Robin Widdows

An Olympic-standard bobsleigh rider, Robin raced an MG Midget and a Lotus 23, winning the Autosport Class C championship in 1965, before successfully moving up to Formula 3 the following year. A syndicate of friends financed a season of Formula 2 in 1967 in a Brabham BT23, the highlight of which was a surprise win in the Rhine Cup at Hockenheim. For 1968, he joined the Chequered Flag team to drive a McLaren M4A, and took second place at Pau with a superb display.

Cooper gave him his only Grand Prix outing at that year’s British GP, and he was back in Formula 2 with Bob Gerard in 1969. He did well once more, winning the Lottery GP and taking second at Reims, and also raced sports cars for Matra, finishing seventh at Le Mans with Galli. In 1970 he raced Alistair Walker’s Brabham, again in F2, until suddenly retiring from racing in mid-season.