Ken Wharton

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Frederick Charles Kenneth Wharton[1][2] (21 March 1916 – 12 January 1957) was a British racing driver from Smethwick, England. He competed in off-road trials, hillclimbs, and rallying, and also raced sports cars and single-seaters. He began racing in the new National 500cc Formula in his own special, and later acquired a Cooper. His World Championship Grand Prix debut was at the 1952 Swiss event, run to Formula 2 regulations, where he started from 13th position on the grid and finished 4th. He participated in a total of 15 World Championship Grands Prix, from which he scored three championship points.

On 17 August 1935, Wharton was involved in a crash at Donington Park while driving an Austin in an 850 c.c. race. The incident, which saw him overturn at Redgate corner occurred on lap one of five. Wharton escaped with abrasions to the arm.[3]

In 1951, Wharton "travelled abroad, with Peter Bell's 2-litre E.R.A., to finish 3rd overall in the Susa/Mont Cenis hill-climb and 4th overall in the Aosta/Grand Saint Bernard hill-climb. With a Cooper 500, he also competed in the German Freiburg hill-climb where he was runner-up in the 500 cc class to Stirling Moss."[4] Wharton won the Freiburg event outright in the E.R.A. on 5 August, climbing the 7.4 miles of the Schauinsland Pass,[5] in 8 minutes 5.33 seconds. On 19 August he was fastest at the Vue des Alpes hill-climb, with a time of 3 minutes 57.8 seconds.[6] He won the British Hill Climb Championship every year from 1951 to 1954, and remains the only driver to have won four successive BHCC titles. Other successes with ERA R4D included winning the Brighton Speed Trials in 1954, 1955 and 1956.

Success in rallies included winning the Tulip Rally in 1949, 1950 and 1952, driving Fords. Wharton also became the British Trials Champion.

On 4 July 1954, Wharton and Peter Whitehead won the Reims 12-hour race in a Jaguar D-Type.[7]

In 1957, Wharton was fatally injured when his Ferrari Monza crashed in a sports-car race at the Ardmore Circuit in Auckland, New Zealand.[8] More than 1,100 people attended his funeral, including his mother, father, sister, aunt, uncle and cousins.[9]

Complete World Championship results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 WDC Points
1952 Scuderia Franera Frazer-Nash FN48 Bristol Straight-6 SUI
4Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		500 BEL
RetScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		FRA GBR GER NED
RetScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		13th 3
Cooper T20 ITA
9Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
1953 Ken Wharton Cooper T23 Bristol Straight-6 ARG 500 NED
RetScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		BEL FRA
RetScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		GBR
8Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		GER SUI
7Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		ITA
NCScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		NC 0
1954 Owen Racing Organisation Maserati 250F Maserati Straight-6 ARG 500 BEL FRA
RetScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		GBR
8Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		GER
DNSScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		SUI
6Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		ITA ESP
8Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		NC 0
1955 Vandervell Products Ltd Vanwall Vanwall Straight-4 ARG MON 500 BEL NED GBR
9Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		ITA
RetScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		NC 0

References

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  1. ↑ England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966 (Ancestry.com)
  2. ↑ England & Wales, Birth Index, 1916-2005 (Ancestry.com)
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ C. A. N. May, Speed Hill-Climb, G.T. Foulis & Co LTD, 1962, Page 28.
  5. ↑ Motor Year Book 1952, Temple Press, Page 193.
  6. ↑ Motor Sport, January 1952, Page 11.
  7. ↑ Les Douze Heures de Reims, Motor Sport, August 1954, Page 426.
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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External links

Sporting positions
Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/checkTemplate:Succession box/check British Hill Climb Champion
1951–1954 Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by

Template:British Hill Climb Champions

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