Leslie Johnson (racing driver)

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Leslie Johnson (racing driver) : biography

March 22, 1912 – June 8, 1959
The weather did not help; hot by day, cold at night. Night driving was a strain too, because we couldn’t afford the drain on the battery of extra lights. The headlights had to be set very high to let us see the top of the banking when we were on it, and this meant that on the short straights we could see nothing at all because the beams were playing in the air.
We hit several hares, rabbits and birds, and Leslie swore at one point that he’d seen a huge ten-foot tall figure in a long cloak, wearing a tall pointed hat, striding toward him along the verge. Next time round the figure had gone…it worried the life out of him for the rest of his stint. In fact I had donned a Shell fuel funnel, pulled a tarpaulin around me and sat on Jack Fairman’s shoulders as he strode along the verge. After Leslie had whizzed by we ran away and hid…All very childish, but good fun in the circumstances. Leslie then had an extraordinary idea to get his own back during one of my stints. I came whistling off the banking to find him sitting with Jack Fairman in the middle of the track, playing cards!
Then he took the pit signal board and put it out on the track, so that my natural line past the pits took me between it and the timekeeper’s hut. He was lounging beside the hut so I waved to him as I shot though the gap. Next time round the board had been moved closer to the hut. The gap was narrower, but I couldn’t leave the fast line so I shot through it again. Next time round, he’d moved the board closer still. Each lap he narrowed the gap which made me concentrate harder to pass through it. Eventually he gave in, and the board went back to its proper position, hung on the tent. At least it passed the time…"

Montlhéry’s concrete surface was rough, and the Jaguar broke a spring when it was already well into the run. No spare was carried on board. Regulations stipulated that an outside replacement would make the car ineligible for any further records beyond those already achieved before the repair. Johnson drove nine hours to save the other drivers from added risk while the speed had to be maintained on the broken spring. When finally he stopped to have it replaced, the car had taken the world and Class C 72-hour records at 105.55 mph, world and Class C four-day records at 101.17 mph, Class C 10,000-kilometer record at 107.031 mph, world and Class C 15,000-kilometer records at 101.95 mph, and world and Class C 10,000-mile records at 100.65 mph. After the repair the car went on to complete the full seven days and nights.

Johnson’s team covered a total of 16,851.73 miles at an average speed of 100.31 mph.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 WDC Points
1950 ERA Ltd ERA E ERA GBRRet MON 500 SUI BEL FRA ITA NC 0

Overview

Leslie Johnson was born in Walthamstow, at that time one of London’s poorest districts, and he spent his early years there. His father, a cabinet maker, died soon after starting his own business. Johnson, left with a mother and younger brother to support even though he was still in his teens, took charge of the firm. The employees responded to his enlightened, philanthropic management with a loyalty and dedication which, allied to Johnson’s astute business brain, helped create the successful furniture manufacturing business that funded his entry into motor sport.

When competition resumed after World War II he progressed from rallies to hill climbs, sports car racing and single-seaters. Although a prodigiously gifted driver who early in his career won the admiration of senior competitors such as Raymond Sommer and Louis Chiron, he never made a full commitment to racing. Business interests remained his primary focus. Further, as a child his heart and kidneys were damaged by nephritis and acromegaly, and deteriorating health in adulthood imposed its own constraints on his racing.