Frederick Bernard "Tom" Wheatcroft (8 May 1922 – 31 October 2009) was an
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
businessman, who made his fortune through building and
constructionIn the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
.
Biography
Born in
Castle DoningtonCastle Donington is a village, with a population of around 7000 in the North West of Leicestershire, part of the Derby postcode area and on the edge of the National Forest. It is the closest town to East Midlands Airport.-Transport and housing:...
, Wheatcroft had always lived within a 30 mile radius of the village, had an estimate fortune of £120 million, and was father to seven children.
Wheatcroft had only 20 months of formal schooling, and preferred to
cycleA bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
from his parents home in
LeicesterLeicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
to
Donington ParkDonington Park is a motorsport circuit near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England.Originally part of the Donington Hall estate, it was created as a racing circuit during the pre-war period when the German Silver Arrows were battling for the European Championship...
to watch pre-war motor racing:
Wheatcroft drove
tankA tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, returning to set up a successful building business.
Wheatcroft Racing
Having made his fortune, and having started to build his car collection, Wheatcroft further indulged his racing passion by running his own racing car team. In 1970, he purchased a Brabham BT30 for
Derek BellDerek Reginald Bell MBE is a former racing driver from England who was extremely successful in sportscar racing, winning five times at Le Mans. He also raced in Formula One for the Ferrari, McLaren, Surtees and Tecno teams...
to run in Formula 2, with Bell finishing second in the European Championship. During the season, Wheatcroft purchased a BT26 which he entered into a selection of Formula 1 races, which was, however, far less successful.
He purchased Donington Park in 1971, and in 1972 fully resurrected his team, running
Roger WilliamsonRoger Williamson was a British racing driver who died during the 1973 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort Circuit in the Netherlands.-Biography:...
in British Formula 3, which he won, and selected European F2 races. In 1973 Wheatcroft sponsored Williamson in the Formula One
March EngineeringMarch Engineering was a Formula One constructor and manufacturer of customer racing cars from the United Kingdom. Although only moderately successful in Grand Prix competition, March racing cars enjoyed much better achievement in other categories of competition including Formula Two, Formula Three,...
works team, run by
Max MosleyMax Rufus Mosley is the former president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile , a non-profit association that represents the interests of motoring organisations and car users worldwide...
. Williamson's short career lasted two races: a crash at the ill-fated
British Grand PrixThe 1973 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone Circuit on July 14, 1973.The race is known for the first lap pile-up which ultimately caused eleven cars to retire. The accident happened when Jody Scheckter spun out of fourth place and into the center of the track coming...
on the first lap, and a crash on the eighth lap of the
Dutch GPThe 1973 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Zandvoort on July 29, 1973. Zandvoort returned to the Formula 1 calendar following a year's absence for extensive safety upgrades to the race track including new asphalt, new barriers and a new race control tower...
, where he died in the subsequent fire.
After this, Wheatcroft continued to back occasional drivers in Formula Atlantic and Formula 2, including 1974 British F2 champion
Brian HentonBrian Henton is a former racing driver from England. He won both 1974 British Formula Three Championships, and the Formula Two championship in 1980...
, but never resurrected his team.
Complete World Championship Formula One results
| Year |
Chassis |
Engine(s) |
Tyres |
Drivers |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
| |
Brabham BT26A |
Ford Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
Cosworth DFVThe DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. Named Four Valve because of the four valves per cylinder, and Double as it was a V8 development of the earlier, four-cylinder FVA , making it a Double Four Valve engine...
3.0 V8A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
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RSAThe 1970 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami Circuit on March 7, 1970. It was the first round of the 1970 Formula One season...
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ESP The 1970 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Jarama on April 19, 1970. It was the second round of the 1970 Formula One season.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings...
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MONThe 1970 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Circuit de Monaco on May 10, 1970. It was the third race of the 1970 Formula One season.-Report:...
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BEL The 1970 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Spa-Francorchamps on June 7, 1970.- Classification :-Notes:* Pole Position: Jackie Stewart - 3:28.0* Fastest Lap: Chris Amon - 3:27.4*Last win: Dunlop...
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NED The 1970 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Zandvoort on June 21, 1970.- Classification :-Notes:* Pole Position: Jochen Rindt - 1:18.5* Fastest Lap: Jacky Ickx - 1:19.23* Driver Piers Courage had a fatal accident in this race....
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FRA The 1970 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Charade Circuit on July 5, 1970.- Classification :-Notes:* Pole Position: Jacky Ickx - 2:58.22* Fastest Lap: Jack Brabham – 3:00.75...
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GBR The 1970 British Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Brands Hatch on July 18, 1970.- Classification :-Notes:* Pole Position: Jochen Rindt - 1:24.8* Fastest Lap: Jack Brabham - 1:25.9* Rindt was initially disqualified but within minutes reinstated...
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GER The 1970 German Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Hockenheimring on 2 August 1970.On short notice following the drivers demand for improved safety at the Nürburgring, the race was moved to Hockenheim as this track already had been fitted with Armco...
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AUT The 1970 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Österreichring on August 16, 1970. This was the second Austrian Grand Prix and the first Formula One race at the scenic Österreichring, built to replace the bumpy and bland Zeltweg Airfield circuit....
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ITA The 1970 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza on September 6, 1970. The race was marred by the death of Jochen Rindt, who died during the qualifying session on September 5...
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CAN The 1970 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Circuit Mont-Tremblant on September 20, 1970.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standingsConstructors' Championship standings...
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USA The 1970 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 4, 1970 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York.__FORCETOC__-Summary:...
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MEX The 1970 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Mexico City on October 25, 1970.- Race report :The immense crowd of 200,000 proved almost uncontrollable and almost forced the cancellation of the race. They were crammed in front of the guard-rails, sat at the trackside and ran across the...
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| Derek Bell Derek Reginald Bell MBE is a former racing driver from England who was extremely successful in sportscar racing, winning five times at Le Mans. He also raced in Formula One for the Ferrari, McLaren, Surtees and Tecno teams...
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Donington Park
In 1971, Wheatcroft bought part of the 1100 acres (445.2 ha)
Donington HallDonington Hall is a house and residual estate in Castle Donington, North West Leicestershire, located close to the city of Derby. The Hall serves as the headquarters for airline BMI....
estate, including the famous pre-war racing circuit, for £100,000. At his own cost, he rebuilt the circuit and moved his classic car collection to the estate, the largest collection of motor racing cars in the world, now known as the Donington Grand Prix Exhibition.
In 2007, Wheatcroft agreed a 150 year lease of the land on which the circuit and museum are located to Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd, who subsequently with his support won a 10 year agreement from
Bernie EcclestoneBernard Charles "Bernie" Ecclestone is an English business magnate, as president and CEO of Formula One Management and Formula One Administration and through his part-ownership of Alpha Prema, the parent company of the Formula One Group of companies. As such, he is generally considered the primary...
to host the British Grand Prix from July 2010. However, the project ran out of money and Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd went out of business.
Tom Wheatcroft died aged 87 on 31 October 2009 at his home in
ArnesbyArnesby is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 343. The village is south of Leicester, on the Welford Road, between Kilby and Shearsby....
, after a long illness.