Drivers A - Z
D
Patrick d'Aubreby
1953Patrick d'Aubreby completed in Historic F1 for for a number of years winning the Euro Boss Championship in 2005.
Fritz d'Orey
1938Fritz d'Orey was a Brazilian racing driver. He participated in 3 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on July 5, 1959. He scored no championship points.
Cristiano Da Matta
1973Brazilian racing driver who drove for Toyota Formula 1 in 2003. However he failed to make a breakthrough and was dropped mid season in 2004. Returned to Champ cars int he USA.
Don Dahle
1927Dahle began racing in 1951. Often described as an aggressive driver, there was once a drivers strike at Mercer because they refused to run if Dahle did. He raced Modifieds and Midgets mainly in the Pittsburgh area. He competed in one Nextel Cup race finishing 6th.
Chuck Daigh
1923 - 20086Chuck Daigh was a racing driver from the United States. He participated in 6 Grand Prix driving a Scarab and a Cooper, debuting on May 29, 1960.
Gian Paolo Dallara
1936Gian Paolo Dallara founded Dallara Automobili in 1972 in Varano Melegari, near Parma, Italy. The company has an enviable record of success around the world, designing and manufacturing cars for a range of different major motor racing formulae.
Wally Dallenbach Jr
1963Wally Dallenbach, Jr. is a former NASCAR Winston Cup driver. He competed in 226 Winston Cup races between 1991 to 2001. He has also raced in SCCA Trans-Am, IMSA Camel GT, CART, and the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb.
Richard Dallest
1951Richard Dallest is a French racing driver who won the Volant Elf competition but despite going on to win the French Formula 2 Championship on two occasions he was never offered an F1 drive.
Yannick Dalmas
1961Yannick Dalmas was a Formula One driver from France. He participated in 49 grands prix, debuting on October 18, 1987. He scored a total of 2 championship points.
Christian Danner
1958Christian Danner was a Formula One driver from Germany. He participated in 47 grands prix, debuting on September 15, 1985, the year he won the first Formula 3000 championship. His best result was 4th at the 1989 US Grand Prix for Rial. He later raced in IndyCars.
Jorge Daponte
1923 - 1963JorgeDaponte was an Argentinan Formula One driver from. He raced in 2 Grand Prix in the 1954. He died suddenly at only 39 years old.
Dan Daughtry
1940Mainly a Late Model specialist, Dan Daughtry was the 1971 Late Model Champion at Sunshine Speedway in Pinellas Park Florida. He won the 1969 Inaugural Figure Eight Winternationals which he won again in 1971 and 1972. He also raced in IMSA and NASCAR.
Anthony Davidson
1979Davidson is currently racing for Toyota Hybrid Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship. He raced in Formula One for Minardi and Super Aguri, and was a test or reserve driver for the British American Racing, Honda, and Brawn GP teams.
Jimmy Davies
1929 - 1966American racing driver who mainly competing in the National Championship, was the second man to win three USAC National Midget Championships and raced both the Championship cars and Midgets.
Colin Davis
1933Son of the legendary S C H 'Sammy' Davis, Colin started racing in 500cc F3 before moving up to Sports Cars and GP racing. He won the Targa Florio in 1964 with Antonio Pucci in a works Porsche 904.
Cliff Davis
1917 - 1986Cliff Davis was one of the most successful sports car racers in the 1950s. However he was equally at home in midgets, stock cars and rallying.
Joe Dawson
1889 - 1946Dawson was the youngest driver to win the Indy 500, a record that stood until equalled by Troy Ruttman in 1952.
John Dawson-Damer
1941 - 2000Younger brother of the Earl of Portarlington, Dawson-Damer was killed in an accident at the Goodwood festival in 2000 driving the ex-Andretti 4 wheel drive Lotus 63.
Denis Dayan
1942 - 1970Denis Dayan was one of the most promising French drivers of his time but was tragically killed in an F3 race at Rouen-les-Essarts in 1970.
Jimmy Daywalt
1924 - 1966Born in Wabash, Indiana, Daywalt drove in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1950, 1953-1957, 1959, and 1961-1962 seasons with 20 starts, including the Indianapolis 500 races in each year except 1950.
