Mike Hawthorn's Biography from his Tribute Site - part of comprehensive coverage for the World Champion driver. 'To me it was heaven to watch the cars thundering round those towering cliffs of concrete where the banking curved under the Members Bridge'
Mike in his Cooper Bristol 1952
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Things could certainly have been different had Leslie taken up his  allocation of one of the new Jaguar C-types late in 1952. Jaguar's  service manager Lofty England, who managed Jaguar's competition  activities, then knew little of one Les Hawthorn, who was  consequently placed bottom of the 'possibles' list. But Lofty soon  took note of young Michael's prowess in the Cooper Bristol, and  travelled to see him perform at Boreham, Essex in the International  meeting of August 2 1952.
Another of Mike in his Cooper Bristol 1952. Hawthorn's supportive father Leslie is on the far right apparently topping up the oil tank
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Said Lofty of this occasion: "I saw him drive at Boreham, and it  rained like hell in the afternoon. He passed and led Villoresi in a  4.0 litre Ferrari - in the wet - in his little Cooper Bristol. I  thought,'this is my boy'. So I rang his father Leslie on Monday  morning and told him to bring the lad to Silverstone on Wednesday,  which he did. We put him in an upgraded, specially prepared C-type  and within five laps he was under the lap record.
Mike Hawthorn and Rudi Fischer Silverstone 1952
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So I said to Leslie,'he is a born racing driver and he is ours for  the next year!'" From that moment on, Mike Hawthorn, just 23, was  special to Lofty England.
The first Ferrari contract
But while Lofty felt Michael should join Duncan Hamilton, Tony Rolt  and Stirling Moss in the Jaguar works team, Michael had also  impressed Ferrari. While an accident testing the Cooper Bristol put  him out of action for 1952, Ferrari offered him a contract for 1953.
Mike Hawthorn about to be push started for the Formula 2 international race at Turnberry in Scotland. The car is an A Type Connaught Chassis A1 which Mike only drove on this one occasion , loaned to him by Kenneth McAlpine
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But this barred him from racing any other make, preventing a Jaguar  team drive. Michael was, in fact, the first driver to be signed up  by a major European works team since Dick Seaman drove for Mercedes  Benz before the war. Leslie was ecstatic and cancelled his option on  XKC 011. It was to be two years before Michael would drive another  Jaguar, by which time he would be an international star.
Mike Joins Jaguar
During the Ferrari period Michael suffered a terrible crash at  Syracuse in 1954 and was badly burned. Then towards the end of 1954,  he was admitted to Guys Hospital for surgery in connection with a  kidney complaint which had dogged him for some years. It had been a  bad year in many ways, poor Leslie had been killed in a car accident  whilst Michael was hospitalised in Italy and the press had accused,  unfairly, him of avoiding National Service. On top of this, his  earnings barely paid his medical expenses and he seriously  considered retiring to concentrate on the garage business.
Eventually he decided not to renew his contract with Ferrari for  1955. Of the many offers for his services, the one from his great  friend, Lofty England, attracted him most. It was to replace  Stirling Moss who had left to join Mercedes Benz. Not only to  replace Stirling, but also to be Jaguar team leader in 1955. A deal  was struck. Michael was to drive for Jaguar in the sports car events  and Vanwall in the Grand Prix events.
Mike drives at Sebring
Briggs Cunningham, the millionaire business man who raced his own  sports cars and D-types, approached Mike on Lofty's recommendation to drive a 'D' at Sebring, Florida. Lofty felt a few  days in the Florida sunshine would aid Michael's recovery and prepare him for the new season. Needless to say he accepted the offer. Both Mike and his co-driver Phil Waters beat off heat exhaustion and  the Ferrari challenge to win the event after twelve hours of  gruelling driving. The win, despite protests by the Ferrari camp  over lap scoring, really gave Jaguar valuable publicity in the  American market and was Mike's first success in a Jaguar. Meanwhile,  back home, Lofty confirmed his team for the new season. Apart from  Rolt and Hamilton there was Mike Hawthorn, Jimmie Stewart, Desmond  Titterington and Don Beauman.
Don had been Mike's protege earlier and had bought the Riley Imp  from him in 1952. He was now in effect the sixth man, or reserve  driver.
At the Daily Express Silverstone meeting early in May, Lofty decided  that Michael, Tony Rolt and Duncan Hamilton would drive the D-types.  Michael would also drive a Mk VII in the saloon car race. In XKC404,  Michael dominated both practice and the sports car race against  Aston and Ferrari, breaking the lap record in one minute and forty  seconds. Unfortunately the top hose blew and he finished fourth.
