Ian Ashley

Ian Ashley
Born (1947-10-26) 26 October 1947
Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality United Kingdom British
Active years 1974–1977
Teams Token, Williams, BRM, Hesketh; non-works Brabham
Entries 11 (4 starts)
Championships 0
Wins 0
Podiums 0
Career points 0
Pole positions 0
Fastest laps 0
First entry 1974 German Grand Prix
Last entry 1977 Canadian Grand Prix

Ian Hugh Gordon Ashley (born 26 October 1947 in Wuppertal, Germany)[1] is a British racing driver who raced in Formula One for the Token, Williams, BRM and Hesketh teams.

Ashley began racing in 1966 when he took a course at the Jim Russell Racing School. He was fast but rather erratic, and soon earned the nickname "Crashley".[2] He reached Formula 5000 in 1972 and was a front-runner in 1973. He made his debut in Formula One in 1974, and briefly drove for the Williams team the following year. His luck got worse over the mid-1970s in Formula One. He was to become a victim of two nasty accidents on circuits that were no longer used by Formula One soon after his two accidents. During 1975, at the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring where during practice, he crashed severely at the tricky Pflanzgarten section and broke both his ankles, and during practice for the Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport Park in 1977, he went over a bump, flipped his Hesketh, vaulted the barrier and crashed into a television tower. He never raced in Formula One again.

In 1985 he made his CART Championship Car debut at the Miami Grand Prix. He was entered in the 1986 Indianapolis 500 but the car did not appear on track. However, he did make three CART starts in 1986 and finished ninth at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, enough for 28th in the championship. He failed to finish in his other two 1986 starts. He also made a single Indy Lights start at Pocono Raceway and finished sixth. He made one more CART appearance in 1987, again in Miami but was knocked out by drivetrain trouble.

After Formula One he built a career as a pilot for executive jets in the United States. However, in 1993 he made a return to racing, driving a Vauxhall in the British Touring Car Championship.[3] Following this he briefly raced motorcycle sidecar combinations, before a stint in the TVR Tuscan Challenge one-make series.

In November 2009, he competed in Formula Ford for the first time in over 40 years driving an Elden MK8 in the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone.

Ashley is currently one of many professional drivers taking passengers in 'Hot Rides' as part of the Silverstone Experience, where you get to sit in the passenger seat of a Lotus, Aston Martin, Lamborgini or Ferrari as he takes you through some of the most famous corners in Formula One history at extremely high speeds.

Ashley racing an LDS-Alfa Romeo

Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 WDC Pts.
1974 Token Racing Token RJ02 Cosworth V8 ARG BRA RSA ESP BEL MON SWE NED FRA GBR GER
14		 AUT
NC		 ITA NC 0
Chequered Flag Brabham BT42 Cosworth V8 CAN
DNQ		 USA
DNQ
1975 Frank Williams Racing Cars Williams FW03 Cosworth V8 ARG BRA RSA ESP MON BEL SWE NED FRA GBR GER
DNS		 AUT ITA USA NC 0
1976 Stanley BRM BRM P201B BRM V12 BRA
Ret		 RSA USW ESP BEL MON SWE FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA CAN USA JPN NC 0
1977 Hesketh Racing Hesketh 308E Cosworth V8 ARG BRA RSA USW ESP MON BEL SWE FRA GBR GER AUT
DNQ		 NED
DNQ		 ITA
DNQ		 USA
17		 CAN
DNS		 JPN NC 0

References

  1. ↑ "Driver: Ian Ashley". ChicaneF1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2007.
  2. ↑ "Drivers: Ian Ashley". GrandPrix.com. Retrieved 27 November 2007.
  3. ↑ "Driver: Ashley, Ian". Autocourse Grand Prix Archive. Archived from the original on 19 August 2007. Retrieved 27 November 2007.
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