Drivers Ambassador. Early ...

and Bob Riley. Taylor also had a career in property speculation. He died on 4 April 2017 after a battle with cancer.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

)

Sources

Profile at www.grandprix.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Mike English racing drivers English Formula One drivers 1934 births 2017 deaths 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers Formula One team owners