In the saloon car race he drove Moss's old mount LWK 343 (in which  Stirling had won the 1952 and 1953  touring car races).The old car  proved still to be a good war horse and he broke the lap record with  that too. Of the Mk VII Michael said: "It was great fun because the  big saloon had an exhaust note like a D-type, and leaned over at a  spectacular angle, but cornered extremely fast." LWK had a D-type  head, triple plate competition clutch and a straight through twin  exhaust system. No wonder it sounded like a 'D'!
While he enjoyed instant success with Jaguar, his Grand Prix drives  for Vanwall were plagued with problems. The great days for Vanwall  had not yet arrived. Lancia offered him top position in their team  after the tragic death of Ascari, and Tony Vandervell sportingly  released Mike from the contract.
So he was now leader of a top Grand Prix and sports car team, albeit  the former short lived because cash-strapped Lancia pulled out of  racing altogether, leaving Mike without a Formula I drive.
1955 Le Mans
Ivor Bueb had now joined the Jaguar team, replacing Jimmy Stewart  and partnering Michael in XKD505 for the fateful 1955 Le Mans race.  Norman Dewis, Jaguar's chief tester, partnered Beauman. Race day was fine and dry with the early laps run in sunshine.
The Jaguar D-types prior to the race at Le Mans 1955. Mike drove No 6, chassis XKD 505
Castellotti set the pace early on with his Ferrari but within an  hour Michael had caught and passed him, after the Italian had spun  at Mulsanne corner. Fangio in the Mercedes 300 SLR was catching  Hawthorn, and the two drivers set about consistently braking the lap  record during the second hour's racing. It was like the French Grand  Prix at Rhiems 1953, both men driving to their absolute limit, neck  and neck for thirty-two laps.To Mike's delight, the long-nose'D' was  faster down the Mulsanne straight and was better braked, though the  Mercedes with its independent rear suspension really shone on the  fast bends. Here the Jaguar was let down by its old fashioned live  rear axle. With Fangio working the monstrous air brake, he could  leave his braking almost as late as the disc braked Jaguar.
Miek hawthorn leads at Le Mans 1955
The Accident
The titanic struggle continued relentlessly, with Mike holding a  small lead. His refuelling time came and after being counted down  over the two previous laps, he pulled over to the right to come into  the pits. As he did so, Lance Macklin in his Austin Healey pulled  over to the left and was hit by the 300SLR of Pierre Levagh in the  perilously narrow road - it had hardly been altered since the 1920s  when cars were averaging 80mph past the pits rather than 150; it was  a disaster waiting to happen. The Mercedes was launched over the  bank into the public enclosure, disintegrating amongst the crowd.
Ultimately over 80 people were found to have died. Michael was in a  state of shock and rolled past his pit, so Lofty waved him on for  another lap. When he pulled in second time around, he jumped out of  the 'D' in near hysteria, threatening never to drive again. Duncan  Hamilton talked sense to him and Lofty instructed him to get back in  the car and finish the race. To quote Lofty "There was never going  to be a problem with this incident, because Mike did everything I  told him to".
Driver changes came with Moss taking over from Fangio and Bueb from  Hawthorn. Beauman's car had slid into the sand while the  Hamilton/Rolt Jaguar suffered a seized gearbox and went out too.  With the Fangio/Moss car leading, instructions came direct from  Germany: the Mercedes-Benz team were to withdraw from the race. It  was left for Jaguar to win the event in the pouring rain.
A great event, overshadowed by the worst motor racing disaster ever
Michael was deeply affected by the terrible sight but he looked to  his captain for inspiration, and got it. He wrote later of Lofty:  "During those terrible hours he was a tower of strength while people  went back and forth debating what should be done. He saw the  situation quite clearly and simply. Nothing he could say or do would  alter the consequences of the accident. He had come to Le Mans to  win a motor race, and as long as it kept going, it was his job to  win it."
It was a month before he raced the 'D' again, this time on home  ground at the British Grand Prix, Aintree. On a high note he had  signed for Ferrari, who had consented to the Jaguar sports car  drives, but on a low note, fellow team member and friend Don Beauman  was killed in Ireland.
