Tom Jones (racing driver)

Tom Jones ( born April 26, 1943 in Dallas, Texas ) was an American race car driver who as a private driver drove many races in various American series in the 1960s and 1970s. A single point of contact with the international motor sport arose in 1967, when Jones came forward to a round of the Formula 1. He took part in the qualifying session, but was not allowed to race due to slower lap times. Jones was in the Formula 1 environment as long mystery. Already during his appearance in Formula 1 he was described as " almost unknown ". Until the 1990s, almost nothing about Jones was known; first turn of the millennium his biography was researched.

Racing career

Jones ' racing activities were largely confined to club races and national racing series in the United States. In 1962, he began to participate in regional club races; while he drove at an Alfa Romeo Giulietta and a Lotus Seven. 1966 and 1967, Jones engaged in the formula A, a precursor of the formula 5000th After the attempt, in 1967 belonging to the Formula 1 World Championship at the first Grand Prix of Canada participate, had failed, Jones presented for financial reasons, his commitment to motor racing first one. Only in 1973 he reappeared. Between 1973 and 1976 he took more or less regularly in the American Formula 5000 race. After that, Jones still reported to individual Can- Am race, but could not participate in them. 1980 Jones ended his racing career. After that, he was an independent operator of a metal processing company in Cleveland.

Formula 1

Without having previously acquired experience in international single-seater racing, , Jones announced in August 1967 the Canadian Grand Prix, which was held at Mosport Park. Emergency vehicle was a Cooper T82, which was powered by an eight-cylinder engine from Coventry Climax. The car had been in 1966 Joakim Bonnier and Jo Siffert's racing commitments in Formula 2 built; after several unsuccessful race Cooper had converted the car using the rear end of a several -year-old former model for Jones on Formula 1 configuration.

Jones participated as one of 19 competitors participate in the qualifying session. He put back only one complete round, which he slowly was concerned by its own account, to get used to the car. In this running round he missed almost 30 seconds for the (later ) pole time by Jim Clark; Canadian Al Pease was almost 10 seconds faster than he did. Although Jones began a second, faster round but could not finish it. Due to a mechanic error fell during the second round of the ignition. The organizers of the Grand Prix of Canada saw Jones ' time of the run round to be insufficient and then locked him from participating in the race from.