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Joe Kelly (Formula One)
Encyclopedia
Joe Kelly was a racing driver and motor trader from Ireland
. He was born in Dublin and was raised there, later moving to England. He died in Neston
, Cheshire
, England
.
meeting at Silverstone Circuit
. It was the first race meeting to use the former airfield's perimeter roadways, rather than the main runways. The event was held that day over two heats of 20 laps and one final of 30 laps of the Grand Prix circuit. The final was won by Italian Alberto Ascari
driving a Ferrari
; Ascari would go on to win the Formula One World Championship twice. The race meeting was marred by the death of St John Horsfall in an accident during the final race.
In 1950, Kelly – using his own Alta GP car, the last built – participated in the 1950
and 1951
British rounds of the Formula One
World Championship. He was not classified in the results of either race, scoring no championship points, and his best grid position was 18th place, but his persistence with the Alta GP car paid off in 1952 with third place in the Ulster Trophy at Dundrod. His Alta was later modified to accept a naturally aspirated Bristol
straight-6 engine to become the Irish Racing Automobile. He also owned and raced a Jaguar C-Type
sports car
which he raced in Ireland at "The Curragh
", known throughout the world as the home of Irish horse racing, and could also boast of having no less than two motor racing circuits in the late 1940s and early fifties. Known as the "Short" circuit and the "Big" circuit, both played host to great entries and attracted huge crowds. The Short circuit was first used in 1947 and catered for both car and motorcycle events. It was used until the late fifties, whereas the "Big" circuit was the venue for the famous International Wakefield Trophy car races which were held annually from 1949 to 1954. At a June meeting the lap record was broken by Kelly, this time driving a Maserati
. This was the first purpose-built racing car to compete at the Curragh. Up until then the entries consisted mostly of MGs and home or garage built "specials". The crowd had become a great fan of Kelly and he certainly gave them a demonstration of high speed racing that day. The record which he set that day was to remain unbroken until 1954, when he again shattered it by almost 10mph, this time in a Ferrari sports car
.
His own full-time driving career came to an end in 1955, following a serious accident at the Oulton Park
circuit. However, he did compete in some hill climbs in later life driving Porsche and Ferrari sports cars, at Wicklow in Ireland. His Jaguar C-Type
is still raced in historic meetings around the world, as is his Ferrari Monza
.
Kelly was first a businessman; his racing took second place to making money. His car dealing and property trading came high on his list of priorities; he owned many very famous homes during his property dealing days in the 1970s and 80's in Ireland and England. He was very well known in his native Dublin. He hit the Irish Press in the Fifties due to being the first Irishman to get a royal invitation to the first British Grand Prix
at Silverstone. seen right on grid. Following his withdrawal from racing, Kelly concentrated on his business interests, which included the Irish Ferrari
concession.
England, then in 1969 sold them all and decided to move back to Athy, Ireland.
This is where he started his property portfolio which resulted in Kelly owning some
of the most impressive estates in the country, including Old Conna Hill near Dublin.
In the late 1970s and 80s Kelly started a collection of rare and expensive cars which included
Lamborghini, Ferrari and Rolls Royce.(his Miura seen right)
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. He was born in Dublin and was raised there, later moving to England. He died in Neston
Neston, Cheshire
Neston is a small residential town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester. It is situated on the part of the Wirral Peninsula that remains in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Parkgate is located to the north west and the villages of Little Neston and Ness...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Biography
Racing career
By profession Kelly was a motor dealer from Dublin and he used the profits from this business to indulge his interest in motorsport. He raced a Maserati 6cm1547 on 20 August 1949, during the 1949 BRDC International Trophy1949 BRDC International Trophy
The first BRDC International Trophy meeting, formally titled the Daily Express International Trophy, was held on 20 August 1949 at the Silverstone Circuit, England. It was the first race meeting to only use the former airfield's perimeter roadways, rather than the main runways. The event was held...
meeting at Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit is an English motor racing circuit next to the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, with the current main circuit entry on the Buckinghamshire side...
. It was the first race meeting to use the former airfield's perimeter roadways, rather than the main runways. The event was held that day over two heats of 20 laps and one final of 30 laps of the Grand Prix circuit. The final was won by Italian Alberto Ascari
Alberto Ascari
Alberto Ascari was an Italian racing driver and twice Formula One World Champion. He is one of only two Italian Formula One World Champions in the history of the sport, and the only one winning his two championships in a Ferrari....
driving a Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....