Andrea de Adamich
1941Formula One driver from Italy. He participated in 34 grands prix, debuting on January 1, 1968. He scored a total of 6 championship points.
Rodolfo de Alzaga
1930 - 1994Alzaga Unzué was a leading saloon driver in Argentina, winning the national Turismo Carretera championship in 1959 before going on the contest the Standard class in production models.
Elio de Angelis
1958 - 1986Elio de Angelis was a very popular Formula One driver. He raed between 1979 and 1986 for the Shadow, Lotus and Brabham. He was killed in testing at Paul Ricard in 1986 when the rear wing of the BT55 he was driving came off at high speed.
Jorge de Bagration
1944 - 2008Prince Jorge de Bagration was a Spanish racing car driver of Georgian descent and a claimant to the headship of the Royal House of Georgia.
Carel Godin de Beaufort
1934 - 1964Probably the last true amateur driver to compete in Grand Prix racing on a regular basis, De Beaufort began racing in a Porsche spyder in 1956. He made occasional Grand Prix appearances until 1961, when he acquired a Porsche 718. The car saw extensive service over the next four seasons with his greatest success coming in 1963 with two second places in the Syracuse and Rome Grands Prix and a third in the Austrian GP at Zeltweg. He was killed in practice for the German Grand Prix in 1964.
Albert de Bomdeli
1901 - 1967A Bugatti owner-driver in 1929 and 1930, he lost a leg in an road accident near Avignon in France. He then became the mentor for the young René Dreyfus.
Alain de Changy
1922 - 1994A sports car specialist who tried and failed to qualify for the Monaco GP in 1959.
Lord Freddie de Clifford
1907 - 1982Lord de Clifford was a motoring enthusiast who mostly raced Lagondas. He competed in rallies and sports car events including the Le Mans 24 Hour race.
Baron Pierre de Crawhez
1874 - 1925Pierre de Crawhez was man who came up with the idea of a closed circuit being used for racing.
Marquis Albert de Dion
1856 - 1946De Dion was an innovator and pioneer in the automobile industry. He also founded the first automobile club in 1895 and organized the world's first auto show in Paris in 1898.
Gil de Ferran
1967De Ferran was the 2000 and 2001 Champ Car champion and the winner of the 2003 Indianapolis 500.
Maria-Teresa de Filippis
1926Maria Teresa de Filippis made Grand Prix history when she became the first woman to compete in a Formula One world championship race, finishing tenth in the 1958 Belgian Grand Prix in her Maserati 250F.
Luigi de Filippis
1922Luigi de Filippis is the brother of Maria Teresa de Filippis. He started racing sports cars in hillclimbs and reliabilty tests in the 1940s. In 1950 he raced a Maserati 4CLT/48. He was entered in the Italian Grand Prix but failed to appear.
Emmanuel de Graffenried
1914 - 2007Baron Emmanuel de Graffenried was a Formula One driver who took part in 23 grands prix, debuting on May 13, 1950. He scored 9 championship points. He won the 1949 British Grand Prix, a year before the official championship began. Prior to his death he was the last surviving driver from the inaugural Formula 1 World Championship race, the 1950 British Grand Prix.
Peter de Klerk
1935 - 2015Piet de Klerk was a Formula One driver from South Africa. He participated in 4 grands prix, debuting on December 28, 1963. He drove Doug Serrurier's Formula One Alfa special in 1963 and 1965, and a Brabham-Climax in 1969 and 1970.
René de Knyff
1865 - 1954René de Knyff was a French pioneer of car racing and later a president of Commission Sportive Internationale, now known as the FIA.
Pedro de la Rosa
1971Spanish Formula One driver, De la Rosa has participated in 64 grand prix, debuting on March 7, 1999.
Renaud de Montaignac
1851 - 1898Unfortunately for him he is best know for becoming motor racing's first recorded fatality.
Maurizio de Narvaez
1941Colombian sports car driver who won the Sebring 12 hour race in 1984 in a Joest Porsche 935 with Hans Heyer and Stefan Johansson. His best finish at le Mans was 4th in 1983.
Casimiro de Oliveira
1917Brother of Manoel, the eminent Portuguese filmmaker and actor, Casimiro was considered to be the better driver. He rarely raced outside of Portugal. He retired after qualifying for the Portuguese Grand Prix in 1958 realising that at 41 it was time to quit.
