Masten Gregory

Masten Gregory

Masten Gregory waits in the cockpit of his BRM, at the Nürburgring in 1965 German Grand Prix.
Born	(1932-02-29)February 29, 1932 Kansas City, Missouri, United States
Died	November 8, 1985(1985-11-08) (aged 53) Porto Ercole, Tuscany, Italy
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	American
Active years	1957 − 1963, 1965
Teams	Cooper (incl non-works), BRM (incl. non-works) Non-works Maserati, Behra-Porsche, Lola, Lotus,
Entries	46 (38 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	3
Career points	21
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1957 Monaco Grand Prix
Last entry	1965 Italian Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	1955, 1957 − 1966, 1968 − 1972
Teams	Mike Sparken Duncan Hamilton Ecurie Ecosse Camoradi USA Porsche System UDT Laystall NART Ford Motor Company Scuderia Filipinetti Autodelta SpA
Best finish	1st (1965)
Class wins	2 (1961, 1965)

Masten Gregory (February 29, 1932 − November 8, 1985) was an American racing driver. He raced in Formula One between 1957 and 1965, participating in 43 World Championship races, and numerous non-Championship races. He was also a successful sports car racer, winning (with Jochen Rindt) the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Career

Known as the "Kansas City Flash", Masten Gregory was born in Kansas City, Missouri, as the youngest of three children; his elder brother was Riddelle L. Gregory Jr., also a race car driver, and his elder sister Nancy Lee Gregory married, as her second husband, the Anglo-American fashion designer Charles James. An heir to an insurance company fortune, Gregory was well known for his youngish looks and thick eyeglasses, due to his "terrible" eyesight. Although he attended the Pembroke-Country Day School in Kansas City, he left school before completing his senior year, and married Luella Simpson at the age of 19. His parents divorced when he was very young, and his father died when he was three years old. As an adult, Gregory used his inheritance to buy a Mercury-powered Allard, which he drove in his first race, the 50-mile (80 km) SCCA race in Caddo Mills, Texas, in November 1952. He retired from that race due to head gasket failure, but installed a new Chrysler hemi-powered engine in his car to race at Sebring in 1953, where he again retired, this time due to a rear suspension failure. Gregory's first win came in just his third race, in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Changing to a Jaguar, Gregory won several races in America, including the Guardsmans Trophy in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco and a race at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska. At the end of 1953, Gregory was invited to his first international sports car race - the 1954 1000 km Buenos Aires in Argentina, which he finished in 14th due to water pump problems.

Coming to Europe

Throughout 1954 and 1955, Gregory competed in European races, usually driving Ferraris. His record includes the Tourist Trophy at Dundrod and the 24 Hours of Le Mans (although his co-driver Mike Sparken retired before Gregory got a chance to drive). He also won the inaugural Nassau Trophy at the Bahamas Speed Week in 1954. Moving back to America in 1956, Gregory entered several SCCA races, often winning. In 1957, he had another attempt at the Argentine 1000 km race, this time winning. This performance got him a drive with Guglielmo Dei's Scuderia Centro Sud, a privateer Formula One team using the Maserati 250F. His first race was the 1957 Monaco Grand Prix, where he scored an impressive third-place finish, the first podium for an American in an F1 Grand Prix. He followed this with a string of good results, coming eighth in the German Grand Prix, and fourth in both the Pescara and Italian Grands Prix. Despite only competing in half of the races, Gregory ended the 1957 season in sixth place in the championship.

Gregory only competed in four Grands Prix in the 1958 season, due to injuries sustained through one of his trademark bailouts when his car was set to crash, this time in a sports car race at Silverstone in England. He did manage a fourth place at the Italian Grand Prix, and a 6th in the last race of the year, this Moroccan Grand Prix. Moving to Cooper-Climax for the 1959 season alongside Jack Brabham and Bruce McLaren, he scored two podium finishes - a third place at the Dutch Grand Prix, and a career-best second at the Portuguese Grand Prix. However, he missed the final two races of the season, again due to injuries sustained jumping from a car moments before it crashed. He finished eighth in the Championship, and with teammate Brabham winning the World Championship, Cooper won their first Constructor's Championship. Gregory scored a pole position and set a course record at the non-Championship race at Aintree, but his contract with Cooper was not renewed for the following year.

Gregory's early years of competition were marked by many crashes, often the result of pushing sub-par machinery past its ability. He flipped a thankfully rollbar-equipped Maserati at the Venezuelan Grand Prix in 1957, totalled two sports cars in 1958, and another two in 1959 (a Lister-Jaguar and a Tojeiro-Jaguar). In the latter of these incidents he broke his leg and shoulder, keeping him away from his Formula 1 commitments. In 1960, trying to qualify an outdated Cooper-Maserati at Nürburgring he went off the track and was thrown clear of the car. After this period, however, his driving style matured and he began to develop a reputation as an elegant and careful driver.

