// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Kenneth Evans say to his car? "You're evans-ively fast.
| Kenneth Evans | |
|---|---|
| Born | Kenneth Douglas Evans 4 June 1912 |
| Died | 30 March 1985 (aged 72) |
Kenneth Evans (4 June 1912 – 30 March 1985) was a British Grand Prix racing driver, active mostly before the Second World War.
Career
[edit]Brothers Denis and Kenneth Evans ran a garage in Wandsworth - the Belle Vue garage - which mostly specialized in selling MGs.[1] Sister Doreen was also a racing driver,[2] the threesome being regular entrants at Brooklands, usually in cars painted green with a cream stripe, and their cars fettled by Wilkie Wilkinson.[3]
Kenneth started to enter international racing in 1935, driving in the Coppa Acerbo in an MG R-type. He shared Ian Connell's Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 to a flagged-off 9th at the 1936 Donington Grand Prix,[4] and, after MG withdrew from racing, he bought an ageing Alfa Romeo Tipo B - the very car in which Tazio Nuvolari won the 1935 German Grand Prix.[5] In the Alfa he finished an excellent 9th at the 1937 German Grand Prix, "driving the race of his life".[6]
On 7 August 1939, Evans took part in the last-ever meeting at Brooklands in the Alfa, finishing 6th in the Campbell Trophy scratch race.[7] Two weeks later, Evans drove in his last Grand Prix, the Swiss, in his Tipo B. He finished a safe 11th, albeit only ahead of a pair of voiturettes.[8] He undertook some limited racing after the Second World War, including the 1947 voiturette season, by which time he was driving Connell's Maserati 6CM,[9] having sold the Alfa to Roy Salvadori. His 1947 season included three early Formula 1 races in France, his only finish being a 7th and last (in a shared drive with Connell) at the Pau Grand Prix.[10]
Post-racing
[edit]In later life he became a vice-president of the British Racing Drivers Club, his duties including being chief flag marshal for the British Grand Prix,[11] and he was instrumental in the foundation of the Brooklands Museum Trust.[12]
Results
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "Drivers (E)". Golden Era of Motor Racing. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
- ↑ "Kenneth Douglas Evans". Historic Racing. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
- ↑ "Rumblings". MotorSport: 13–14. January 1938.
- ↑ Nye, Doug (1977). British Grand Prix 1926-76. London: B.T. Batsford. pp. 22–25.
- ↑ McComb, WIlson (September 1985). "The end of the Evanses". Thoroughbred & Classic Cars: 26–8.
- ↑ Culmer, Kris. "1937 German Grand Prix report - Throwback Thursday". Autocar. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
- ↑ "The B.A.R.C. August meeting". MotorSport: 286. September 1939.
- ↑ "Mercedes Benz one, two, three at Berne". MotorSport: 260. September 1939.
- ↑ Silva, Alessandrio. "A hard-fought championship: Championnat de France 1947 Part 2: The Races". Forix. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
- ↑ "VIII Grand Prix Automobile de Pau". StatsF1. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
- ↑ McComb, WIlson (September 1985). "The end of the Evanses". Thoroughbred & Classic Cars: 26–8.
- ↑ "An Alfa in British racing green". klemcoll. Retrieved 9 June 2026.