Manoel de Oliveira
1908 - 2014de Oliveira was oldest active film director in the world and one of the most influential film-makers in Europe, he has a passion for cars and raced in his youth in Portugal and Brasil.
Alfonso de Portago
1928 - 1957de Portago was an extravagant aristocrat, a lover of the adventure and one of the most colourful characters ever in motor racing. 'Fon' was a fantastic all-round sportsman, he was three times French amateur champion jockey, and appeared twice at Aintree in the Grand National steeplechase; he was an international-class swimmer and he formed the Spanish bobsleigh team for the 1956 Winter Olympics.
Didier de Radiguès
1958de Radiguès is a former professional motorcycle racer, racing driver and artist. He is also commentator for Belgium television, a Moto GP rider manager and the owner of a motorcycle riding school.
Giovanni de Riu
1925 - 2008Italian driver who attempted to qualify for the Italian Grand Prix in 1954 in a privateer Maserati A6GCM/250F.
Max de Terra
1918 - 1982Max de Terra raced in minor events and hill-climbs in the late forties and early fifties. He raced in two Swiss Grands Prix at Berne's Bremgarten circuit in 1952 and 1953 without success.
Alessandro de Tomaso
1928 - 2003He was a useful sports car driver he became a manufacturer starting in 1959 with racing cars and adding road cars in 1965.
Charles de Tornaco
1927 - 1953The son of twenties racer Baron de Tornaco, he was killed in a Ferrari 500 F2 car testing at Modena.
Alexe de Vassal
1910 - 2006The last prince of motoring in Romania, Alexe de Vassal was a descendant of a Count of de Vassal. He was the honorary deputy chairman of ACR and dedicated his whole life to promoting motor racing and sporting aviation.
Giniel de Villiers
1972Best known for winning the 2009 Dakar Rally, he began his career in 1993 and going on to win four South African touring car championship in succession from 1997 to 2000 before switching to competing off road.
Emilio de Villota
1946A Spanish journeyman who drove in the 1977 Spanish and Austrian GPs in a private McLaren M23. He also drove a Williams FW07 in the 1980 Spanish GP.
Alfonso Garcia de Vinuesa
1958 - 1997F3000 driver who raced for a number of teams between 1986 and 1988. His career was set back by a huge crash at Spa in 1987. He was killed in 1997 when he was hit by a truck while checking his car in a lay-by.
James Dean
1931 - 1955James Dean was an American film actor who epitomized youthful angst. Raced an MGTD, Porsche 356 and 550 Spyder. Killed in a traffic accident on his way to a sports car race in Palm Springs.
Tony Dean
1932 - 2008Tony Dean raced almost everything from karts to touring-cars and sportscar as an independent entrant, against the might of the factory teams in the World Sportscar Championship, in Formula 5000 and in Can-Am series.
Valdir Del Grego
1948 - 1987Valdir Del Grego specialised in racing at Interlagos. He was killed in an accident there in appalling weather conditions.
Louis Delâge
1874 - 1947Louis Delâge's cars had a reputation for being stylish and well built. They became a dominant force in motor racing with the 1927 Delage driven by Robert Benoist winning all the major Grands Prix that year.
Emile Delahaye
1843 - 1905Emile Delahaye was a French automotive pioneer and racer who founded Delahaye Automobiles.
Tom Delaney
1911 - 2006Tom Delaney was Britain's oldest licensed racing driver, and competed in the same car, on and off, for more than 70 years.
Jean-Denis Deletraz
1973Delétraz scored two 3rd places in Formula 3000, but he earned his three F1 drives based on funding rather than talent.
Patrick Depailler
1944 - 1980Patrick Depailler was a Formula One driver from France who participated in 95 Grands Prix. As a child, he was inspired by Jean Behra. Talented and charismatic, Depailler never quite drove the kind of machinery his talent deserved.
Ralph DePalma
1882 - 1956Born in Italy, DePalma's career spanned 25 years. He competed in 2,889 races, winning an astonishing 2,557, including the Vanderbilt Cup and the Indianapolis 500.
John dePalma
1885 - 1951John DePalma was the younger brother of 1915 Indy winner Ralph DePalma and the uncle of 1925 Indy winner Pete DePaolo.