Gregory continued in Formula One until 1965, but mainly with uncompetitive independent teams. He was unable to reproduce the results he obtained early in his career, his best being a sixth at the 1962 United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen with the UDT Laystall team, in a Lotus 24. Running fourth, just behind eventual winner Dan Gurney at the French Grand Prix, Gregory retired with ignition problems, losing possibly his best chance at a maiden Grand Prix victory. Gregory did manage a win in the non-Championship 1962 Kanonloppet race at Karlskoga in Sweden, but this race did not feature any top teams.

After Formula One

After his release from Cooper, Gregory also went back to competing in sports car races, setting the overall fastest lap at the 1960 24 Hours of Le Mans. He won the 1961 1000 km Nürburgring, driving alongside Lloyd "Lucky" Casner in a Maserati Tipo 61 for the America Camoradi Racing Team. In the same year, Gregory finished fifth in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Porsche RS61 Spyder. 1962 saw Gregory win the Canadian Grand Prix sports car race at Mosport Park in a Lotus 19-Climax. In 1964, Gregory again competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, this time in a Ford GT40. He retired from the race in the fifth hour due to gearbox difficulties. The following year, Gregory teamed up with the man who was to become 1970 Formula One World Champion, Austrian Jochen Rindt, and the pair won the race in a North American Racing Team Ferrari 250 LM. 1965 was also the year in which Gregory raced in the Indianapolis 500, starting from the back of the grid and working his way up to 5th before being forced to retire due to an engine problem.

Gregory then began to wind down his motor racing career, continuing to compete in international sports car races with some good results including a second-place finish at the 1966 1000 km race at Monza alongside John Whitmore. Following his good friend Jo Bonnier's death at the 1972 Le Mans race, Gregory stopped racing, and retired to Amsterdam, where he worked as a diamond merchant before operating a glassware business. On November 8, 1985, Gregory died in his sleep of a heart attack at his winter home in Porto Ercole, Italy. He had four children, Masten Jr., Debbie, Scott and Michael. Gregory was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2005, the Kansas City C.A.R.B. (Central Auto Racing Boosters) Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Watkins Glen Walk of Fame in 2012. He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2013.

Gregory is in a distinct club of motorsport being only one of nineteen drivers to compete in all three legs of the Triple Crown of Motorsport (Indianapolis 500, 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Monaco Grand Prix) and to have won at least one of those events. The others are: Louis Chiron, Jack Brabham, Jim Clark, Graham Hill (who won all three), Dan Gurney, Jochen Rindt (who won two), Mario Andretti, Mark Donohue, Jackie Stewart, Denny Hulme, Danny Sullivan, Vern Schuppan, Stefan Johansson, Michele Alboreto, Eddie Cheever, Jacques Villeneuve, Juan Pablo Montoya (who has won two) and Fernando Alonso (who has won two).

Racing record

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1955	Mike Sparken	Mike Sparken	Ferrari 750 Monza	S 3.0	23	DNF	DNF
1957	D. Hamilton	Duncan Hamilton	Jaguar D-Type	S 5.0	299	6th	6th
1958	Ecurie Ecosse	Jack Fairman	Jaguar D-Type	S 3.0	7	DNF	DNF
1959	Ecurie Ecosse	Innes Ireland	Jaguar D-Type	S 3.0	78	DNF	DNF
1960	Camoradi U.S.A. RT	Chuck Daigh	Maserati Tipo 61	S 3.0	82	DNF	DNF
1961	Porsche System Engineering	Bob Holbert	Porsche 718 RS 61	S 2.0	309	5th	1st
1962	UTD Laystall Racing Team	Innes Ireland	Ferrari 250 GTO	GT 3.0	165	DNF	DNF
1963	North American Racing Team	David Piper	Ferrari 250 GTO	GT 3.0	312	6th	3rd
1964	Ford Motor Company	Richie Ginther	Ford GT40 Mk.I	P 5.0	63	DNF	DNF
1965	North American Racing Team	Jochen Rindt	Ferrari 250LM	P 5.0	348	1st	1st
1966	North American Racing Team	Bob Bondurant	Ferrari 365 P2	P 5.0	88	DNF	DNF
1968	North American Racing Team	Charlie Kolb	Ferrari 250LM	S 5.0	209	DNF	DNF
1969	Scuderia Filipinetti	Jo Bonnier	Lola T70-Chevrolet	S 5.0	134	DNF	DNF
1970	Autodelta S.P.A.	Toine Hezemans	Alfa Romeo T33/3	P 3.0	5	DNF	DNF
1971	North American Racing Team	George Eaton	Ferrari 512S	S 5.0	7	DNF	DNF
1972	North American Racing Team	Luigi Chinetti Jr.	Ferrari 365 GTB/4	GT 5.0	226	DNF	DNF
Source:

