Peter Revson

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Peter Revson

Revson at the 1973 German Grand Prix
Born	(1939-02-27)February 27, 1939 New York City, New York
Died	March 22, 1974(1974-03-22) (aged 35) Midrand, South Africa
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	American
Active years	1964, 1971–1974
Teams	non-works Lotus, Tyrrell, McLaren, Shadow
Entries	32 (30 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	2
Podiums	8
Career points	61
Pole positions	1
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1964 Monaco Grand Prix
First win	1973 British Grand Prix
Last win	1973 Canadian Grand Prix
Last entry	1974 Brazilian Grand Prix

Peter Jeffrey Revson (February 27, 1939 – March 22, 1974) was an American race car driver and heir to the Revlon cosmetics fortune. He was a two-time Formula One race winner and had success at the Indianapolis 500.

Background[]

Peter Revson was born in New York City, the son of Martin Revson (1910–2016) and Julie (née Phelps) Hall (1914–2000).^[1] Martin had been a founding partner (along with his brother Charles Revson) of Revlon cosmetics, but had parted ways in 1958 and become chairman of Del Laboratories in 1963.^[2][3] His mother had been a nightclub singer at the time Martin met her.

A young, handsome bachelor described as a "free spirit", Peter passed up an easy life for one of competition and danger. Off the track, he lived at the same accelerated pace, Revson piloting a 32-foot (9.8 m) ChrisCraft and courting some of the most beautiful women in the world. At the time of his death, he was engaged to the 1973 Miss World, Marjorie Wallace.

Early life and racing career[]

Peter Revson spent his childhood in White Plains, New York, in Westchester County, attended prep schools, and lived off the fruits of his father’s million-dollar empire. He had two sisters, Jennifer and Julie Ann, as well as a younger brother Doug, who was killed in a race in Denmark in 1967. Though considered well educated, Peter never finished his college education after attending Columbia University, Cornell University, and the University of Hawaii. In 1960, while attending the University of Hawaii, Revson bought a Morgan and entered into sports car racing. In his first race, Revson placed second, but he placed first in his next race. To the dismay of his family, Revson began to turn his attention to competitive racing full time. Teaming with Cornell classmates Timmy and Teddy Mayer, Revson competed in formula junior in 1962, losing the financial aid of the Revson family as a consequence. Without support from his family, Revson embraced his independence and generated funds through his savings and education funds.

In 1963, after limited successes and with Formula 1 aspirations, Revson took the remaining money he had, around $12,000 (equivalent to $101,439 in 2020), and moved to the UK. There he was able to buy a Formula Junior Cooper and a Ford Thames van named Gilbert. He then began barnstorming around mainland Europe competing and winning against the likes of future formula stars Denny Hulme and Jochen Rindt. Sleeping in his van and earning a living from prize money he earned from races, Revson soon caught the attention of Reg Parnell, from whom Revson rented workshop space, and was offered a spot on Parnell’s planned F1 team for the 1964 season. Revson made his initial Formula 1 debut late in the 1963 season in an exhibition race at the Gold Cup in Oulton Park, England, finishing ninth. Revson teamed with fellow drivers Chris Amon and Mike Hailwood, referred to as the Ditton Road Flyers, and received more attention due to their antics and wild parties than their performances on the track. Due to a number of factors, including the sudden death of Reg Parnell, financial troubles, and an uncompetitive car in the Lotus 24, Reg Parnell/Revson Racing was doomed before it even began. After racing in four Grands Prix and five non-championship races that season, Revson's best results came at Monza, finishing 13th, as well as a fourth place finish at Solitude during a non-championship race.

Barely noticed on the European circuits due to his limited Formula 1 success, Revson accepted an offer to race back in the United States in 1965. Focusing mainly on sports car racing, including the Can-Am and Trans-Am series, Revson was able to rebound from his Formula 1 woes and quickly rebuild his reputation as a capable driver. In 1969, Revson competed in his first Indy 500, finishing an impressive 5th place after starting last. To make the feat even more impressive, Revson was racing in an underpowered . At the Indy 500 the following year, Revson gained major exposure and entrance to a top team when McLaren’s Indy car team asked him to drive the race following the release of Chris Amon. That same year, while teamed with famed movie star Steve McQueen, the duo finished second in the 12 hours of Sebring behind a Ferrari driven by Mario Andretti. Though McQueen received most of the credit for driving with a broken foot, it was Revson who drove the bulk of the race in the Porsche 908/2. Revson also the finished the 1970 Can-Am season runner-up while driving a for the Haas team.

