Reject Birthday Topic

[Bleu]

There couldn't be better date to start this, since January 1st is of course birthday of HWNSNBM!


30 years today!

One of 1990s rejects is also birthday boy. Jean-Marc Gounon, who turns 48.




It's also birthday of Carlo Franchi, who tried to qualify for the 1978 Italian Grand Prix. He's 73.

[This]

happy HWNSNBM-day everyone! (and especially HWNSNBM himself)

[Pointrox]

Happy birthday!
Hm, HWNSNBM is quite young - I guess he can still get back to racing, and I hope he will in 2011

[Cynon]

Isn't this also Happy Birthday Enoch? Because I remember he said in his signature at one point that he and HWNSNBM shared a birthday... maybe it's just me, though...

[tommykl]

IIRC, Enoch's birthday is tomorrow.

[JeremyMcClean]

Not a reject, but Michael Schumacher's Birthday is on January 3....

One day before MINE!

[FullMetalJack]

IIRC, Enoch's birthday is tomorrow.

And so is mine

Hm, HWNSNBM is quite young

Well he doesn't age according to HWNSNBM facts.

[Pointrox]

Well he doesn't age according to HWNSNBM facts.

HWNSNBM doesn't, but that Z.B. guy who's in possesion of his soul does

[Phoenix]

HAPPY
BIRTHDAY
HWNSNBM

Happy birthday to Jean-Marc Gounon and Gimax too.

BTW if I remember correctly I share my birthday with fellow Simtek driver Domenico Schiatarella.

[tommykl]

Happy birthday to Gimax, Jean-Marc Gounon and
THE
GREAT
HWNSNBM.

It's also the birthday of non-rejects Jacky Ickx and Hans-Joachim Stuck.

[tommykl]

Alright. Today's January 2nd, and it's the birthday of F1 reject...

Beppe Gabbiani!

[Pointrox]

Happy birthday Beppe

[tommykl]

Two reject have birthdays today.

First, Luigi de Filippis turns 89 years old. He is best known for being the first lady-driver's older brother, but didn't show up for his only entry, the 1950 Italian GP.

Second, Menato Boffa turns 81, and also didn't show up for his only entry, the 1961 Italian GP.

Both are Italian.

I won't bother putting up photos anymore, as it takes too much time (making it boring).

[tommykl]

Today is the birthday of 3 rejects:

Frenchman Andre Simon turns 91 years old. His career spanned 7 years, in which he started 11 races for Simca-Gordini, Ferrari, Mercedes, Maserati and Gordini. His best results came at the 1951 and 1952 Italian GPs, where he took 6th place.

Briton Keith Greene turns 73 today. He entered 4 consecutive British GPs, from 1959 to 1962, driving Coopers at first before switching to his entrant's own car, the Gilby, only starting in 1960 and 1961. In 1962, he also crossed the channel to enter the Italian and German GPs in the Gilby, but only qualified in Germany. His best result was in his only finish, 15th in the 1960 British GP.

Finally Franck Montagny turns 33 years old. His 7 starts in 2006, from Europe to France, were only rewarded with 2 16th places as a best result.

[thehemogoblin]

This is really cool and informative. And I always thought ol' Franck got shafted.

[Bleu]

By my understanding, Simon is eight oldest World Championship participating driver still living.

[Pointrox]

Another reject birthday!
Or not...

[tommykl]

A bit of research says that, while Pablo was indeed born on January 6th 1924, he died in 1966 in a road accident. I'll only post drivers who are still alive, although others can post about all drivers if they want to.

[Faustus]

Today is Mike Wilds' 64th birthday.

[Phoenix]

As well as the birthday of unknown reject Brausch Niemann, from South Africa. He only ran his domestic GP in 1963, starting 15th and finishing 14th with a Lotus 22.

[Bleu]

Certain 2,67-time Reject of the Race driver is also celebrating his birthday today.

[Faustus]

Certain 2,67-time Reject of the Race driver is also celebrating his birthday today.

Hamilton?

[tommykl]

No currently alive F1 driver was born on January 8th.

[AndreaModa]

Certain 2,67-time Reject of the Race driver is also celebrating his birthday today.

Hamilton?

It was indeed!

[tommykl]

9th January is the birthday of F1 Reject Pascal Fabre, who turns 51 years old. He only drove for AGS in 1987, wher his results were these: 14 entries, 11 starts, 8 finishes, with two consecutive 9ths in France and Great Britain, before finding his niche in sportscars.

[Bleu]

I remember watching some old BBC Highlight clip and Pascal Fabre got some good recognition as he was the most reliable driver of the season to that point. Indeed he was classified in first seven races (in Belgium retired five laps before the end), which no one else did.

[tommykl]

I've started school again, so reduced posting from now on...

