Ken Downing

Kenneth Henry Downing (5 December 1917 – 3 May 2004) was an English racing driver. From a wealthy family, he began racing in the late 1940s, competing in his first event the Eastbourne Rally in a Healey. Initially racing a Brooke Special, he switched to a Connaught in 1951, winning 17 races throughout the year.

Downing switched to single seaters in 1952, racing a Connaught A-Type, and won the Madgwick Cup at Goodwood and second place at the Grand Prix des Frontières at Chimay, where he lost the lead at the end of the race several metres before the finish line. He finished ninth in the at Silverstone, but had run fourth in the race before spinning while avoiding a backmarker. He competed in the later that year, but retired from an oil-pressure problem. He switched to an Aston Martin DB3 for 1953, but decided to retire from racing soon after.

Downing emigrated to South Africa in 1955, and later lived in Monaco where he died in 2004. His daughter Anne married Patrick McNally, whose company Allsport Management controlled the corporate hospitality and advertising for Formula One.

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