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	WDC	Pts
1957	Scuderia Centro Sud	Maserati 250F	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6	ARG	MON 3	500	FRA	GBR	GER 8	PES 4	ITA 4				6th	10
1958	Scuderia Centro Sud	Maserati 250F	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6	ARG DNA	MON			BEL Ret	FRA						NC	0
	H.H. Gould					NED Ret	500
	Owen Racing Organisation	BRM P25	BRM P25 2.5 L4							GBR DNA	GER	POR
	Temple Buell	Maserati 250F	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6										ITA 4*	MOR 6
1959	Cooper Car Company	Cooper T51	Climax FPF 2.5 L4	MON Ret	500	NED 3	FRA Ret	GBR 7	GER Ret	POR 2	ITA	USA			8th	10
1960	Camoradi International	Behra-Porsche RSK	Porsche 547/6 1.5 F4	ARG 12											NC	0
	Scuderia Centro Sud	Cooper T51	Maserati 250S 2.5 L4		MON DNQ	500	NED DNS	BEL	FRA 9	GBR 14	POR Ret	ITA	USA
1961	Camoradi International	Cooper T53	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	MON DNQ	NED DNS	BEL 10	FRA 12	GBR 11	GER DNA						NC	0
	UDT Laystall Racing Team	Lotus 18/21								ITA Ret	USA Ret
1962	UDT Laystall Racing Team	Lotus 18/21	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	NED Ret											18th	1
		Lotus 24	BRM P56 1.5 V8		MON DNQ	BEL Ret	FRA Ret			ITA 12	USA 6	RSA
			Climax FWMV 1.5 V8					GBR 7	GER
1963	Tim Parnell	Lotus 24	BRM P56 1.5 V8	MON	BEL	NED	FRA Ret			ITA Ret					NC	0
	Reg Parnell Racing							GBR 11	GER
		Lola Mk4A	Climax FWMV 1.5 V8								USA Ret	MEX Ret	RSA
1965	Scuderia Centro Sud	BRM P57	BRM P56 1.5 V8	RSA	MON	BEL Ret	FRA	GBR 12	NED	GER 8	ITA Ret	USA	MEX		NC	0
Source:

* Shared drive with Carroll Shelby therefore no points awarded.

Complete Formula One Non-Championship results

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

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21
1957	Scuderia Centro Sud	Maserati 250F	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6	SYR	PAU 4	GLV	NAP 5	RMS 7	CAE	INT 5	MOD	MOR
1958	Scuderia Centro Sud	Maserati 250F	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6	GLV	SYR Ret	AIN	INT 3	CAE
1959	Cooper Car Company	Cooper T51	Climax FPF 2.5 L4	GLV 5	AIN Ret	INT	OUL	SIL
1960	Scuderia Centro Sud	Cooper T51	Maserati 250S 2.5 L4	GLV	INT 6	SIL Ret	LOM	OUL Ret
1961	Camoradi International	Cooper T53	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	LOM	GLV	PAU DNA	BRX	VIE	AIN 5	SYR	NAP	LON	SIL	SOL	KAN
	UDT Laystall Racing Team	Lotus 18/21	Climax FPF 1.5 L4													DAN Ret	MOD NC	FLG	OUL 5	LEW	VAL	RAN Ret	NAT Ret	RSA Ret
1962	UDT Laystall Racing Team	Lotus 18/21	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	CAP 4	BRX Ret	LOM Ret	LAV	GLV 5	PAU	AIN Ret			MAL 5	CLP
		Lotus 24	Climax FWMV 1.5 V8								INT 8	NAP
			BRM P56 1.5 V8												RMS Ret	SOL DNA	KAN 1	MED	DAN 2	OUL 6	MEX 5	RAN	NAT
1963	Reg Parnell Racing	Lotus 24	BRM P56 1.5 V8	LOM	GLV	PAU	IMO	SYR	AIN	INT	ROM	SOL	KAN 6	MED	AUT	OUL Ret	RAN
1964	Scuderia Centro Sud	BRM P57	BRM P56 1.5 V8	DMT	NWT	SYR 6	AIN	INT	SOL	MED	RAN
1965	Scuderia Centro Sud	BRM P57	BRM P56 1.5 V8	ROC Ret	SYR Ret	SMT	INT	MED DSQ	RAN
Source:

References

• Cox, Michael (2000) "The Kansas City Flash" - The Life & Times of Masten Gregory. Retrieved Jun. 25, 2005.
• Grand Prix.com > Masten Gregory. Retrieved Jun. 27, 2005.
• Hartwell, Andrew S. (2005) Through the Esses - Masten Gregory - Totally Fearless. Retrieved Jun. 27, 2005.
• Cox, Michael J. (2000) 8W - Who? Masten Gregory. Retrieved Jun. 27, 2005.
• Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved Jun. 27, 2005.