Thomas Pitt Cholmondeley-Tapper

Thomas Pitt Cholmondeley-Tapper (31 July 1910 – 27 July 2001) was an auto racing driver from New Zealand, the first great New Zealand driver before Graham McRae, Chris Amon, Bruce McLaren, Denny Hulme and others.

Tapper was born in Christchurch. At the age of 13 he bought and restored a non-working Douglas motorcycle. His family moved to England when he was 14.[1]

An expert skier and amateur driver, he raced Bugattis,[2] an old GP Maserati 8CM he had bought from Earl Howe,[3] and a Ferrari Monza.[4] He was offered a Mercedes-Benz test drive at the end of the 1936 season, and participated at the 1936 German Grand Prix. He died in England at the age of 90.

Works

• Cholmondeley-Tapper, Thomas Pitt (1953). Amateur Racing Driver. London: G.T. Foulis & Co., Ltd.[2]

References

1. Howard, Ken. "Thomas Pitt Cholmondeley Tapper". Piddington Village Website. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
2. "Amateur Racing Driver (book review)". The Motor. Temple Press. January 1955.
3. Beaulieu, Lord Montague of (1961). Jaguar: a biography. Cassell. p. 46.
4. Pritchard, Anthony; Keith Davey (1967). Italian High-performance Cars. Allen & Unwin. p. 34.