Bill Aston
William Aston (29 March 1900 – 4 March 1974) was a British racing driver who participated in three World Championship Grands Prix, in 1952 when the championship was run to Formula Two rules, for his own team Aston Butterworth.
Born | Hopton, Staffordshire, England, UK | 29 March 1900
---|---|
Died | 4 March 1974 73) Lingfield, Surrey, England, UK | (aged
Formula One World Championship career | |
Nationality | British |
Active years | 1952 |
Teams | Aston Butterworth |
Entries | 3 (1 start) |
Championships | 0 |
Wins | 0 |
Podiums | 0 |
Career points | 0 |
Pole positions | 0 |
Fastest laps | 0 |
First entry | 1952 British Grand Prix |
Last entry | 1952 Italian Grand Prix |
Career
Prior to taking part in World Championship Grand Prix racing, Aston was a test pilot and motorcycle racer. He turned to four-wheel racing with a Cooper-JAP in Formula Three and later graduated into Formula Two. He came close to winning a heat race at Chimay in 1951, driving an 1,100 cc (67 cu in) Cooper, but his car failed on the last lap.[1] In the same year he set a 500 cc (31 cu in) world speed record at Montlhéry in the streamlined Cooper, fitted with a V-twin J.A.P. motor.[2]
For 1952 he teamed up with Archie Butterworth to build the Aston Butterworth, a car that raced quite well, but was unfortunately very unreliable. He entered the car in the 1952 German Grand Prix but it failed on the second lap. At the Italian Grand Prix he failed to make it through qualifying. Aston raced on into his 60s, with a Mini and a Jaguar, before he retired.
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(key)
Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | WDC | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1952 | W S Aston | Aston NB 41 | Butterworth Flat 4 | SUI | 500 | BEL | FRA | GBR DNS |
GER Ret |
NED | ITA DNQ |
NC | 0 |
Source:[3] |
See also
References
- "Carrozzino" (June 1951). "G.P. des Frontieres (Chimay) Formula II (May 13th)". Motor Sport magazine archive. p. 40. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
- Motor Sport, November 1951, Page 530.
- Small, Steve (1994). The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who. Guinness. p. 13. ISBN 0851127029.