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Chris Amon

Chris Amon
MBE
AmonChris19730706.jpg
Chris Amon at the Nürburgring in 1973
Born Christopher Arthur Amon
(1943-07-20)20 July 1943
Bulls, New Zealand
Died 3 August 2016(2016-08-03) (aged 73)
Rotorua, New Zealand
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality New Zealand New Zealander
Active years 19631976
Teams
Entries 108 (96 starts)
Championships 0
Wins 0
Podiums 11
Career points 83
Pole positions 5
Fastest laps 3
First entry 1963 Monaco Grand Prix
Last entry 1976 Canadian Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Participating years
Teams
Best finish 1st (1966)
Class wins 1 (1966)
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Participating years
Teams
Best finish 1st (1966)
Class wins 1 (1966)

Christopher Arthur "Chris" Amon MBE (20 July 1943 – 3 August 2016) was a New Zealand motor racing driver. He was active in Formula One racing in the 1960s and 1970s and is widely regarded as one of the best F1 drivers never to win a championship Grand Prix. His reputation for bad luck was such that fellow driver Mario Andretti once joked that "if he became an undertaker, people would stop dying". Former Ferrari Technical Director Mauro Forghieri stated that Amon was "by far the best test driver I have ever worked with. He had all the qualities to be a World Champion but bad luck just wouldn't let him be".

Apart from driving, Chris Amon also ran his own Formula One team for a short period in 1974. Away from Formula One, Amon had some success in sports car racing, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 1966.

Amon was born in Bulls, and attended Wanganui Collegiate School. He was the only child of wealthy sheep-owners Ngaio and Betty Amon. He learned to drive at the age of six, taught by a farm worker on the family farm. On leaving school, he persuaded his father to buy him an Austin A40 Special, which he entered in some minor local races and hillclimbs along with practice on the family farm. He progressed to a 1.5-litre Cooper and then an old 2.5-litre Maserati 250F, but only began to draw attention when he drove the Cooper-Climax T51 which Bruce McLaren had used to win his maiden Grand Prix.


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