Peter DePaolo
1898 - 1980Winner of the Indianapolis 500 in 1925 and the first driver to average more than 100 mph.
Jim Derhaag
1950Jim Derhaag raced in the Trans-Am series for many years. He sits third in total top ten finishes and made the third most number of starts (150) in the series history.
Ernie Derr
1921One of the 'Keokuk Gang' which consisted of the 'Old Man' Ernie Derr, Don White, Ramo Stott and Dick Hutcherson. Ernie started racing in 1950. He won 12 IMCA championships between 1959 and 1971 only loosing out to Dick Hutcherson in 1963 and 1964.
Fred DeSarro
1937 - 1978DeSarro was a fierce competitor but whatever he did, he did with class. He won the 1970 NASCAR National Modified Championship and four consecutive Thompson Speedway Championships starting in 1974. He was critically injured during the warm-up at Thompson Speedway. He died three weeks later.
Louis Descartes
1951 - 1991Sportscar driver and constructor Louis Descartes died in 1991 when his road car crashed into a tree north of Paris. He was the epitome of the private entrant in endurance racing, compensating for his lack of success with an enormous amount of enthusiasm for the sport.
Earl DeVore
1888 - 1928Earl raced at Indy three times, finishing 2nd in 1927. He was eaten by sharks in the sinking of the SS Vestris the following year.
Louis Devore
1910 - 1985Billy was saved from drowning by his father when the ship they were on sank en route to Argentina. He later went on to race the 6 wheel Pat Clancy Special at Indy in 1948.
Lucas Di Grassi
1984Di Grassi finished runner-up to Timo Glock in the 2007 GP2 Series season, he is currently the Renault Formula One team's test driver.
Luca di Montezemolo
1947Italian businessman, president and CEO of Ferrari, president of Maserati, and chairman of FIAT; in addition, he's also president of Italian Confindustria and of FIEG.
Rubén Di Palma
1944 - 2000Rubén Di Palma was one of the most charismatic drivers in the history of Argentina´s motorsport. His career lasted almost 40 years, racing in many categories as well in Europe, Brazil and USA.
José Luis di Palma
1966Di Palma started racing in his native Argentina in the Turismo Carretera 2000 Championship, he graduated to Formula Three Sudamericana before moving to Europe to race in Formula Opel Lotus Euroseries and British Formula 3000. The series became British Formula 2 and in 1994 he won the championship driving for Madgwick International. he then raced in American Indy Lights before returning to South American Turismo Carretera Championship. Di Palma continued to race in Turismo Carretera until 2009 and also competed in the Dakar Rally across South America in 2010 and 2011.
Stanley Dickens
1952Stanley Dickens is a Swedish race car driver who won the Le Mans 24 hours in 1989 driving a Sauber-Mercedes C9
Norman Dickson
1952Won the Scottish Formula Ford Championship in 1974, the Scottish Formula Libre Championship in 1975, the F2 Class of the British Aurora Championship in 1976, the Scottish Formula Libre Championship again in 1977, the F2 Class of the British Aurora Championship again in 1978 and the Scottish Formula Libre Championship and the F2 section in the British Championship in 1979.
Doug Didero
1960Doug Didero was a driver in the Indy Racing League. He also raced 3 times in the NASCAR Busch Series.
Pierre Dieudonné
1947Pierre Dieudonné was racing driver and motoring journalist, he enjoyed success in European Touring Cars and Sportscars and as Sporting Director of ORECA, managed Mazda's victory at Le Mans, the first by a Japanese manufacturer.
Mark Dimore
1956Mark Dismore is a former driver in the Indy Racing League whose carrer nealy ended in a huge crash in qualifying for the 1991 Indy 500. He won the 1990 Formula Atlantic championship as well as the 1993 24 Hours of Daytona.
Pedro Diniz
1970From the fifth wealthiest family in Brasil, Diniz participated in 99 grands prix, debuting on March 26, 1995, scoring a total of 10 championship points. His best result was a fifth in the the Luxembourg Grand Prix for Arrows in 1997.
Duke Dinsmore
1914 - 1985American racing driver who raced at Indy on six occasions. He was lucky to survive a nasty crash at Milwaukee in 1948 when his life was saved by Rex Mays who crashed to avoid him after Dinsmore was thrown from his car and then stood over him directing cars away from Dinsmore's body as he lay in the center of the track.