At Aintree, he had an unhappy time. Moss won the Grand Prix, and in  the sportscar event, Michael in the D-type found that Aintree's slow  corners really showed up the 'D' type's somewhat crude rear  suspension and Aston Martins triumphed. He finished fifth. Jaguar were now scaling down their racing programme. Basically the  new 2.4 saloon was about to be launched and racing was becoming a  distraction. But Ecurie Ecosse and Briggs Cunningham were readily  supported with factory preparation, drivers and sometimes mechanics.  Michael was released to drive Ferrari sports cars as well as  Jaguars, Browns Lane not intending to field a full team for 1956.
However, three D-types were entered for the Dundrod Tourist Trophy race in Ireland, a high profile event that would receive good  press coverage. To compete with the Astons, Jaguar had experimented  with a De Dion rear suspension in the lead car, XKD505.This not  proving successful, Mike and Desmond Titterington drove the spare  car, XKD 506.
Drama in the TT
Action for Mike at the 1955 Dundrod TT race
Bob Berry, driving Jack Broadhead's production D-type, led initially  from the Le Mans type start, though Moss in the 300 SLR moved ahead  after the first lap with Michael in second. After a couple of laps  the drivers could see a plume of smoke appearing from Deer's  Leap.The yellow flags were out: seven cars had been involved in a  pile up.
Meanwhile Fangio in the other 300 SLR had been steadily picking his  way through the pack, and by the fourteenth lap he caught and passed  Michael. From here on the two of them brought the crowd to their  feet as they continually swapped places. Michael was driving to the  absolute limit over those narrow roads so unsuited to a D-type and  by lap 17, he drew clear of Fangio and kept him there. By lap  nineteen, he set an all time lap record of 4 mins and 42 secs, two  seconds quicker than either of the SLRs could manage.
Although Mike gained the lead as the Mercedes refuelled, Moss  overtook him later.Then the 'D' broke its crankshaft and lost what  was seeming a safe second place.
No more Tourist Trophy races were held at Dundrod.The race had  claimed the lives of several drivers including those of Bill Smith  (who Lofty had earmarked for a test drive), Jim Mayers and Richard Mainwaring.The last was an old school mate of Michael's.
At the beginning of 1956 the media expected Jaguar to withdraw from  racing altogether. However, as a result of 1955 season's tragic  accidents, rule changes kept the 'D' type competitive and a works  team was entered once more. Michael in the meantime had received his  contract from Ferrari and was surprised to find that he would not be  allowed to drive for Jaguar after all. He refused to sign, staying  loyal to the Coventry firm and, for Grand Prix events, drove for  BRM. Mercedes-Benz had now pulled out of racing altogether and Moss  had signed with Maserati.
This allowed Lofty to approach Moss to drive again for Jaguar, as  joint No 1 with Mike. Unfortunately for Jaguar, Moss specifically  wanted to be the No 1 driver and could not agree terms; he  eventually drove an Aston during the new season. Meanwhile, Jaguar  had carried out extensive testing of XKD 504 with a new Lucas fuel  injection system, Mike testing it with Ivor Bueb at Silverstone.
By February XKD 601 (one of the six new cars produced for 1956),  with fuel injection, was tested successfully at Goodwood prior to  being shipped over to Florida for Mike to drive at Sebring for  Briggs Cunningham. Unfortunately, on the big day the car dropped out  with brake failure. Back home, Mike was having the same disasters as  last season with the BRM.
At Silverstone, where Jaguars normally did well, a steering seizure  caused Mike's 'D' to fail again while his first time out with the  new 2.4 saloon failed dismally too after a valve spring broke. The lead up to the 1956 Le Mans was a mixture of triumph and  disaster. At the Nurburgring 1000k race, Mike's car broke its half  shaft but at Rhiems, the Jaguars took the first four places, a  brilliant result so near to the most important event of the year.  Mike was second, partnered by Paul Frere.
1956 Le Mans
Le Mans itself was fraught for Jaguar. Two of the three works 'D'  types were sidelined by an early accident and after Hawthorn and  Bueb had built up a good lead in the remaining car, it developed a  bad misfire. It took the pit team seven hours and innumerable pit  stops to find the problem, a cracked fuel pipe. Michael was now well  down in 20th place. So, in his own words, he decided to drive like  hell to finish sixth overall. An incredible effort by any standards,  he broke the lap record and, pulling into the pit lane for the last  driver change, he said to Ivor "Well, mate, at least we've earned  some money for the fastest lap". Then someone in the pit said  "There's no fastest lap money this year!" Still, Ecurie Ecosse won  the event with their ex-works D-type.
