Innes Ireland
Robert McGregor Innes Ireland ( born June 12, 1930 in Kirkcudbright, Scotland, † 23 October 1993 in Reading, Berkshire ) was a British racing driver. Between 1959 and 1966 he took off for a total of 50 Grand Prix races in Formula 1, of which he won one.
Career
Ireland was the son of a Scottish veterinarian. He was born in Yorkshire, but moved in his youth with the family back to Scotland. His training as an engineer, he graduated from Rolls- Royce, for which he worked first in Glasgow and later in London. In the early 1950s he served in the Regiment King's Own Scottish Borderers at the Suez Canal.
His Formula 1 debut was at the Grand Prix of the Netherlands in the 1959 season with the Lotus team. From 1959 to 1962 Ireland competed in 28 Grand Prix for Lotus. After the training, he had a serious accident in Monte Carlo and was sidelined for several weeks, he won the Grand Prix for Lotus in the USA in 1961 his first Grand Prix victory, which was also the only one in his career.
1963 to 1964 he drove 14 races for the team British Racing Partnership ( BRP), with moderate success. His best results were two fourth places at the 1963 Grand Prix of the Netherlands and the Grand Prix of Italy.
In the 1965 season, he raced in seven races for the Reg Parnell Racing team with a Lotus - BRM, but came in at only three races to the finish. He completed his last two Formula 1 World Championship races with a BRM 1966 Bernard White team. However, both races ended prematurely with technical defects.
Overall, Innes Ireland reached 47 championship points at 50 Grand Prix races. He won a Grand Prix and again set the fastest lap of the race ( the Grand Prix of Belgium 1960).
He drove his last official race at the Daytona 500 in 1967. Later he worked as a journalist for the American Road & Track magazine, wrote his autobiography, titled All Arms and Elbows and was president of the British Racing Drivers ' Club.