David Walker (racing driver)

David "Dave" Walker (born 10 June 1941 in Sydney ) is an Australian former racing driver.

The young Dave Walker worked as an accountant in Australia, as brought him friends motorsport. Walker took the fun part in a hill race and took a liking to his new operation.

In 1962, Walker to the UK and hoped with exaggerated enthusiasm a contract as a driver for Brabham, but the two -time Formula 1 world champion Sir Jack Brabham was his compatriot. The young man was taught a lesson and had to return empty-handed to his home country.

Now, Walker began to plan his career serious. He drove in Australia in various junior classes, before he again came to Europe in 1966 and went into the formula 3. 1968 and 1969 he drove two seasons in Formula Ford and 1970 factory driver at Lotus to go for the team in the British Formula 3 Championship at the start. He won the 1970 Lomback Championship. In 1971 he triumphed in the shell and the Forward Trust Championship ( the British Formula 3 was in the early 1970s, divided into a winter and a summer series) and thus was three times British Formula 3 champion.

These successes brought Walker a place in Formula 1 Team Lotus in. He made his debut at the Grand Prix of the Netherlands in Zandvoort. Walker drove the Lotus turbine car, the Lotus 56 with the four gas turbines from Pratt & Whitney. Walker was in training, although only 22ster, but for the race sensed his team boss Colin Chapman a great opportunity because it was raining in torrents: Listen, Chapman vergatterte his recruits, you have now the chance of your life you can have for all time a make name. But follow my command: Take it easy in the first ten rounds. Then you will come automatically to the front. Frowning registered Chapman that Walker ( sic) until the fifth round already passed eight cars; yet he had new brake pads still uneingefahrene. As Walker slowed down 250 meters before the Tarzan curve of the turbine Lotus skidded straight into the mesh fence. Chapman was furious after the race and Walker mourned unto the end of his career after this lost opportunity.

There followed a frustrating 1972 season in the Lotus 72, although Walker was fifth while not for the World Cup scoring race in Brazil, but his teammate Emerson Fittipaldi became World Champion and Walker did not make a single world championship point. He came only once in the top ten. In Spain, he remained three laps to lie without fuel in the tank, but was seen as ninth.

At the end of the year he lost his contract with Lotus. It followed the descent. In 1973 he drove for GRD Formula 2, also without success. 1974 Walker had two car accidents. Once he broke his hand in the second accident on purpose.

In 1975 he came back, he played 2-liter sports car racing and drove in Formula 5000th In 1976 he returned to Australia to still take a few years racing in the Formula Atlantic there.