D'Arcy Richard Baker (1877-1932) was a British businessman and racing driver. Baker was the managing director of

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...

in the UK. In the early 1900s, he extensively renovated

Hedsor House Hedsor House is an Italianate-style mansion in the United Kingdom, located in Hedsor in Buckinghamshire. Perched overlooking the River Thames, a manor house at Hedsor can be dated back to 1166 when the estate was owned by the de Hedsor Family. ...

, a mansion he owned in Hedsor,

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

. However, the expense led to his bankruptcy, and upon his death, his estate passed to his bankers, and then to the Shepherd family in 1934. In 1908, 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 airfields, ...

, Frank Newton drove a 90hp Napier motor car for its Australian owner

Selwyn Edge Selwyn Francis Edge (1868–1940) was a British businessman, racing driver, cyclist and record-breaker. He is principally associated with selling and racing De Dion-Bouton, Gladiator; Clemént-Panhard, Napier and AC cars. Personal life Edge w ...

, who had a £500 bet with Baker that his car could go faster than

Felice Nazzaro Felice Nazzaro (4 December 1881 – 21 March 1940) was an Italian racecar driver, a native of Turin. He won the Kaiserpreis in 1907 as well as the French Grand Prix in 1907 and 1922 and Targa Florio in 1907, and 1913. His European wins in 1907 r ...

's Fiat. Unfortunately, the Napier suffered from mechanical trouble. In 1911, at the age of 33, he was living at 18

Clarges Street Clarges Street is a street in the City of Westminster, London. The street runs from Clarges Mews in the north to Piccadilly in the south. It is crossed by Curzon Street. History Clarges Street was built in the early 18th century and is probab ...

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

, single, with two servants, and had one visitor, a Royal Navy officer, Oscar Valentin de Satge, the son of

Oscar de Satge Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer J ...

. He died in 1932 in the Wycombe district of Buckinghamshire, and his obituary was published on 15 March 1932 in the

Gloucestershire Echo ''Gloucestershire Echo'' is a local weekly newspaper based in Gloucester, England. Published every Thursday, it covers the areas of Bishops Cleeve, Cheltenham, Moreton-in-Marsh, Northleach, Stow-on-the-Wold and Tewkesbury. The newspaper is head ...

References

British racing drivers 1932 deaths 1877 births {{UK-autoracing-bio-stub