Ian Ashley

Ian Ashley
Born (1947-10-26) 26 October 1947 (age 77)
Wuppertal, Germany
Formula One World Championship career
NationalityUnited Kingdom British
Active years19741977
TeamsToken, Williams, BRM, Hesketh; non-works Brabham
Entries11 (4 starts)
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums0
Career points0
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1974 German Grand Prix
Last entry1977 Canadian Grand Prix

Ian Hugh Gordon Ashley (born 26 October 1947)[1] is a British-German racing driver who raced in Formula One for the Token, Williams, BRM and Hesketh teams.

Driving career

Ashley began racing in 1966 when he took a course at the Jim Russell Racing School. He was fast but rather erratic, and soon earned the nickname "Crashley".[2] He reached Formula 5000 in 1972 and was a front-runner in 1973. He made his debut in Formula One in 1974, and briefly drove for the Williams team the following year. His luck got worse over the mid-1970s in Formula One. He was to become a victim of two nasty accidents on circuits that were no longer used by Formula One soon after his two accidents. During 1975, at the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring where during practice, he crashed severely at the tricky Pflanzgarten section and broke both his ankles, and during practice for the Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport Park in 1977, he went over a bump, flipped his Hesketh, vaulted the barrier and crashed into a television tower. He never raced in Formula One again.

In 1985 he made his CART Championship Car debut at the Miami Grand Prix. He was entered in the 1986 Indianapolis 500 but the car did not appear on track. However, he did make three CART starts in 1986 and finished ninth at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, enough for 28th in the championship. He failed to finish in his other two 1986 starts. He also made a single Indy Lights start at Pocono Raceway and finished sixth. He made one more CART appearance in 1987, again in Miami but was knocked out by drivetrain trouble.

After Formula One he built a career as a pilot for executive jets in the United States. However, in 1993 he made a return to racing, driving a Vauxhall in the British Touring Car Championship.[3] Following this he briefly raced motorcycle sidecar combinations, before a stint in the TVR Tuscan Challenge one-make series.

In November 2009, he competed in Formula Ford for the first time in over 40 years driving an Elden MK8 in the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone.

Ashley racing an LDS-Alfa Romeo

Racing record

Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 WDC Pts.
1974 Token Racing Token RJ02 Cosworth V8 ARG BRA RSA ESP BEL MON SWE NED FRA GBR GER
14
AUT
NC
ITA NC 0
Chequered Flag Brabham BT42 Cosworth V8 CAN
DNQ
USA
DNQ
1975 Frank Williams Racing Cars Williams FW03 Cosworth V8 ARG BRA RSA ESP MON BEL SWE NED FRA GBR GER
DNS
AUT ITA USA NC 0
1976 Stanley BRM BRM P201B BRM V12 BRA
Ret
RSA USW ESP BEL MON SWE FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA CAN USA JPN NC 0
1977 Hesketh Racing Hesketh 308E Cosworth V8 ARG BRA RSA USW ESP MON BEL SWE FRA GBR GER AUT
DNQ
NED
DNQ
ITA
DNQ
USA
17
CAN
DNS
JPN NC 0

Indy Car World Series

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Rank Points Ref
1985 Tom Hess Racing LBH INDY MIL POR MEA CLE MCH ROA POC MDO SAN MCH LAG PHX MIA
18
48th 0 [4]
1986 Dick Simon Racing PHX LBH INDY MIL POR MEA CLE TOR
15
MCH POC MDO
9
SAN MCH ROA
23
LAG PHX MIA 28th 4 [5]
1987 Dick Simon Racing LBH PHX INDY MIL POR MEA CLE TOR MCH POC ROA MDO NAZ LAG MIA
20
43rd 0 [6]

Complete British Touring Car Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Pos Pts
1993 Tamchester Team Maxted Vauxhall Cavalier SIL
Ret
DON
12
SNE
12
DON
Ret
OUL
9
BRH
1

17
BRH
2

13
PEM
13
SIL
17
KNO
1
KNO
2
23rd 2
Colin Davids Racing OUL
17
BRH
21
THR
Ret
DON
1

15
DON
2

9
SIL
19

References

  1. ^ "Driver: Ian Ashley". ChicaneF1.com. Archived from the original on 9 December 2007. Retrieved 27 November 2007.
  2. ^ "Drivers: Ian Ashley". GrandPrix.com. Retrieved 27 November 2007.
  3. ^ "Driver: Ashley, Ian". Autocourse Grand Prix Archive. Archived from the original on 19 August 2007. Retrieved 27 November 2007.
  4. ^ "Ian Ashley – 1985 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  5. ^ "Ian Ashley – 1986 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  6. ^ "Ian Ashley – 1987 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 6 November 2023.