Anyway, the 10th January is the birthday of 2 F1 drivers, including 1 Reject.

While Eddie Cheever turns 53, American legend Bobby Rahal turns 58. While he is known for his exploits outside of F1, he took part in 2 F1 races in 1978 (Unites States East and Canada) for Wolf, a 12th place being the only reward. He is also profiled on the main website.

[Bleu]

One of the recent rejects had birthday today (January 11th, there's about 45 minutes left here)

Kazuki Nakajima!

[Phoenix]

Today, let's salute the co-founder of March and Arrows, Alan Rees, who turns 73 today. He drove a Cooper T81 to 9th place from 15th on the grid in his only WC GP, the 1967 Great Britain GP.

[LucaPacchiarini]

just curious... I was born on June the 16th... do I share the birthday date with any reject?

[tommykl]

January 14th 2011, and 1 Reject driver's birthday.

Narain Karthikeyan, who joins HRT for next year, turns 34 years old, after also driving for Jordan in 2005 with a 4th place at the farce known as the 2005 US GP.

If we expand to include deceased drivers (I found the page that shows the data), then Rodriguez Larreta from Argentina would have turned 77 years old. All we know is that he qualified 15th in the 1960 Argentine GP, finishing the race 9th driving a Lotus 16. He died of a heart attack on 11th March 1977 in his hometown of Buenos Aires, aged 43.

Also, some unknown bloke called Giancarlo Fisichella turns 38 today.

[tommykl]

I'll expand to include even more info. Anyway...

On the 15th January 2011, two rejects have their birthdays.

F1's first Portuguese driver, Mario de Araujo Cabral, turns 77 years old. He contested his home GP in 1959 and 1960 on a Cooper T51, before purchasing a T60 and entering, still for Scuderia Centro Sud, the German and Italian GPs in 1963. However, he wouldn't qualify in Italy. In 1964, he drove for the Derrington-Francis team, who entered an A-T-S for Cabral in Italy, where he retired. His best result was 10th in the 1959 Portuguese GP, in what was his only finish.

The man to hold the record for the most DNQ's without qualifying, Irishman Dave Kennedy, turns 58. His manager, Teddy Yip, found him a seat at Shadow for 1980. However, the DN11 was cruelly lacking in competitivity, and Kennedy failed to qualify for the first 7 races, the DN12 not showing any signs of improvement. Kennedy was promptly fired to be replaced by Geoff Lees. He managed 2 or 3 25th places in qualifying, even getting less than 2 tenths of a second from qualifying, but to no avail.

The 15th January is also the anniversary of 2 drivers' death, both of them Rejects.

30 years ago today, Peter Whitehead's half-brother Graham died, aged 58. His sole F1 start saw him finish where he started, in 12th position. He was seriously injured in the same accident in which Peter was killed.

10 years ago today, South African Alex Blignaut died from an electrocution aged 68. His F1 career is limited to a non-participation in his home GP in 1965. After this, he became the organizer of the South-African Drivers' Championship and promoter for the South Afrcan GP, also entering Ian Scheckter and Eddie Keizan's Tyrrells in said GP.

Finally, the 1978 Argentine GP was held on January 15th.

[Phoenix]

Today, we have three reject birthdays:
-AJ Foyt, the best racing driver ever according to Cynon, turns 76 today. His F1 career was limited to the Indy 500s of 1958 to 1960. He was classified 16th, 10th and 25th respectively in those events.
-Luis Bueno, who had an one-off drive at the 1973 Brazilian GP for Surtees, turns 74 today. Starting in 20th place, he finished the race 12th.
-Piercarlo Ghinzani, probably the reject with the longest F1 career ever, turns 59 today. He debuted with Osella in 1981 for a couple of races, before having a full season for the team in 1983. He drove for Osella in 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1989 too, with Toleman, Ligier and Zakspeed drives mixed in-between. His best result (and the only points of his career) came at the 1984 Dallas GP, where he was 5th.

[tommykl]

Also, two Rejects who would have celebrated their birthdays today are sadly deceased. Curiously, they were all born in 1930, and therefore would have turned 81.

South African Luki Botha is one of them. A local driver, he only took part in the 1967 South African GP, where he qualified 17th before finshing the race 20 laps down and not classified, at the wheel of a Brabham BT11. Later in the year, in the 100 miles of Kumalo in Mozambique, his Brabham spins off and begins barrel-rolling in the crowd, killing 9 people. Botha himself was uninjured, but decided to retire from motorsport. He died on October 17th 2006 in his home town of Pretoria, aged 76.