; Ascari would go on to win the Formula One World Championship twice. The race meeting was marred by the death of St John Horsfall in an accident during the final race.
In 1950, Kelly – using his own Alta GP car, the last built – participated in the 1950
1950 British Grand Prix
The 1950 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 13 May 1950 at the Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, England. It was the fifth British Grand Prix, and the third to be held at Silverstone after motor racing resumed after World War II. It was the first round of the 1950 World...
and 1951
1951 British Grand Prix
The 1951 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 14 July 1951 at the Silverstone Circuit in Buckinghamshire, England. It was the fifth round of the 1951 World Drivers' Championship...
British rounds of the Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
World Championship. He was not classified in the results of either race, scoring no championship points, and his best grid position was 18th place, but his persistence with the Alta GP car paid off in 1952 with third place in the Ulster Trophy at Dundrod. His Alta was later modified to accept a naturally aspirated Bristol
Bristol Cars
Bristol Cars is a manufacturer of hand-built luxury cars headquartered in Patchway, near Bristol, United Kingdom. Bristol have always been a low-volume manufacturer; the most recent published official production figures were for 1982, which stated that 104 cars were produced in that year...
straight-6 engine to become the Irish Racing Automobile. He also owned and raced a Jaguar C-Type
Jaguar C-Type
The Jaguar C-Type is a racing sports car built by Jaguar and sold from 1951 to 1953. The "C" designation stood for "competition"....
sports car
Sports car racing
Sports car racing is a form of circuit auto racing with automobiles that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built or related to road-going sports cars....
which he raced in Ireland at "The Curragh
Curragh Racecourse
The Curragh Racecourse, usually abbreviated to The Curragh, is Ireland's most important Thoroughbred race track. It is situated on the Curragh plain near Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland.- History :...
", known throughout the world as the home of Irish horse racing, and could also boast of having no less than two motor racing circuits in the late 1940s and early fifties. Known as the "Short" circuit and the "Big" circuit, both played host to great entries and attracted huge crowds. The Short circuit was first used in 1947 and catered for both car and motorcycle events. It was used until the late fifties, whereas the "Big" circuit was the venue for the famous International Wakefield Trophy car races which were held annually from 1949 to 1954. At a June meeting the lap record was broken by Kelly, this time driving a Maserati
Maserati
Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993...
. This was the first purpose-built racing car to compete at the Curragh. Up until then the entries consisted mostly of MGs and home or garage built "specials". The crowd had become a great fan of Kelly and he certainly gave them a demonstration of high speed racing that day. The record which he set that day was to remain unbroken until 1954, when he again shattered it by almost 10mph, this time in a Ferrari sports car
Sports car
A sports car is a small, usually two seat, two door automobile designed for high speed driving and maneuverability....
.
His own full-time driving career came to an end in 1955, following a serious accident at the Oulton Park
Oulton Park
Oulton Park Circuit is a motor racing track in the small village of Little Budworth, Cheshire, England. It is about from Winsford, from Chester city centre, from Northwich and from Warrington with a nearby rail connection along the Mid-Cheshire Line. It occupies much of the area which was...
circuit. However, he did compete in some hill climbs in later life driving Porsche and Ferrari sports cars, at Wicklow in Ireland. His Jaguar C-Type
Jaguar C-Type
The Jaguar C-Type is a racing sports car built by Jaguar and sold from 1951 to 1953. The "C" designation stood for "competition"....
is still raced in historic meetings around the world, as is his Ferrari Monza
Ferrari Monza
A Ferrari Monza is one of a series of cars built by Ferrari. In the early 1950s, Ferrari shifted from using the compact Gioacchino Colombo-designed V12 engine in its smallest class of sports racers to a line of four-cylinder engines designed by Aurelio Lampredi...
.
Business life
British Grand Prix
The British Grand Prix is a race in the calendar of the FIA Formula One World Championship. It is currently held at the Silverstone Circuit near the village of Silverstone in Northamptonshire...
at Silverstone. seen right on grid. Following his withdrawal from racing, Kelly concentrated on his business interests, which included the Irish Ferrari
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
concession.
Collections
After 1955 and the crash at Oulton Park, Kelly worked on building up car showrooms inEngland, then in 1969 sold them all and decided to move back to Athy, Ireland.
This is where he started his property portfolio which resulted in Kelly owning some
of the most impressive estates in the country, including Old Conna Hill near Dublin.