Albert Divo
1895 - 1966Albert Divo was a French Grand Prix racing driver. He won the Spanish and the French Grand Prix in 1925 and also won the Targa Florio twice, in 1928 and 1929.
Scott Dixon
1980Scott Ronald Dixon is a New Zealand racing driver who won the Indy Racing League (IRL) championship in 2003 at his first attempt.
Austin Dobson
1912 - 1963Austin Dobson was a racing driver competing in Maserati and Alfa Romeo. His brother Arthur also used to race.
Dominic Dobson
1957Dobson competed in motor sports for over 20 years, racing at Indianapolis, LeMans, Sebring, Daytona and other circuits. In recent years he been involved with historic racing cars while serving as President of Cavallino Holdings.
Frank Dochnal
1920 - 2010An American club racer of midgets and sports cars who, aged 43, tried and failed to qualify a Cooper-Climax T51 for the 1963 Mexican Grand Prix. Subsequently he became an Indycar mechanic, worked for Howard Hughes and was a USAC official.
Jose Dolhem
1944 - 1988A half-brother to Didier Pironi, Dolhem won the Volant Shell award in 1969. He raced F2 and in F1 for Surtees. He also raced sports cars, finishing fourth at Le Mans in an Alpine A442. He died when he crashed his private plane in 1988, just eight month after Pironi's fatal accident.
Kaye Don
1891 - 1981A works Sunbeam driver, he often raced at Brooklands where he held the Outer Circiut lap record at 137.58 mph. He also raced in power boats.
Martin Donnelly
1964Irish motor racing driver drove in F1 for Arrows in 1989 and Lotus in 1990. However he suffered a terrible fate when a crash in qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix which left him crippled for life.
Mark Donohue
1937 - 1975Donohue retired after a great career. He had won at Indy and tamed the mighty 1500+ bhp Can-Am Porsche 917-30. However he returned the following year to driver for his friend Roger Penske in F1. Sadly he crashed in practice at the Austrian Grand Prix and though he did not appear to be injured he went to hospital with a severe head ache where he lapsed into a coma from a cerebral haemorrhage and died.
David Donohue
1967Son of racing legend Mark Donohue, he is an American racing driver currently competing in the Grand-Am's Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototype class for Red Bull Brumos Racing.
Bob Dorricott Sr.
1937 - 2002Born in Los Angeles, Bob Dorricott started competing in drag racing in the 1950s. He was also a front-runner in SCCA Pro Sports 2000, taking five National titles between 1989 and 1995.
Ken Downing
1917 - 2004Ken Downing was a genuine privateer who bore allegiance to the Connaught marque for most of his career, both in sports cars and single saters. Although Downing only made two Grand Prix starts, he was a regular podium finisher in National events.
Jim Downing
1942Top sports car racer in the 1980s and 1990s and manufacturer of the Kudzu sports prototype, Jim and his brother in law,Dr Robert Hubbard, founded HANS Performance Products, the originators and manufacturers of the internationally renowned Head And Neck Safety (HANS) Device.
Bob Drake
1919 - 1990Bob Drake was a privateer driver from Los Angeles who raced in the 1950s and early 1960s.
Richard Drewett
1935 - 2008Destined to be remembered as one of the most inventive television producers of his time, Richard Drewett was also a keen and tallented hillclimb driver. Quick and competitive, he was typical of the delightful characters you can still find in the hillclimb paddocks who belong to an era of motor sport which used to value good manners, good humour and a genuine love of the sport more perhaps than they are valued today.
Floyd Dreyer
1898 - 1989The leading sidecar racer from the 1910s to the early 1920s, Dreyer moved to Indianapolis and became one of the leading builders of midget race cars.
René Dreyfus
1905 - 1993Driving Maseratis, Ferraris, Delahayes, and Bugattis against some of the greatest drivers of all time, Dreyfus won 36 Grand Prix.
Paddy Driver
1934Paddy Driver is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and a racing driver from South Africa.
Curly Dryden
1909 - 1951Curly was an enthusiastic 500cc F3 driver who also raced at Le Mans. Renowned for his interesting hats, he was killed in an F3 race at Castle Coombe.
