Roy Pierpoint (15 May 1929 – 12 January 2023)Notice of death – Roy Pierpoint (1929–2023) was a British racing driver who drove in saloons and sports cars.
Racing career His first race was in 1949, at a BARC meeting driving a Fiat 1100 special, which he built himself: "very neat was Pierpont's (sic) F.I.A.T. 1,100 with aerodynamic but not all-enveloping bodywork, two Amal carburetters, a neat silencer in its straight exhaust pipe and an oil-cooler ahead of the main radiator." He finished seventh in a 3-lap handicap.Motor Sport, September 1949, Pages 351–353. See also: Crystal Palace Official Programme, National Car Race Meeting, Page 11, 5 September 1964.
Pierpoint raced very little after that until 1961. In 1962 he drove in several events including the BRDC Trophy at Silverstone, the Guards Trophy and the Brands Six Hour Race where he finished third in his class alongside Bruce Halford. Also that year, he achieved some success at Hill Climb events. He continued in sports car racing in 1963 and 1964, again in the Guards Trophy. In 1968 he was in the Nürburgring 1000 km race in a Ford GT40, but did not finish. He competed in 1968 and 1969 at Denmark's Jyllands-Ringen, with two wins from four races.
Pierpoint was best known for his time driving in the British Saloon Car Championship, with a total of fourteen race wins. In his first year in 1965, he won the Championship for Alan Mann Racing, driving a V8 4.7-litre Ford Mustang: "After a struggle throughout 1965 against the Austin Mini-Cooper S of Warwick Banks,.."Racing Car Show 1966, Official Catalogue and Guide, Page 11. The championship was won after a protest against the car of Jack Brabham, which was found to have illegal modifications. He raced a Ford Falcon the following year, which was not competitive enough to defend his title. He stuck with the Falcon for another three years. In 1968 he finished fifth on points and in 1969 he finished third in the championship. He spent two more years in the BSCC, but did not come close to winning the title in a Chevrolet Camaro.
Racing record
Complete British Saloon Car Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.) Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pts Class 1965 Weybridge Engineering Company Ltd. Ford Mustang BRH1 OUL1 SNE2 GOO3 SIL1 CRY1† BRH2 OUL3 1st 48 1st 1966 Roy Pierpoint Ford Falcon Sprint SNERet GOORet SIL CRY1† BRH1 BRHRet OUL BRH 16th 16 5th 1967 Roy Pierpoint Ford Falcon Sprint BRH6 SNE3 SIL4 SILRet MALRet† SILRet SIL OUL4† BRH16 15th 16 4th Ford Mustang BRHRet 1968 Roy Pierpoint Ford Falcon Sprint BRHRet THRRet SIL2 CRY3† MAL3† BRHRet SIL3 CRO1 OUL2 BRH1 BRHRet 5th 44 2nd 1969 Bill Shaw Racing Ford Falcon Sprint BRH1 SIL2 SNE1 THR1 SIL1 BRH4 BRHRet 7th 44 1st Chevrolet Camaro CRYRet† MALRet† CRO1 SIL1 OULRet 1970 Bill Shaw Racing Chevrolet Camaro Z28 BRHRet SNE3 THR3 SILRet CRYRet† SILRet BRHRet OUL BRHRet BRH 31st 8 6th SRG Ford Mustang SIL36 CRO 1971 SCA Freight Ltd. Chevrolet Camaro Z28 BRH SNE5 THR SIL CRY SIL CRO SIL OUL BRH MAL BRH 41st 2 8th † Events with 2 races staged for the different classes.
References
External links BTCC.net official profile Historic Racing profile