Ken Wharton

Ken Wharton

Ken Wharton in 1953.
Born	(1916-03-21)21 March 1916
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	1952 Swiss Grand Prix
Last race	1955 Italian 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