About Roy Salvadori
Roy Francesco Salvadori (12 May 1922 – 3 June 2012) was a British racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from 1952 to 1962. In endurance racing, Salvadori won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1959 with Aston Martin. Born in Dovercourt to parents of Italian descent, Salvadori began competing in Grand Prix motor racing after World War II. His early career successes at tracks such as Silverstone and Snetterton earned him the nickname "King of the Airfields". He graduated to Formula One by 1952 and competed regularly until 1962 for a succession of teams including Cooper, Vanwall, BRM, Aston Martin and Connaught. Also a competitor in other formulae, he won the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans in an Aston Martin with co-driver Carroll Shelby. In 47 starts, Salvadori achieved two F1 Championship podium finishes: third place at the 1958 British Grand Prix and second place at that year's German Grand Prix, and won non-championship races in Australia, New Zealand and England. In 1961, he was lying second in the United States Grand Prix when his Cooper's engine failed. At the end of 1962, he retired from F1, and stopped racing altogether a couple of years later to concentrate on the motor trade. He returned to the sport in 1966 to manage the Cooper-Maserati squad for two seasons, and eventually retired to Monaco. Despite this, Salvadori still cruised home to record an impressive fifth place.
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