Ken Wharton

Ken Wharton

Ken Wharton in 1953.
Born	21 March 1916(1916-03-21)
Died	12 January 1957(1957-01-12) (aged 40)
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	British
Active years	1952 - 1955
Teams	privateer Frazer-Nash & Cooper, BRM, Vanwall
Races	16 (15 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	3
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First race	1950 Monaco Grand Prix
Last race	1954 British Grand Prix

Kenneth Wharton (21 March 1916, Smethwick – 12 January 1957, Ardmore, near Auckland, New Zealand) was a British racing driver from England. He began competing in the new National 500cc Formula in his own special, later acquiring a Cooper. Ken participated in 15 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 18 May 1952 and scored a total of 3 championship points. He also competed in some non-Championship Formula One races.

He also competed in rallies and won the Tulip Rally three times driving a Ford. On 4 July 1954, Wharton and Peter Whitehead piloted a new model Jaguar D-Type to win the 12-Hour Race of Reims.

Wharton was immensely successful in trials and hillclimbing, becoming British Trials Champion and winning the British Hill Climb Championship every year from 1951 to 1954; he remains the only driver to have claimed four successive BHCC titles. He also won the Brighton Speed Trials in 1954, 1955 and 1956 driving ERA R4D.

In 1951: "Wharton travelled abroad, with Peter Bell's 2-litre E.R.A., to finish 3rd overall in the Susa/Mont Cenis hill-climb and 4th overall in the Aosta/Grand Saint Bernard hill-climb. With a Cooper 500 he also competed in the German Freiburg hill-climb where he was runner-up in the 500 cc class to Stirling Moss." Wharton won the Freiburg event outright in the E.R.A., on 5 August, climbing the 7.4 miles of the Schauinsland Pass , in 8min 5.33sec. He also won the Vue des Alpes on 19 August, in 3min 57.8sec.

He was killed when he crashed driving a Ferrari Monza at the Ardmore Circuit in New Zealand.

Complete World Championship results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	WDC	Points
1952	Scuderia Franera	Frazer-Nash FN48	Bristol Straight-6	SUI 4	500	BEL Ret	FRA	GBR	GER				13th	3
		Frazer-Nash 421								NED Ret
		Cooper T20									ITA 9
1953	Ken Wharton	Cooper T23	Bristol Straight-6	ARG	500	NED Ret	BEL	FRA Ret	GBR 8	GER	SUI 7	ITA NC	NC	0
1954	Owen Racing Organisation	Maserati 250F	Maserati Straight-6	ARG	500	BEL	FRA Ret	GBR 8	GER DNS	SUI 6	ITA	ESP 8	NC	0
1955	Vandervell Products Ltd	Vanwall	Vanwall Straight-4	ARG	MON	500	BEL	NED	GBR 9	ITA Ret			NC	0

External links

• Ken Wharton profile at The 500 Owners Association

Sporting positions
Preceded by Dennis Poore	British Hill Climb Champion 1951-1954	Succeeded by Tony Marsh