# David Piper (racing driver)

David Ruff Piper (born 2 December 1930) is a British former Formula One and sports car racing driver from England. He participated in 3 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 18 July 1959. He scored no championship points.

## Racing career
### Early career and Formula One

Piper was born in Edgware, Middlesex and began his career in the mid-1950s by competing in sprints and hill-climbs, before beginning circuit racing with a Lotus Eleven. He then moved up to a Lotus 16 which he used in 1959 and 1960 to compete in both Formula One and Formula Two, by means of changing engines as appropriate. His best result with the car was a second place in the Lady Wigram Trophy, in 1960, behind Jack Brabham in a Cooper.
In 1961, Piper competed in European Formula Junior alongside Jo Siffert but drove the Gilby F1 car in the Gold Cup. He also competed in non-championship races in 1962, but had become disenchanted with single-seater racing and moved into sports car racing initially with a Ferrari 250 GTO.

### Later career

Between 1962 and 1970, Piper raced frequently in many locations worldwide using his personally owned Ferraris and, later, Porsches. He was moderately successful and gained a reputation for reliability and consistency.
Piper's personal sport cars of the period are typically painted in bright green, originally from his BP sponsor which replaced Esso after the Suez Crisis; eventually Piper liked the color and made it his own, having never liked the classic British racing green.
Piper crashed a Porsche 917 during the 1970 shooting of the film Le Mans and lost part of one leg.
Piper later raced his personal, green, Porsche 917 and other cars in historic events.

## Racing record
### Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | WDC | Points |
| 1959 | Dorchester Service Station | Lotus 16 (F2) | Climax 1.5l Straight-4 | MON | 500 | NED | FRA | GBR Ret | GER | POR | ITA | USA | | NC | 0 |
| 1960 | Robert Bodle Ltd. | Lotus 16 | Climax 2.5l Straight-4 | ARG | MON | 500 | NED | BEL | FRA DNS | GBR 12 | POR | ITA | USA | NC | 0 |

### Complete British Saloon Car Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | DC | Pts | Class |
| 1970 | Pierre de Plessis | Chevrolet Camaro Z28 | D | BRH DNS | SNE 7 | THR | SIL | CRY 2† | SIL | SIL | CRO | BRH | OUL | BRH | BRH | 31st | 8 | 6th |
| 1978 | Ian Bracey | Triumph Dolomite Sprint | C | SIL | OUL | THR | BRH | SIL | DON | MAL Ret† | BRH | DON | BRH | THR | OUL | NC | 0 | NC |
| Source: |||||||||||||||||||
† Events with 2 races staged for the different classes.

### 24 Hours of Le Mans results

| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
| 1963 | North American Racing Team | Masten Gregory | Ferrari 250 GTO/LMB | GT 3.0 | 312 | 6th | 3rd |
| 1964 | North American Racing Team | Jochen Rindt | Ferrari 250 LM | P 4.0 | 0 | DNF | DNF |
| 1965 | Maranello Concessionaires | Jo Bonnier | Ferrari 365 P2 | P 5.0 | 101 | DNF | DNF |
| 1966 | Maranello Concessionaires | Richard Attwood | Ferrari 365 P2 | P 5.0 | 33 | DNF | DNF |
| 1967 | JW Automotive Engineering | Dick Thompson | Mirage M1 | P +5.0 | 59 | DNF | DNF |
| 1968 | David Piper | Richard Attwood | Ferrari 250 LM | S 5.0 | 302 | 7th | 2nd |
| 1969 | SpA Ferrari SEFAC | Pedro Rodriguez | Ferrari 312P Coupé | P 3.0 | 223 | DNF | DNF |
| 1970 | AAW Racing Team | Gijs van Lennep | Porsche 917K | S 5.0 | 112 | DNF | DNF |

## Gallery

* Piper/Gardner, Porsche 917, 1969 ADAC 1000 km Nürburgring.
* One of Piper's distinctive green cars; a Lola T70 Mk3B at Mallory Park
* Piper's Porsche 917 which he has owned from new.
* Piper's Porsche 917.