Ken Downing
 Downing in 1952 | |
| Born | Kenneth Henry Downing 5 December 1917 Chesterton, Staffordshire, England |
|---|---|
| Died | 3 May 2004 (aged 86) Monte Carlo, Monaco |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  British |
| Active years | 1952 |
| Teams | Connaught (including non-works) |
| Entries | 2 |
| First entry | 1952 British Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1952 Dutch Grand Prix |
Kenneth Henry Downing (5 December 1917 – 3 May 2004) was a British racing driver and businessman. He raced for Connaught Engineering in the 1952 Formula One season, notably qualifying for the British Grand Prix and Dutch Grand Prix.
Born in Staffordshire, Downing began racing in the years following the Second World War and competed as a privateer in a variety of sports car and rally races before Formula One. While only entering two Grands Prix in 1952, during his career from 1948 to 1953 he won over 20 races and was considered among the greatest British drivers of the era. Downing emigrated to South Africa in 1955 where he began a business mining sea diamonds at the mouth of the Orange River, later acquired by De Beers. Upon retirement he resided in Monaco.
Background and family
Downing was born into a prominent wealthy family involved in material manufacturing.[1][2][3] He was the son and heir of George Henry Downing, JP, High Sheriff of Staffordshire of Clayton Lodge, Newcastle-under-Lyme.[4] His sister, Eleanor Downing was the mother of Ian and David Skailes, also racing drivers.[5]
In 1942, Downing married Elizabeth Keane with whom he had three children.[6] His eldest daughter, Anne married Patrick McNally, whose company Allsport Management controlled the corporate hospitality and circuit advertising for Formula One.[7]
Second World War
Downing enlisted in the British expeditionary force (BEF) at the outbreak of the Second World War. In 1940, his regiment was sent to France before the infamous Dunkirk evacuation.[1]
“We were heading for the coast when a Panzer division literally surrounded us. One day we were having breakfast beside the road when the Germans came down the parallel road and we had to drop everything and run for it. I was in fatigues and even left my trousers behind, which was a blow as I had had my tailor sew a lot of £5 notes in the belt lining for weekends in Paris; I lost the lot. We had no way of getting north to Dunkirk so we eventually reached Cherbourg and I managed to get on the last ship back to England”
— Ken Downing, From Connaughts to Sea Diamonds
Racing career
Downing competed in his first event, the 1948 Eastbourne Rally, in a Healey.[8] He competed in numerous other sports car races in the years following the Second World War and became a regular on the British national scene.[7] Initially racing a Brooke Special, he switched to a Connaught in 1951,[7] winning 17 races throughout the year.[9][10][11]
Downing switched to single seaters in 1952, racing a Connaught A-Type, and won the 1952 Madgwick Cup at Goodwood circuit.[12] He finished second place at the Grand Prix des Frontières at Chimay, Belgium, where he lost the lead at the end of the race several metres before the finish line.[13]
He finished ninth in his first Formula One World Championship event at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix, but had run fourth in the race ahead of Alberto Ascari before spinning while avoiding a backmarker.[14] He had qualified second on the grid and was the highest placed British driver.[7][8] Downing then competed in the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort later that year, and was among the favourites for the podium,[15] but was forced to retire from an oil-pressure problem.[12]
At the end of the 1952 season, Downing sold all of his cars, having invested an extensive advertisement in Autosport magazine, and switched to an Aston Martin DB3. This proved to be a costly mistake, the DB3 model being far inferior to the newly developed Aston Martin DB3S.[16] Nonetheless, he contested the Silverstone International several times and finished in third place at Thruxton in May.[10]
In mid-1953, Downing retired from racing in order to focus on managing the family business. Indeed, throughout his racing career he had been chairman of G.H. Downing Ltd. Thus, his potential was always limited.[1]
Later life
Following the death of his mother, Downing and his family moved to Constantia, Cape Town. In 1955, he established a company mining sea diamonds near the border of Namibia. Downing constructed a dredger to dredge diamonds at the mouth of the Orange river that had been washed down from the Kimberley diamond mines. The business was successful and along with the mining rights, was eventually sold to De Beers, an international mining corporation which had been established by Cecil Rhodes in 1888. Downing had also formed the idea of mining guano on an island near Madagascar, but this was delayed.[1]
Downing was involved in numerous other business ventures, in transport and garages for instance, and he was member of Lloyd's of London insurance market. He died on 3 May 2004, aged 86, at his residence in the Loews Hotel, Monaco.[1]
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Connaught Engineering | Connaught Type A | Lea-Francis | SUI | 500 | BEL | FRA | GBR 9 |
GER | NED | ITA | NC | 0 |
| Kenneth Downing | SUI | 500 | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | NED Ret |
ITA | |||||
Source:[17]
| |||||||||||||
References
- ^ a b c d e "From Connaughts to Sea Diamonds – Ken Downing – F1 GPDC". www.f1grandprixdriversclub.com. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
- ^ Jeremy, McMullen. "Kenneth Henry Downing". conceptcarz.com. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
- ^ "Brick and Tile Works In Apedale & Chesterton". The Apedale Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
- ^ "Page 1380 | Issue 34261, 3 March 1936 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
- ^ "Information about Ian (Mo) Skailes from historicracing.com". www.historicracing.com. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
- ^ Church in Wales: Diocese of St. Asaph, National Library of Wales (Aberystwyth) (2012). Wales, St. Asaph marriage bonds. p. 24.
- ^ a b c d "Ken Downing profile". GrandPrix.com. Inside F1. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- ^ a b "Ken Downing biography". www.historicracing.com. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
- ^ "Statistics: Ken Downing". Grand Prix Archive. Crash Media Group. Archived from the original on 17 January 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- ^ a b "Ken Downing (GB) - All Results - Racing Sports Cars". www.racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
- ^ The Motor. Vol. 106. Temple Press Limited. 1954. pp. 272–273.
- ^ a b Williamson, Martin. "Ken Downing profile". ESPNF1.com. ESPN. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- ^ "Atlas F1 Magazine: Team Connaught: Remembrance of Things Fast (Part 1)". atlasf1.autosport.com. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
- ^ Jenkins, Richard. "Where are they now: Ken Downing". Old Racing Cars. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- ^ Motor. Vol. 104. Specialist & Professional Press. 1953. p. 32.
- ^ "VIN: the Ken Downing Aston Martin DB3 chassis 8". Supercar Nostalgia. 15 May 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
- ^ Small, Steve (1994). The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who. Guinness. p. 124. ISBN 0851127029.