So who was Peter Collins?
Born in 1932, by the time he was eight years old Peter was shifting his father’s trucks around their Worcester transport yard, despite difficulty reaching the pedals. As a teen, he built his own car from a damaged Austin 7, fitting Ford gear into it, and straightening the bodywork. Then he designed a new body style with wings for the car. The design was picked up and line-produced by a manufacturer.
Truancy got Peter expelled, after years of jumping class to hitch a ride back to his father’s garage.
At just sixteen, he began racing cars, winning the Silverstone 500cc one hundred mile race in that first season. Four years later he was racing both formula one and Grand Prix.
But more importantly, Peter was noted for his sportsmanship. He refused to take advantage of loopholes, or other less-than-ethical options. This attitude cost him titles, but he stuck by his beliefs.
In 1956, partway through a title race, he realized another driver had car trouble. Thinking he would have plenty more chances to win that particular title, being only twentyfive years old, Peter gave up his car to the other driver, who went on to win.
But Peter never got another chance. He was killed, aged just twenty six, during the 1958 German Grand Prix.
The thing about Peter that really stands out is not just his passion and sportsmanship, but also his willingness to live life to the full. He left behind a wife and family, but also warm memories of a healthy sense of humor. As a child, he would often park those trucks so close together that adults couldn’t get in, and, as an adult, he would shift hotel wardrobes so that fellow drivers couldn’t get out of their rooms!
(The photo below is of Peter’s helmet; it certainly wouldn’t pass muster today!)
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