1971 proved to be the proverbial breakout season for Revson. During the Indy 500 that year, driving a McLaren M16, Revson qualified on pole position averaging 178.696 mph. He went on to finish second in the race behind Al Unser Sr. However, the real success came during the that year. Now driving for the McLaren team in the M8F, Revson rolled past the competition to a championship. In 10 races, Revson won five and placed on the podium in all but two of the races. His successes caught the attention of the Formula One teams. He was even offered a one-race drive that year with the Tyrrell team as a third driver at Watkins Glen. In 1972 Revson was offered a full-time seat racing for the McLaren Formula One team, headed by Revson's old friend and boss Teddy Mayer. Revson was now a driver in McLaren’s Indy Car, Can-Am, and Formula One teams.

Formula One career[]

During Revson's first year with McLaren during the 1972 season at the age of 33, Revson was able to finish 5th in the championship standing. Running 9 out of the 12 races, Revson finished on the podium four times with three third place finishes and a second place finish. Greater success was soon to follow for Revson. The following season Revson secured his only two wins during his short formula one career. Driving a McLaren M23, Revson first tasted victory during the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and later the Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport Park. Despite his growing successes as a driver, Teddy Mayer was not satisfied and they opted for the 1972 Formula One champion and Marlboro-sponsored Emerson Fittipaldi. Revson soon signed with the rather new Shadow formula 1 team for the 1974 season. In addition, Revson became engaged to 1973 Miss World Marjorie Wallace after meeting her at the Indy 500 that year. Driving a Shadow DN3, Revson retired from the first two races of the season. Despite this Revson liked the car and had high hopes about the season.

Death[]

Revson was killed during a test session on 22 March 1974, before the 1974 South African Grand Prix in Kyalami. While driving the Shadow DN3, he suffered a front suspension failure and crashed heavily into the Armco barrier on the outside of "Barbecue Bend". The car stood on its nose, wrapped itself around the barrier and caught fire, and although safety workers and other drivers managed to pull Revson from the wreckage, he was already dead.

Tony Southgate, designer of the DN3, (Motorsport Magazine June 2012, Pg 84.) –

Revvie was a fabulous easy-going guy, fitted in well, and a very good driver. But tragically he wasn't with us for long. He qualified on row 2 for Argentina and row 3 for Brazil. Then he and I, our chief mechanic Pete Kerr and two other mechanics went down to Kyalami for testing before the South African GP. Revvie was going very well, very happy with the car, and then he didn't come around. We rushed out to the back of the circuit and found the car buried under the Armco on the outside of a quick corner. Peter was already in the ambulance and gone. I phoned the hospital, and they told me I had to go to the morgue and identify him. When the news got out all hell let loose, journalists banging on my hotel door, then the Revson family lawyer arrived and took over. We were using titanium quite a lot on the DN3, which was quite a new material then. Titanium is finicky, it has to be machined smooth and the surface polished, and a ball joint which had some coarse machining on it had failed. There was only one layer of Armco and the car, instead of being deflected or stopped, had gone right under as far as the cockpit. I felt personally responsible. It was a very difficult time. The glamour of Formula 1 had gone, replaced by a sort of loneliness. You just had to work on. Of course I replaced all the titanium components with steel before the next race.

He was the second Revson to lose his life racing; his brother Douglas was killed in a crash in Denmark in 1967. Peter and Douglas Revson are interred together in a crypt in the community mausoleum at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York. Revson's autobiography, Speed with Style, co-written with Leon Mandel, was published posthumously by Doubleday & Company in 1974.

Revson was replaced by Tom Pryce, who died three years later at the same Grand Prix.

Awards[]

Revson was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America^[4] in 1996 in the sports car category.

Racing record[]

Complete Formula One World Championship results[]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	WDC	Pts
1964	Revson Racing	Lotus 24	BRM V8	MON DNQ	NED				GER 14	AUT	ITA 13	USA	MEX						NC	0
	Reg Parnell Racing					BEL DSQ		GBR Ret
		Lotus 25					FRA DNS
1971	Elf Team Tyrrell	Tyrrell 001	Cosworth V8	RSA	ESP	MON	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	ITA	CAN	USA Ret					NC	0
1972	Team Yardley McLaren	McLaren M19A	Cosworth V8	ARG Ret	RSA 3	ESP 5	MON	BEL 7	FRA	GBR 3	GER								5th	23
		McLaren M19C										AUT 3	ITA 4	CAN 2	USA 18
1973	Team Yardley McLaren	McLaren M19C	Cosworth V8	ARG 8	BRA Ret	RSA 2													5th	38
		McLaren M23					ESP 4	BEL Ret	MON 5	SWE 7	FRA	GBR 1	NED 4	GER 9	AUT Ret	ITA 3	CAN 1	USA 5
1974	UOP Shadow Racing Team	Shadow DN3	Cosworth V8	ARG Ret	BRA Ret	RSA	ESP	BEL	MON	SWE	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	ITA	CAN	USA	NC	0