But by October, Jaguar had announced their withdrawal from racing,  although the 'comp. shop' would be on hand to assist selected  private entrants.
Michael, returning to Ferrari, managed to secure a deal whereby he  could still drive for Jaguar, who no longer posed a real threat. He  therefore was able to take part in what was essentially the final  full works effort, the 1957 Sebring 12 hours. But XKD 605, running  in Cunningham colours, was again afflicted with brake problems,  though Mike managed to bring it home third behind Fangio and Moss. Michael still made himself available to Jaguar for testing, these  including E1A, the first E-type prototype. He was part of the  Jaguar family now and was to return to Browns Lane in October 1957  to collect a new 3.4 saloon, a belated gift for his contribution to  Jaguar's racing successes.
The 1958 world drivers' championship was decided by the last race of the season when Mike Hawthorn finished second to Stirling  Moss in the Morocco Grand Prix in October and secured the World Championship by just one point. Ferrari were ecstatic and  would have offered Hawthorn virtually any contract he wished for in 1959.
But immediately the race was over he declared his intention to retire; badly affected by the loss of his 'Mon ami mate' Peter Collins,  the sport no longer appealed to the 29-year-old. Maybe his serious kidney complaint helped tip the balance too.
His entire racing career had lasted barely eight years, with Ferrari playing the  dominant FI role. But very important, too, were his Jaguar connections. As a works  driver in 1955 he won the Sebring 12-hour race in March and the ill-fated Le Mans in  June. He also tested for Jaguar not just D-type variants but in 1957  the first E-type prototype as well. They thought a good deal of him at Browns Lane and  the feeling was reciprocated.
On the subject of Mike's racing income, Lofty England once said, "I doubt if Mike got more than ï¿½20,000 per year from Ferrari, and when he was with Jaguar we paid him a ï¿½1,000 retainer and he kept all he won in prize and bonus money."
Jaguar saloons
In particular, he forged a close friendship with racing team manager (apart from much else) FRW 'Lofty' England. We remember him for his  stirring drives in Jaguar saloons.
Though he raced them only four times, all at Silverstone, he won in 1955 (Mk VII), failed to finish with the new 2.4 saloon in  1956, but won in 1957 with the new 3.4 and again in 1958 with VDU 881 , the 3.4 saloon in which he was eventually to die. Had  he lived, the New Year of 1959 would have been an exceptionally busy one for John Michael Hawthorn. The latter part of 1958  had brought the new World Champion many more offers of business, sponsorship and product endorsement.
Final tragedy for Mike
Shortly after he retired, Mike died in an automobile accident on the A3 Guildford bypass in Surrey, England on January 22, 1959. He was driving his Jaguar Mark 1 and lost control. What exactly happened that day we analyse and cover in great detail on this site, but it was most probably due to a combination of high speed and bad weather.
Mike and his fiancee, model Jean Howarth, early in their relationship
The next day he had been due to drive to Yorkshire to spend the weekend with his 21 year-old girlfriend Jean Howarth - they had intended announcing their engagement that Spring but it was never to be. She spent the afternoon of his death walking on the moors to get away from everything, accompanied only by her boxer puppy 'Ferrari' that Mike had given her as a present.
Mike was already dying
Sadly, Mike would have died fairly soon anyway - he was already suffering from an incurable kidney disease and also another medical problem we'll reveal elsewhere here.
We have extensive analysis and coverage of the fatal accident separately and it is well worth reading if you are unsure of the facts. Please select our Mike's Death link.
Memorials
Mike Hawthorn's Funeral took place on 28th January 1959 at West Street Cemetery in Farnham, Surrey - his home town - after a service in the Parish Church. Mike's Mother wanted a private funeral - despite this, the church was occupied by more than two hundred mourners with a similar number outside. At the same time, the crash site took hundreds of visitors and needed police to control it as large numbers of floral tributes were left.
Mike has a memorial headstone erected to him in the cemetery at Farnham where he is buried. It receives regular visits each year from fans on each anniversary of his death.
There is also a more recent and much larger bronze memorial erected to Mike at the Goodwood Race Circuit in West Sussex, UK. It was paid for entirely by donations and through the efforts of a number of dedicated fans.
Visit our Memorials page for much more information on memorials in general.
For a comprehensive account of the unveiling of the sculpture and to find out how it was created, visit our Mike Hawthorn and Lofty England Sculpture page.