Реджинальд Парнелл: Британдық жарыс шеберінің өмірі мен жолы

British racing driver (1911–1964)

Reginald Parnell (2 July 1911 – 7 January 1964) was a racing driver and team manager from Derby, England. He participated in seven Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, achieving one podium, and scoring a total of nine championship points. Parnell, as both a driver and a team manager, had a considerable influence on post war British motorsport until his premature death in 1964. Parnell raced at Brooklands and was banned following an accident with Kay Petre which ended her racing career. Before the war he bought up racing cars. Once the hostilities had ceased he sold them to form the basis of post war racing entries. He later raced a whole host of cars before turning to management and taking Aston Martin into Formula 1. Parnell went on to run the Yeoman Credit Racing team with the help of his son Tim who later raced in Formula 1 himself.

Parnell came from a family which ran a garage business in Derby. In 1933, he was a spectator when Donington Park held its first motor race, and he decided to try the sport. By 1935, he bought an old 2 litre Bugatti single seater for just £25. It broke its rear axle in the paddock at its first meeting, but buying spare parts for the Bugatti was too expensive, so it was replaced with a MG Magnette K3. Parnell had secured wins at both Brooklands and Donington Park, but in 1937 he lost his licence following a practice accident for the 500 Mile race, at Brooklands. He misjudged an overtaking move on Kay Petre, when he lost control of the MG, crashing into her Austin 7 from behind, causing it to roll. She crashed badly and was seriously injured. She never raced competitively again. Although she put the incident down to "bad luck", the RAC revoked Parnell's racing license for two years. This meant that he was unable to race. The ban meant in effect that, during 1938, Parnell found himself unable to race his cars, he soon discovered that lending the cars to other drivers was an excellent way of being involved in racing. His later abilities as a team manager were probably developed during this period. With his licence restored in 1939, Parnell was back with 4.9 litre Bugatti engined single seater, known as the BHW. He was particularly successful with this BHW at Donington Park. Meanwhile, he started to construct his own car for voiturette (the pre war version of Formula Two), known as the Challenger, however with the outbreak of World War II, the best years of his career were wasted. In 1947, Parnell was Britain's most successful racing driver, for which he won the BRDC's Gold Star. He began the year by winning two ice races in Sweden, with his ERA A type, the earlier of these being the first Formula 1 race. He then returned to Britain, to win the Jersey Road Race in the Maserati 4CLT. He would have also won in Ulster, had his recently acquired ERA E type not broken a de Dion tube. The following year, Parnell would again win the Gold Star. He took his new Maserati 4CLT/48 to Zandvoort and finished third in the circuit's inaugural meeting. He won the Goodwood Trophy at the first ever meeting at Sussex circuit, was second in the Penya Rhin Grand Prix and fifth in the Gran Premio d'Italia. Parnell maintained this success into 1949 with the Maserati, gaining many successes at Goodwood, earning him the nickname, "Emperor of Goodwood", and raced at almost every major circuit across Europe. He also competed in the early season races in South America.

The following season, he received a tremendous accolade, he was asked to drive the fourth works Alfa Romeo, in the inaugural World Championship Formula One race at Silverstone, finishing in an excellent third place and a place on the podium, behind and on the same lap as his teammates Giuseppe Farina and Luigi Fagioli. He would be the only British driver even to be selected to race with the all conquering factory. After the trip in Italy, Tony Vandervell approached him which saw Parnell driving Vandervell's Thinwall Special (a highly modified Formula One Ferrari 375) in numerous F1 races. He left a star studded field standing in conditions so bad that the BRDC International Trophy final raced through hail, lightning and heavy rain. With poor visibility and the track under as much as six inches of water, the race had to be stopped after six laps due to Silverstone being flooded and too dangerous to continue. When the race was abandoned, Parnell was in the lead; no official winner was declared, so although he defeated the Alfa Romeo team, it was not until two months later in the 1951 British Grand Prix that the Alfas suffered their first real defeat. After the race Reg said, "It's a pity it was stopped as I would have liked the race to have continued. I was a minute ahead of the Italians and I am sure they would not have made this up. It was like aquaplaning in an ice cold tub, but in the cockpit it was very hot and steamy so that at 80mph I only had a dim outline of the comers and only the outlines of spray telling me that another car was in front." In 1952, Parnell enjoyed more class success with the DB2, taking wins at Silverstone and Boreham; at Goodwood, he unhesitatingly assumed duties as team manager for Aston Martin, following a pit fire seriously injured John Wyer. This was a foretaste of things to come. The success continued into 1953. At that year's Mille Miglia despite driving on the ignition switch after a broken throttle had to be wired up fully open, he and navigator, Louis Klemantaski finished in fifth place in their DB3. This was the highest ever finish by a British car at the great Italian classic. This result followed his second place in the 12 Hours of Sebring. He was also second at the RAC Tourist Trophy, and victorious in the Goodwood Nine Hours. He was successful in other formulae but at the end of 1957 he decided to retire at the age of just 45. His last international race was the New Zealand Championship Road Race, at Ryal Bush where he finished second in a Ferrari 555/860.

He became the team manager of Aston Martin, a move which led him to oversee a famous 1–2 in 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans, when Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby led home Maurice Trintignant and Paul Frère. The company then decided to enter Formula One and Parnell led the team but at the end of 1960 the programme was abandoned.

Year Team Co Drivers Car Class Laps 1950 Aston Martin Ltd. Charles Brackenbury Aston Martin DB2 S3.0 244 6th 2nd 1951 Aston Martin Ltd. David Hampshire Aston Martin DB2 S3.0 208 7th 3rd 1952 Aston Martin Ltd. Eric Thompson Aston Martin DB3 S3.0 DNF(Transmission) 1953 Aston Martin Ltd. Peter Collins Aston Martin DB3S S3.0 16DNF(Accident) 1954 David Brown Roy Salvadori Aston Martin DB3S S5.0 222DNF(Head gasket) 1955 Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd. Dennis Poore Lagonda DP166 S5.0 93DNF(Out of fuel) 1956 David Brown Tony Brooks Aston Martin DBR1 S3.0 246DNF(Gearbox)

Year Team Co Drivers Car Class Laps 1953 Aston Martin, Ltd. George Abecassis Aston Martin DB3 S3.0 172 2nd 1st 1954 Aston Martin Ltd. Roy Salvadori Aston Martin DB3S S3.0 24DNF(Engine) 1956 David Brown & Sons, Ltd. Tony Brooks Aston Martin DB3S S3.0 169DNF(Engine)

Year Team Co Drivers Car Class 1953 Aston Martin Lagonda Louis Klemantaski Aston Martin DB3 S+2.0 5th 5th 1954 David Brown Louis Klemantaski Aston Martin DB3S S+2.0DNF(Accident)