The second is Argentine Alberto Crespo. An open road racer, he decided, in 1952, to go race in Europe in some non-championship races, eventually coming 4th at Albi and 6th at la Baule. His only Championship entry was for the Italian GP, driving Enrico Plate's Maserati, the same with which he had run the La Baule GP. In qualifying, he could only mange 26th, 7 tenths of qualification. He contested 2 more non-championship races before returning to Argentina. He died on August 14th 1991 in his home town of Buenos Aires, aged 61.

Little known Briton Peter Procter, however, is still alive and celebrates his 81st birthday. His F1 career is limited, as he only took part in 2 non-championship races (so not technically an F1 Reject) in 1961: the 200 miles of Aintree and the Lewis-Evans Trophy, retiring from both in his Lotus 16.

3 years ago, on this day, profiled reject Jorge di Bagration died in Tbilissi, Georgia. Heir to the throne of Georgia, he entered F2 and Endurance races, also entering the 1968 Spanish GP in a Lola, and the 1974 Spanish GP in a Surtees, but wouldn't take part in either for various reasons.

Finally, the 1955 Argentine GP took place on the 16th January.

[tommykl]

Today is the 17th January. No F1 driver celebrates his birthday today, but one Reject would have were he still alive.

Briton John Riseley-Prichardwould have turned 87. He drove during the 50's, taking part in mostly non-championship races, winning the 1954 Cornwall GP. His only championship start came at the 1954 British GP. He drove a Connaught A entered by fellow reject Peter Walker. He qualified 21st and retired after an accident. He died on July 8th 1993 in Bangkok, Thailand from AIDS, aged 69.

January 17th is also the date of death of 3 rejects.

11 years ago, Carl Forberg died. He was born on March 4th 1911. He only took part in the Indy 500 however. While it was an F1 event, he entered from 1950 to 1952, only making the 1951 race. He qualified 24 and finished 7th in his Kurtis-Kraft 3000. The Omaha native eventually died a peaceful death in Brownsburg, aged 88.

9 years ago, Briton John James died in Malta, aged 87. He was born on May 10th 1914. He only started one championship race, the 1951 British GP in a Maserati. He started 17th, but retired from a radiator problem. His non-championship career wasn't much more succesful, only managing a 7th as best result.

Finally, Briton Tony Dean died 3 years ago. He only took part in non-championship races. Born on July 23rd 1932, his first race was the 1969 Madrid GP where he took 2nd place. After that, he only drove an F5000 when they were allowed to run alongside F1 cars. He died peacefully aged 75.

The 1954 Argentine GP was held on January 17th.

[tommykl]

January 18th is comparatively poor on the subject of reject birthdays. 5 drivers were born on a January 18th, 1 of them is a reject. Pedro Rodriguez, Johnny Servoz-Gavin, Gilles Villeneuve and Christian Fittipaldi were born on this day.

Apart from that, Italian profiled reject Gianfranco Brancatelli turns 61. He entered 3 rounds of the 1979 World Championship. In Spain and Belgium, he drove the Lotus-copycat Kauhsen, qualifying last in both attempts, not making the grid, with 27th a best in Spain. For Monaco, he turned to Merzario who gave him a one-off appearance, where he was the only driver not to pre-qualify. He later had more success in sports cars, coming a beautiful 2nd in the 1989 24h of Le Mans in a Sauber.

The 1953 Argentine GP was held on 18th January.

[Bleu]

Today there is two rejects celebrating - very recent to be honest.

Karun Chandhok turns 27 today. Let's see if he still races in F1. Another reject celebrating is Tarso Marques, who drove for Minardi for three different occasions.

Indy 500 racer Red Amich was born on this day 82 years ago.

Another deceased former driver is Bob Gerard. Not a reject, though he didn't score points! May sound strange, but he finished sixth three times on the years where only top five got them (along with fastest lap).

Also, happy birthday to double Reject of the Year and 2009 World Champion Jenson Button, who is now 31.

[tommykl]

Here we go, January 19th!

This day is the birthday of 3 F1 Rejects, 2 of which are still alive (as well as some unknown guy called Jenson Button).

Briton Bob Gerard would have turned 97 today. He's not a reject, but deserves a mention. Born on January 19th 1914 in Leicester, he was one of the 23 to drive in F1's first ever championship race, where he came a tied best career finish of 6th (not worth points back then) in an ERA. He would repeat this performance in the next race in Monaco. He later entered GP's throughout the 50's, repeating his 6th place finishes in his last championship race, the 1957 British GP, in a Cooper T44. However, he was very succesful in non-championship races held in Britain, taking 9 wins from 1947 to 1955. He died on January 26th 1990 in South Croxton, aged 76.

American Red Amick would have turned 82. Born on January 19th 1929 in Kansas City, Missouri, this driver only contested in the Indy 500, entering in 1959 and 1960. In 1959, he qualified 26th, and his race ended on lap 46 after a pile-up. The next year, he started 22nd, and drove a good race to 11th. This would be his last race, as he retired shortly after. Red died in Crystal River, Florida, on May 16th 1995, aged 66.

