Tom Walkinshaw

Tom Walkinshaw (born November 17 1950 Mauldslie Farm, near Penicuik, Midlothian, Scotland) is a Scottish racing car driver and the founder of the racing team Tom Walkinshaw Racing. He is also involved in professional rugby union as a club owner and administrator.

Racing career

Walkinshaw began racing in 1968, starting in an MG Midget, before moving on to a Lotus Formula Ford car. The following year he won the Scottish FF1600 title at the wheel of a Hawke. In 1970 he entered the British Formula Three championship with Lotus. He later moved to the March 'works' team, where he broke his ankle in a racing accident. ["Grand Prix Encyclopedia" [http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/cref-waltom.html www.grandprix.com] Retrieved 13 December 2006] Continuing his career despite this setback, he drove in many classes, including Formula 5000 and Formula Two. [Collings (2004) p. 211]

Ford hired Walkinshaw to drive a Capri on the British Touring Car Championship circuit in 1974. This resulted in him winning his class that year. In 1976 Walkinshaw established Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR), continuing to drive for his own team. In 1984 he won the European Touring Car Championship in a Jaguar XJS. [Collings (2004) pp.211-212]

In 1985, Walkinshaw teamed up with Jaguar and entered a three-car team in the Bathurst 1000 touring car endurance race in Australia. The pairing of John Goss and Armin Hahne won the race, while Walkinshaw himself placed third, driving alongside Win Percy.

Walkinshaw retired from driving after 1988 to concentrate on the management of TWR's increasing motorsports portfolio.

Team Management

In 1975 Walkinshaw established Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR), a group whose business was the manufacture and design of racing and road cars. TWR ran touring car programmes in the mid 1970s and early 1980s. In 1983 the TWR team took an amazing eleven wins in eleven races in the British Saloon Car Championship running Rover Vitesses, before being stripped of the title for a technical infringement. TWR also ran a Jaguar touring car programme before taking on their World Sportscar Championship programme. In six years the programme won Le Mans twice and the World Championships three times.

In 1991 Walkinshaw was recruited as Engineering Director of the Benetton F1 team which subsequently won the 1994 Formula 1 World Championship. He was involved in the recruitment of Michael Schumacher by Benetton after the German's Formula One debut with the Jordan team. As Engineering Director, his role also came under scrutiny when the team was investigated for suspected technical infringements during the 1994 season, including the potential use of banned electronic aids and unauthorised modifications to the refuelling apparatus used on the cars. Although illegal software was found in the Benettons, the FIA had no evidence that it had ever been used in a race and no action was taken against the team.

For 1995 Walkinshaw bought 50% of the Ligier team from Benetton team principal Flavio Briatore. His intention was to take over the team completely, but he was unable to purchase 100% of the team and therefore pulled out of the deal. Instead he bought the Arrows team, achieving a coup for the 1997 Formula One season by recruiting reigning world champion Damon Hill to his squad.

1997 saw Walkinshaw voted Autocar Man of the Year. By this stage the TWR Group employed 1500 employees in the UK, Sweden, Australia and the United States. At the time, Tom was also Managing Director of Arrows Grand Prix International.

His TWR racing group went into liquidation in 2002 after the Arrows team ran out of money. This led to the Australian arm of the operation being bought by Holden Australia. However, since the V8 Supercar Championship forbids a manufacturer owning a race team, Holden had to divide the teams assets and sell the Holden Racing Team (HRT) to lead driver Mark Skaife, and K-Mart Racing (now the Toll HSV Dealer Team) to John and Margaret Kelly (the parents of V8 Supercar drivers Todd and Rick).

In 2006 Walkinshaw returned to HSV/HRT and helped lead Holden to its first series win since 2002 through driver Rick Kelly - Toll HSV Dealer Team and who still owns 50% of each race team.

In late 2006 Walkinshaw bought the small Australian sports car manufacturer Elfin Cars.

Gloucester Rugby

Tom Walkinshaw is also Gloucester Rugby Chairman becoming the new club owner with the majority shareholding on 29th April 1997.

In September 2008 there was a report that part or all of his shareholding in Gloucester Rugby was up for sale but this was denied by Walkinshaw.

He has also been Chairman of the Premier Rugby Board.

Awards

Tom has been awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Engineering by Oxford Brookes University.

Personal

Tom's son Fergus is also a racer, spending 2008 racing in Ginetta Juniors.

Notes

References

* cite book
last = Collings
first = Timothy
coauthors =
title = The Piranha Club
publisher = Virgin Books
date = 2004
id = ISBN 0-7535-0965-2

External links

* [http://www.formula1.com/ F1 official site]
* [http://www.grandprix.com/ GrandPrix.com] - all race results since 1950, detailed driver profiles
* [http://www.fia.com/ FIA Official Site] - all race results archived

* - All F1-related articles, excepting drivers, teams/constructors, grands prix, and circuits.