Peter Gethin

It is perhaps unfair that Gethin should be best remembered for his sensational Grand Prix win at Monza in 1971, when he took his BRM to a wonderful victory by the margin of one-hundredth of a second in a four-car dash to the line, for in fact he enjoyed a splendid career which spanned some 15 years and encompassed almost every category of the sport.

After an early start in a Lotus Seven in 1962, Peter soon became one of the country's top club sports car drivers in his Lotus 23. He then moved into Formula 3 in 1965 with Charles Lucas, but his career really stood still until 1968 when he ran a full Formula 2 season with Frank Lythgoe, finishing strongly with a brilliant second at Albi and a third at Vallelunga after a Brabham had been acquired to replace a disappointing Chevron.

It was the introduction of F5000 in 1969 that really put Peter's career on the map. In a semi-works McLaren, he dominated the early part of the season with four straight wins and then defended his advantage grimly as his championship lead was whittled away. The final round ended in anti-climax with a collision but the title went to Gethin, and he proved himself a more than worthy champion by retaining the crown convincingly the following year. By this time he was closely involved with the McLaren Grand Prix effort; having made a promising debut to finish sixth in the Race of Champions, he was brought into the team after the sad loss of Bruce McLaren in a testing accident at Goodwood and also took over the vacant Can-Am drive, winning a round at Elkhart Lake.

Staying with the team for 1971, Peter inexplicably continued to struggle in Grands Prix, though he did finish second on aggregate in the International Trophy, but it was something of a surprise when he moved to BRM. Almost immediately he won at Monza and then repeated that triumph in the tragically shortened Victory Race at Brands Hatch, in which team-mate Jo Siffert perished.

Hopes were high for 1972, but Peter endured a thin time of it with BRM, though an equally low-key season in Formula 2 with Chevron did bring an unexpected win in the Pau GP. So it was back to F5000 at home and abroad, which yielded a shock win in the Race of Champions. Gethin made a couple more Grand Prix appearances, but concentrated on F5000 with Chevron and VDS, and also raced in the newly revived Can-Am series before retiring at the end of 1977. He later became involved with the March F2 team, looking after Beppe Gabbiani, and had a brief spell with Toleman in F1 in 1984. Peter currently runs a racing driver's school at Goodwood.