Profiled reject Tarso Marques turns 35 today. The Brazilian only ever drove for Minardi. He began in F1 aged 20, in 1996, filling in for Giancarlo Fisichella for Brazil and Argentina. Two retirements due to accidents saw him fired. He returned at the end of the 1997 season, where he managed 10th in Great Britain. He eventually drove 10 races that year. He made his last comeback in 2001, aged 25. He started the season for Minardi. 2 9ths in Brazil and Canada were the high points of the season. After 14 rounds, he was replaced by Malaysian pay-driver Alex Yoong.

Finally, recent HRT driver Karun Chandhok turns 27. He drove the opening 10 rounds of the 2010 season for HRT, scoring the team's first and best finishes, with 14th in Australia and Monaco after good and steady drives. He was replaced for Germany by Sakon Yamamoto.

The 1958 Argentine GP was held on January 19th.

EDIT: I see Bleu's already posted. Anyhow, this is even more info on top of it!

[tommykl]

Today is January 20th 2011. Two rejects have their birthdays today.

Italian Giorgio Bassi turns 77. The Italian F3 stalwart took part in only one GP, the 1965 Italian GP. He drove a Scuderia Centro Sud entered BRM P57. He qualified 22nd, but had to retire on lap 8 due to engine problems. However, he was successful that year, winning the Targa Florio.

More recent, Argentine Norberto Fontana turns 36 years old. The Arrecifes native started driving in 1997 for Sauber as a replacement for Gianni Morbidelli, injured. He made his debut in France, and drove Great Britain and Germany after that, the latter 2 seeing his best results in F1: 2 9ths. He later returned for the last GP in Europe, where he deliberatley held up Villeneuve so Schumacher could get away. He finished that race in 14th.

Not a reject, but deserves a mention. Briton Alan Brown died on this day 7 years ago. Brown was born on November 20th 1914 in Malton. He decided to enter F1 with his teammate Eric Brandon in 1952. The 2 had already been destroying the opposition in F3. Everything started well for Brown, who scored 5th and 6th in the first 2 races (the 6th not being worth points back then). However, luck ran out soon after, Brown only picking up a 9th in the 1953 Argentine GP. Brown ended up entering p races, starting 8 of them across 3 years (1952 to 1954). Brown died on January 20th 2004, in Cranleigh.

[tommykl]

January 21st, the birthday of 3 F1 Rejects!

American Jud Larson would have turned 88 today. He was born on January 21st 1923 in Grand Prairie. He only took part in the Indy 500, entering 5 times (1952 to 1953 and 1957 to 1959) while qualifying twice (in 1958 and 1959). In 1958, he would record his best F1 result, 8th place in a Watson-Offy. The year after, he would retire after an accident. He died on June 11th 1966 in Reading due to a racing accident, aged just 43.

Briton John Campbell-Jones turns 81 today. Born in Epsom, he had success in sports cars in the 50's before turning to F1 in 1961. He entered the German GP in a private Cooper, but a testing injury saw him forfeit the race. He returned the next year, driving for Emeryson, coming in 11th in Belgium, but missing Great Britain due to another injury. The next year, he drove for Parnell, coming in 13th in Great Britain. While he only took part in 5 championship GPs, starting 2 of them, he also managed 2 6ths in non-championship races: the 1961 London Trophy and the 1962 Aintree 200 miles.

Finally, Yuji Ide turns 36. Born in Saitama, he entered F1 for Super Aguri's first season in 2006, driving the hopeless SA05. While he only qualified higher than last twice, he only finished once, 13th in Australia. His superlicense was revoked after round 4 in San Marino, having caused Christijan Albers' barrel roll. He currently drives in Super GT, having recently won his first race, paired with former F1 driver Ralph Firman.

On this day, 2 F1 Rejects died as well.

Briton Cuth Harrison was one of the drivers to compete in the first world championship race. Born on July 6th 1906 in Ecclesall, his championship career was limited to 3 races. Despite a successful non-championship campaign, where he notched up a handful of podiums, he only managed a sole 7th in Great Britain, behind his greatest rival, Bob Gerard. After Formula 1, Cuth drove in hillclimbs until 1952, when he retired from racing to take care of his Sheffield garage. He died on January 21st 1981 in Sheffield. aged 74.

The other driver, American Wayne Selser, is a bit of a mystery. Born on April 11th 1920 in St Louis, he only entered a sole Indy 500, in 1953. His car, the Christy, didn't qualify. He died on January 11th 1994 in Madera, aged 73.

The 1979 Argentine GP was held on January 21st.