Former F1, sports car and F5000 driver Peter Gethin died on December 5 after a lengthy illness. Gethin is remembered for a number of stirring races including his famous victory in the 1971 Italian Grand Prix at Monza for BRM, considered to be the closest finish ever in a Grand Prix.
Gethin started fairly late in motor racing, his time in F3 leading to two championship years in F5000 in 1969 and ’70. In that latter year he replaced Bruce McLaren in the McLaren F1 team following Bruce’s death, helping Denny Hulme keep the team going. He did a similar job in 1971 when he stepped in to replace Pedro Rodriguez at BRM, a move which led to that win at Monza. He continued in F1 with BRM in 1972 and ’73, and Graham Hill’s Embassy team in 1974, but his main successes came in Can-Am and more F5000 in the mid-’70s. His final win came at Elkhart Lake in 1977 in the VDS Lola.
He subsequently became involved in engineering and team management, and played a significant role in supporting Ayrton Senna at Toleman in 1984, later running F3000 teams for a number of drivers, and also acting as a race instructor. He was a friend of VR’s and we send our condolences to his family.
By Ed McDonough