Camille du Gast
1868 - 1942Camille Du Gast, the first woman to achieve fame as a racing driver, also excelled at ballooning, fencing, parachuting, tobogganing, shooting with rifle and pistol and mountaineering. She was also an excellent horsewoman and later, when racing was banned to women, she raced powerboats. She became president of the French Anti-Cruelty to Animals Society and campaigned against bullfighting and also worked with the poor, establishing centres for orphans and impoverished women.
Andre Dubonnet
1897 - 1980Grandson of the creator of the aperitif Dubonnet, he took up racing after a distinguished military carrer. He was responsible for some of the most beautiful custom Hispano-Suiza's ever built.
Michele Dubosc
1933 - 2005Michele Dubosc was the first ever professional time keeper in Grand Prix Racing. In the days before computers the art of timing in Formula 1 was a much more complicated business than it is today.
Augie Duesenberg
1879 - 1955Fred and Augie Duesenberg built some of the greatest racing cars of their generation. As engine builders for cars, boats and aircraft, their motors appeared in many race winning cars including the 183 which won both the French Grand Prix and Indianapolis 500.
John Duff
1895 - 1958John Duff started racing in 1920. He raced Bentleys at Brooklands and Le Mans, winning the 24 hour classic in 1924. In 1926 he raced in the USA finishing 9th at Indy in a Miller 91 and 3rd at Altoona in a 250 mile race. He retired later that year after crashing at Rockingham.
George Duller
1891 - 1962Duller was Champion Jockey in 1918 before turning to racing cars in the 1920s. He became one of the sport's first professional drivers.
Ronnie Duman
1929 - 1968One of the top sprint car and midget racers of the 1950s and 1960s, Ronnie Duman was killed in a crash in the Rex Mays 150 at the Milwaukee Mile. He drove in the USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1961-1968 seasons, with 63 career starts, including the 1964-1968 Indianapolis 500 races. He finished in the top ten 27 times, with a best finish of 3rd in 1965 at Phoenix.
Johnny Dumfries
1958 - 2021John Colum Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute, usually known as Johnny Dumfries, is a Scottish peer and a former racing driver. He won the 1984 British Formula Three Championship and raced in Formula 1 in 1986 for Team Lotus. In 1988 he won the Le Mans 24 Hour race driving a Jaguar XJR9, with Andy Wallace and Jan Lammers.
Milka Duno
1972Milka Duno is a Naval Engineer with four masters degrees. She was a leading female racing driver best known for holding the record of highest finish for a female driver in the 24 Hours of Daytona, coming second in 2007. When Milka won the Rolex Series Miami Grand Prix sharing the Howard Boss Motorsports Crawford DP03-Pontiac with Andy Wallace, she became the first woman in history to win a major international race in the USA.
Louis Durant
1910 - 1972Raced in the Indy 500 three times finishing 6th in 1948. His best AAA finish was a third at Milwaukee in 1939.
Cliff Durant
1890 - 1937Son of the founder of General Motors, Cliff was a racing driver, pioneer aviator, musician, golfer and yachtsman. He raced at Indy seven times with a best finish of 7th.
Leon Duray
1894 - 1956For Leon Duray there was only one place to be and that was in the lead and he drove flat out until he either won, crashed or the car broke. To Leon second place was the first loser.
Charles Duryea
1862 - 1938Early motoring pioneer jointly credited with invented the car with his brother, Frank. They founded the first company to manufacture and sell gasoline-powered vehicles.
Frank Duryea
1869 - 1967Early motoring pioneer and winner of the first automobile race in the USA on 28th November 1895.
Piero Dusio
1899 - 1975Dusio, an Italian amateur pre-war champion, founded Cisitalia whose little D46 racers found wide favour, unlike the Porsche-based Tipo 360 Grand Prix car. Attempted to qualify a self-entered Cisitalia D46 for the 1952 Italian GP when well into his fifties.
Reeves Dutton
1887 - 1988Riding mechanic for Earl Cooper, Dutton also raced in his own right and drove relief for Cooper.
Clem Dwyer
1915 - 2004Clem Dwyer was a hugely enthusiastic driver and mechanic who started racing in 1936 at the age of 21 and did not surrender his licence until 2004 at the age of 89.