Non-Championship Formula One 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
1963	Reg Parnell	Lotus 24	BRM V8	LOM	GLV	PAU	IMO	SYR	AIN	INT	ROM	SOL	KAN	MED	AUT	OUL 9	RAN
1964	Revson Racing	Lotus 24	BRM V8	DMT Ret	NWT 8	SYR Ret	AIN DNA	INT 9	SOL 4	MED 6	RAN
1971	Milestone Racing Team	Surtees TS8	Chevrolet V8	ARG	ROC	QUE Ret	SPR	INT	RIN	OUL	VIC
1972	Yardley Team McLaren	McLaren M19A	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ROC 8	BRA
		McLaren M19B				INT 5	OUL	REP	VIC
1973	Yardley Team McLaren	McLaren M23	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ROC	INT 4
1974	UOP Shadow Racing Team	Shadow DN3	Cosworth V8	PRE	ROC 6	INT

Complete USAC Championship Car results[]

Year	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	Pos	Points
1966	PHX	TRE	INDY	MIL	LAN	ATL	PIP	IRP	LAN	SPR	MIL	DUQ	ISF	TRE	SAC	PHX 16													-	0
1967	PHX 13	TRE DNQ	INDY DNP	MIL	LAN	PIP	MOS	MOS	IRP	LAN	MTR	MTR	SPR	MIL	DUQ	ISF	TRE	SAC	HAN	PHX	RIV								-	0
1968	HAN	LVG	PHX	TRE	INDY	MIL	MOS	MOS	LAN	PIP	CDR	NAZ	IRP	IRP	LAN	LAN	MTR	MTR	SPR	MIL	DUQ	ISF	TRE	SAC	MCH	HAN	PHX	RIV 10	-	0
1969	PHX	HAN	INDY 5	MIL	LAN	PIP	CDR	NAZ	TRE	IRP 3	IRP 1	MIL	SPR	DOV	DUQ	ISF	BRN	BRN	TRE	SAC	KEN	KEN	PHX	RIV DNP					-	0
1970	PHX	SON	TRE	INDY 22	MIL	LAN	CDR	MCH	IRP	SPR	MIL	ONT 5	DUQ	ISF	SED	TRE	SAC	PHX											-	0
1971	RAF	RAF	PHX	TRE	INDY 2	MIL	POC 21	MCH	MIL	ONT 7	TRE	PHX																	12th	1,100
1972	PHX	TRE	INDY 31	MIL	MCH	POC 31	MIL	ONT 23	TRE	PHX																			-	0
1973	TWS	TRE	TRE	INDY 31	MIL	POC 21	MCH	MIL	ONT	ONT	ONT 23	MCH	MCH	TRE	TWS	PHX													-	0

Indianapolis 500 results[]

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish
1969	Brabham	Repco	33rd	5th
1970	McLaren	Offy	16th	22nd
1971	McLaren	Offy	1st	2nd
1972	McLaren	Offy	2nd	31st
1973	McLaren	Offy	10th	31st

See also[]

• List of select Jewish racing drivers

References[]

All work no playboy | Motor Sport Magazine Archive. (2014, November 27). Retrieved from All work no playboy

Chang, R. S. (2008, May 29). McQueen's Porsche, but Memories of Another Driver. Retrieved from

(n.d.). Retrieved from [1]

There but for fortune | Motor Sport Magazine Archive. (2014, December 23). Retrieved from There but for fortune

External links[]

• Bruce McLaren Trust website with articles featuring Revson
• Peter Revson at Findagrave.com
• Video Tribute to Peter Revson on YouTube
• Video interview with Peter Revson on YouTube

Sporting positions
Preceded by Jackie Stewart	Monaco Formula Three Race Winner 1965	Succeeded by Jean-Pierre Beltoise
Preceded by Denny Hulme	Can-Am Champion 1971	Succeeded by George Follmer
Preceded by François Cevert	Formula One fatal accidents March 22, 1974	Succeeded by Helmut Koinigg