About Peter Gethin
Peter Kenneth Gethin (21 February 1940 – 5 December 2011) was a British racing driver and motorsport executive who competed in Formula One from 1970 to 1974. Gethin won the 1971 Italian Grand Prix with BRM. Born and raised in Surrey, Gethin started his career in sportscar racing, competing in the British Sports Car Championship as a privateer until 1965. He progressed to Formula Three the following year, competing in the French and British Championships before graduating to Formula Two. Gethin won several titles in Formula 5000, prompting McLaren to sign him in 1970 to replace the deceased Bruce McLaren. After retaining his seat for 1971, Gethin moved to BRM from the Austrian Grand Prix onwards, winning the following race in Italy with an average speed of 242.615 km/h (150.754 mph), a record which stood for 32 years. Gethin remained at BRM in 1972 but was dropped at the end of the season, only making one-off appearances for BRM and Hill in 1973 and 1974, respectively. In addition to his victory in Italy, he won two non-championship races, including the 1973 Race of Champions with Chevron. He returned to European Formula 5000 upon his departure, twice finishing runner-up in 1974 and 1975, amongst winning the Tasman Series during the former. After competing in the 1974 World Sportscar Championship, driving the Chevron B26, Gethin further finished runner-up in the Canadian-American Challenge Cup and the Rothmans International Series in 1977, before retiring at the end of the season. Upon retiring from motor racing, Gethin founded Peter Gethin Racing in 1986, a Formula 3000 team. He was the director of the British Racing Drivers' Club from 2005 until 2008.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.