Bill Aston

William Simpson Aston (29 March 1900 – 4 March 1974) was a British racing driver who participated in three World Championship Grands Prix, in 1952 when the championship was run to Formula Two rules, for his own team Aston Butterworth.

William "Bill" Aston
Born(1900-03-29)29 March 1900
Hopton, Staffordshire, England, UK
Died4 March 1974(1974-03-04) (aged 73)
Lingfield, Surrey, England, UK
Formula One World Championship career
NationalityUnited Kingdom British
Active years1952
TeamsAston Butterworth
Entries3 (1 start)
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums0
Career points0
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1952 British Grand Prix
Last entry1952 Italian Grand Prix

Career

Prior to taking part in World Championship Grand Prix racing, Aston was a test pilot and motorcycle racer. He turned to four-wheel racing with a Cooper-JAP in Formula Three and later graduated into Formula Two. He came close to winning a heat race at Chimay in 1951, driving an 1,100 cc (67 cu in) Cooper, but his car failed on the last lap.[1] In the same year he set a 500 cc (31 cu in) world speed record at Montlhéry in the streamlined Cooper, fitted with a V-twin J.A.P. motor.[2]

Aston Butterworth NB42 displayed at Motor Sport at the Palace Crystal Palace circuit, 25 May 2015

For 1952 he teamed up with Archie Butterworth to build the Aston Butterworth, a car that raced quite well, but was unfortunately very unreliable. He entered the car in the British Grand Prix and qualified 30th and last. However, he was unable to start the race. He then entered the 1952 German Grand Prix, but his car failed on the second lap. At the Italian Grand Prix he failed to make it through qualifying. Aston raced on into his 60s, with a Mini and a Jaguar, before he retired.

Racing record

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 WDC Points
1952 W S Aston Aston NB 41 Butterworth Flat 4 SUI 500 BEL FRA GBR
DNS		 GER
Ret		 NED ITA
DNQ		 NC 0
Source:[3]

Complete British Saloon Car Championship results

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

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 DC Pts Class
1960 Star Hill Racing Equipe Jaguar Mk II 3.4 BRH SNE MAL OUL SNE BRH
6*		 BRH
4*		 BRH
2*		 NC* 0*
1961 Bill Aston Morris Mini Minor A SNE GOO
?		 AIN
?		 SIL
?		 CRY
Ret		 SIL
5		 BRH
?		 OUL SNE 10th 20 3rd
1962 Tourist Trophy Garage Vauxhall VX4/90 B SNE GOO AIN SIL CRY AIN
21		 BRH
?		 OUL
?		 18th 8 6th
1963 Team Tourist Trophy Jaguar Mk II 3.8 D SNE
4		 OUL
Ret		 GOO
5		 AIN SIL CRY
5†		 SIL BRH BRH OUL SNE 40th 2 15th
Source:[4]

† Events with 2 races staged for the different classes.

  • Car over 1000cc - Not eligible for points.

See also

References
  1. Carrozzino (June 1951). "G.P. des Frontieres (Chimay) Formula II (May 13th)". Motor Sport magazine archive. p. 40. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  2. Motor Sport, November 1951, Page 530.
  3. Small, Steve (1994). The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who. Guinness. p. 13. ISBN 0851127029.
  4. de Jong, Frank. "British Saloon Car Championship". History of Touring Car Racing 1952-1993. Retrieved 7 October 2022.


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