John Fitch (racing driver)
| Born |
August 4, 1917 Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Died | October 31, 2012 (aged 95) near Lime Rock, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |
 American |
| Active years | 1953, 1955 |
| Teams | HWM-Alta, Stirling Moss Ltd. |
| Entries | 2 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1953 Italian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1955 Italian Grand Prix |
John Cooper Fitch (August 4, 1917 in Indianapolis, Indiana – October 31, 2012) was an American racing driver and inventor. He was the first American to race automobiles successfully in Europe in the post-war era.
In the course of a driving career which spanned 18 years, Fitch won such notable sports car races as the Gran Premio de Eva Duarte Perón – Sport, 1953 12 Hours of Sebring, 1955 Mille Miglia (production car class), and the 1955 RAC Tourist Trophy, as well as numerous SCCA National Sports Car Championship races. He also involved in Briggs Cunningham’s ambitious Le Mans projects in the early 1950s, and was later a member of the Mercedes-Benz sport car team. He also competed in two World Championship Grands Prix.
After retirement in 1964, Fitch was the manager of Lime Rock circuit, and a former team boss of Chevrolet's Corvette racing team. His biggest legacy is motor sport safety, as well as pioneering work to improve road car safety, and this has helped save countless lives. He had worked on advanced driver safety capsule systems. He was also a track design consultant, as well as inventing many other automotive devices. Even into his 90s, Fitch was still a consultant, and appeared at historics events.
John Fitch was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1917. He was a descendent of the inventor of the steamboat, John Fitch. Fitch's stepfather was an executive with the Stutz Motor Company, which introduced him to cars and racing at an early age. In the late thirties, Fitch attended Kentucky Military Institute, then studied civil engineering at Lehigh University. While in 1939, he travelled to Europe and saw the last car race at Brooklands before the outbreak of World War II. He returned to the United States, and sailed around the Gulf of Mexico in a 32-foot schooner from Sarasota to New Orleans.
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