Lamborghini, Ferrari and Rolls Royce.(his Miura seen right)
Complete Formula One World Championship results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 1950 Formula One season The 1950 Formula One season included the inaugural FIA Formula One World Championship season, which commenced on May 13, 1950, and ended on September 3 after 7 races... |
Joe Kelly | Alta GP | Alta L4 Straight-4 The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft.... s Supercharger A supercharger is an air compressor used for forced induction of an internal combustion engine.The greater mass flow-rate provides more oxygen to support combustion than would be available in a naturally aspirated engine, which allows more fuel to be burned and more work to be done per cycle,... |
GBR 1950 British Grand Prix The 1950 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 13 May 1950 at the Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, England. It was the fifth British Grand Prix, and the third to be held at Silverstone after motor racing resumed after World War II. It was the first round of the 1950 World... NC |
MON 1950 Monaco Grand Prix The 1950 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on May 21, 1950 at Monaco. This race was the second round of 1950 World Drivers' Championship. The race, contested over 100 laps at an overall distance of 318.1 km was won by Juan Manuel Fangio for the Alfa Romeo team after starting from... |
500 1950 Indianapolis 500 The 1950 Indianapolis 500 was an automobile race which was held on Tuesday, May 30, 1950 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The event was the third round of the 1950 World Drivers' Championship... |
SUI 1950 Swiss Grand Prix The 1950 Swiss Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on June 4, 1950 at Bremgarten. It was the fourth round of the 1950 World Drivers' Championship.-Report:... |
BEL 1950 Belgian Grand Prix The 1950 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on June 18, 1950 at Spa-Francorchamps. It was the fifth round of the 1950 World Drivers' Championship.-Report:... |
FRA 1950 French Grand Prix The 1950 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on July 2, 1950 at Reims-Gueux. It was the sixth round of 1950 World Drivers' Championship.__FORCETOC__-Report:Fangio put in a stunning display with a 116 mph practice lap... |
ITA 1950 Italian Grand Prix The 1950 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on September 3, 1950 at Monza. It was the seventh and final event of the 1950 World Drivers' Championship... |
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| 1951 1951 Formula One season The 1951 Formula One season was the second season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1951 World Championship of Drivers, which commenced on May 27, 1951 and ended on October 28 after eight races... |
Joe Kelly | Alta GP | Alta L4 Straight-4 The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft.... s Supercharger A supercharger is an air compressor used for forced induction of an internal combustion engine.The greater mass flow-rate provides more oxygen to support combustion than would be available in a naturally aspirated engine, which allows more fuel to be burned and more work to be done per cycle,... |
SUI 1951 Swiss Grand Prix The 1951 Swiss Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Bremgarten on May 27, 1951. It was the first round of the 1951 World Drivers' Championship. The race saw the Formula One debut of British driver Stirling Moss.-Qualifying:-Race:... |
500 1951 Indianapolis 500 The 1951 Indianapolis 500 an automobile race which was held on Wednesday, May 30, 1951 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The event was the opening race of the 1951 AAA National Championship Trail and the second race of the 1951 World Championship of Drivers.... |
BEL 1951 Belgian Grand Prix The 1951 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on June 17, 1951 at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. It was the third round of the 1951 World Drivers' Championship.- Race report :... |
FRA 1951 French Grand Prix The 1951 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Reims-Gueux on 1 July 1951. It was the fourth round of the 1951 World Drivers' Championship and was won by Juan Manuel Fangio and Luigi Fagioli driving an Alfa Romeo... |
GBR 1951 British Grand Prix The 1951 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 14 July 1951 at the Silverstone Circuit in Buckinghamshire, England. It was the fifth round of the 1951 World Drivers' Championship... NC |
GER 1951 German Grand Prix The 1951 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on July 29, 1951 at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. It was the sixth round of the 1951 World Drivers' Championship.-Qualifying:-Race:- Drivers' Championship standings after the race :... |
ITA 1951 Italian Grand Prix The 1951 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on September 16, 1951 at Monza. It was the seventh round of the 1951 World Drivers' Championship.-Qualifying:-Race:- Notes :* Pole position: Juan Manuel Fangio - 1:53.2... |
ESP 1951 Spanish Grand Prix The 1951 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 28, 1951 at Pedralbes Circuit. It was the eighth and final round of the 1951 World Drivers' Championship.... |
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