Mike_Beuttler

Mike Beuttler

Mike Beuttler

British racing driver (1940–1988)

Michael Simon Brindley Bream Beuttler (13 April 1940 – 29 December 1988) was a British Formula One driver who raced privately entered March cars. He was born in Cairo, Egypt, the son of Colonel Leslie Brindley Bream Beuttler, Duke of Wellington's Regiment, O.B.E., and a descendant on his mother's side of the Scottish ornithologist William Robert Ogilvie-Grant, grandson of the 6th Earl of Seafield.[1][2]

Quick Facts Born, Died ...

He was a talented Formula Three driver from the late 1960s, who then graduated to Formula Two and then to Formula One in 1971.[3]

The finance for the team came from a group of stockbroker friends from whom the team took its name – at first Clarke-Mordaunt-Guthrie Racing, and in 1973 it became Clarke-Mordaunt-Guthrie-Durlacher Racing. This approach of funding the team earned his car the nickname of the "Stockbroker Special".[4]

He raced on one occasion, at the 1971 Canadian Grand Prix, for the works March team. Beuttler's best result was a seventh place in the 1973 Spanish Grand Prix.[5][6]

While Beuttler did not achieve a points-scoring finish during his career in Formula One, he did achieve five top-ten finishes in the 28 races in which he competed, results that would have delivered points by today's championship regulations.[7]

When his backers suffered amid the 1973 oil crisis, Beuttler retired from racing the following year, at the age of 34, after competing in the 1000 km of Brands Hatch.[8][9]

Personal life

Beuttler is often described as the first openly gay Formula One driver,[10][11][12] although former Autosport editor and friend Ian Phillips has described Beuttler as "semi-closeted", adding "I'm not sure anybody really knew. We all just kind of suspected it. Because people weren’t open about being gay in those days and he took this lovely girlfriend to all the races which I suspect was just to distract because people didn’t come out as being gay in those days."[8] Beuttler remains the only known LGBT+ male driver to have raced at that level to this day.[13][14]

While little is known about Beuttler's life after his career in motorsport, he eventually moved to the United States, where he died of complications resulting from AIDS in 1988, in Los Angeles, aged 48.[15][16]

Beuttler was also the brother-in-law of politician Alan Clark, who had married Beuttler's sister Jane.[17][18]

Complete Formula One results

(key)

More information Year, Entrant ...

See also

Philippe Vogel et le sport automobile (French)[20]

References

  1. [1]
    Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 2003, vol. 3, p. 3551
  2. [2]
    Alan Clark: The Biography, Ion Trewin, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2009
  3. [3]
    "Drivers Mike Beuttler". Grandprix.com. Inside F1. 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  4. [4]
    Martin Williamson (1 November 2009). "Mike Beuttler (Great Britain)". ESPN. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  5. [5]
    Andrew Marriott (19 September 1971). "1971 Canadian Grand Prix race report". Motor Sport Magazine. Mosport Park. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  6. [6]
    "1973 Spanish Grand Prix race report". Motor Sport Magazine. Montjuich Park, Barcelona. 29 April 1973. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  7. [7]
    Mark Wessel (25 October 2012). "F1 statistics for Mike Beuttler". Formula 1 points. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  8. [8]
    Christopher Sharp (8 May 2020). "Mike Beuttler: The Pioneer in Yellow". Racing Pride. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  9. [9]
    "Mike Beuttler was to this day the only openly gay driver in F1 history". globoesporte.globo.com. Globo. 13 April 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  10. [10]
    "An interview with Matt Bishop". www.racingpride.com. Racing Pride. 11 September 2019.
  11. [11]
    "Meet the British drivers competing in the new W Series". shropshirestar.com. Shropshire Star. 3 May 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  12. [12]
    "Beuttler - Formula 1's LGBT+ pioneer". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  13. [13]
    "F1 would 'welcome' openly gay driver, says Sebastian Vettel". The Independent. 9 June 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  14. [14]
    George Cooper (25 October 2023). "Formula One's forgotten gay pioneer". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  15. [15]
    "» Remembering Mike Beuttler – Richard's F1". Archived from the original on 25 July 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  16. [16]
    "Top 12 Athletes Who Have Battled HIV". TheSportster. 19 January 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  17. [17]
    Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage, 146th edition, ed. Charles Kidd, David Williamson, Debrett's Peerage Ltd, 2000, p. 1494
  18. [18]
    "9 Facts About Mike Beuttler". CairoScene. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  19. [19]
    Small, Steve (2000). "Beuttler, Mike". Grand Prix Who's Who (Third ed.). Reading, Berkshire: Travel Publishing. pp. 77–78. ISBN 978-1-902007-46-5. Retrieved 17 November 2021 – via Internet Archive.
  20. [20]
    Philippe Vogel (19 January 2012). "Mike Beuttler - "Privé de Gloire"". Hautetfort (in French). Archived from the original on 20 January 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
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