Richard Stoop

Dickie Stoop flew Hawker Sea Hurricanes during World War II

Frazer Nash Mille Miglia; Stop contested several Le Mans 24-hour races with this racing car model in the 1950s

James Richard "Dickie" Stoop (born July 30, 1920 in Uckfield , † May 19, 1968 in Croft-on-Tees ) was a British racing driver and aviator with the Royal Air Force .

Airmen with the RAF

In most publications in which the name Richard Stoop appears, he is given by the first name Richard. However, he was well known by his school nickname Dickie . Dickie Stoop was one of those British racing drivers after the Second World War who made a name for themselves through their fearlessness. Like many of his generation, he fought as a young man in the war for his homeland. He was an aviator in the Royal Air Force. As a flight lieutenant , he served under Tony Gaze . He was stationed in Westhampnett , an area where the Goodwood Circuit is located today . He flew Hurricanes and Spitfires on missions from the Battle of Britain to Operation Overlord , the Allied landing in Normandy in June 1944.

After the end of the war, Stoop remained for years as a squadron leader with the RAF.

Career in motorsport

Stoop's first known race was in 1948 in a Formula 3 race at Silverstone , which he finished eighth. Stoop, who called himself an amateur racing driver throughout his life, made a career, albeit in sports car racing. Until his death, he was able to celebrate nine overall and as many class wins. He celebrated most of these successes at national British club and hill climbs .

In 1949 he was registered in the Mille Miglia , but did not start on race day. His first major endurance race was the Spa-Francorchamps 24-hour race in 1949 . On the Belgian Ardennes route he reached 12th place in the overall standings together with Peter Wilson . In 1950 he made his debut at the Le Mans 24 Hours with ninth place and a class win . In this 24-hour race he competed a total of ten times until 1961 . In the 1950s he was contractually bound to Frazer Nash . Almost all of his racing victories came from this partnership. He also drove Frazer-Nash sports cars at Le Mans until 1957. However, his best Le Mans placement came about only after working with Frazer Nash. 1958 he drove with partner Peter Bolton a plant - AC Ace LM Prototype at the eighth place of the final classification.

In the 1960s his racing activities decreased. With a Porsche 356 Carrera and later a 904 in the British Sports Car Championship and the Sports Car World Championship . In 1960 he won the Autosport 3-hour race in Snetterton and came third in the 1964 Kyalami 9-hour race .

Dickie Stoop died in May 1968 during a club race of complications from an arterial thrombosis that led to a heart attack . On the third lap of the race, he died at the wheel of a Porsche 911S , which after the accident hit a fence without a driver.

statistics

Le Mans results

year	team	vehicle	Teammate	placement	Failure reason
1950	HJ Aldington	Frazer Nash Milla Miglia	TASO Mathieson	9th place and class win
1951	MP Trevelyan	Frazer Nash Milla Miglia	Peter Wilson	Rank 19
1952	Automobiles Frazer Nash Ltd.	Frazer Nash Milla Miglia	Peter Wilson	failure	Power transmission
1955	Automobiles Frazer Nash Ltd.	Frazer Nash Sebring	Marcel Becquart	Rank 10
1956	Automobiles Frazer Nash Ltd.	Frazer Nash Sebring	Tony Gaze	failure	accident
1957	Automobiles Frazer Nash Ltd.	Frazer Nash Sebring	Peter Jopp	failure	Leak in the oil tank
1958	AC Cars Ltd.	AC Ace LM Prototype	Peter Bolton	Rank 8
1959	Standard Triumph Motor Company	Triumph TR3S	Peter Jopp	failure	Motor overheated
1960	Baron Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche 718/4 RS	Carel Godin de Beaufort	failure	Engine failure
1961	Ecurie Chiltern	Austin-Healey 3000	John Bekaert	failure	Cylinder head

Individual results in the sports car world championship

season	team	race car	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th	15th	16	17th	18th	19th	20th	21st	22nd
1955	Frazer Nash MG	Frazer Nash Sebring MG EX182	BUA	SEB	MIM	LEM	RTT	TAR
						10	DNF
1957	Frazer Nash	Frazer Nash Sebring	BUA	SEB	MIM	ONLY	LEM	KRI	CAR
							DNF
1958	AC Cars Car Exchange Racing Team	AC Ace Lotus Eleven	BUA	SEB	TAR	ONLY	LEM	RTT
							8th	13
1959	Standard Motor Company	Triumph TR3	SEB	TAR	ONLY	LEM	RTT
						DNF
1960	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche 718	BUA	SEB	TAR	ONLY	LEM
							DNF
1961	Ecurie Chiltern	Austin-Healey 3000	SEB	TAR	ONLY	LEM	PES
						DNF
1963	Dickie Stoop	Porsche 356	DAY	SEB	SEB	TAR	SPA	MAY	ONLY	CON	ROS	LEM	MON	WIS	TAV	FRE	CCE	RTT	OVI	ONLY	MON	MON	TDF	BRI
							10		DNF									12
1964	Peter Sutcliffe Dickie Stoop	Jaguar E-Type Porsche 904	DAY	SEB	TAR	MON	SPA	CON	ONLY	ROS	LEM	REI	FRE	CCE	RTT	SIM	ONLY	MON	TDF	BRI	BRI	PAR
									DNF	15th			23

literature

• Christian Moity, Jean-Marc Teissèdre, Alain Bienvenu: 24 heures du Mans, 1923–1992. Éditions d'Art, Besançon 1992, ISBN 2-909413-06-3 .

Web links

• Richard Stoop at Motorsport Memorial
• Richard Stoop at Racing Sports Cars
• Richard Stoop at 500race.org (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 24-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps 1949
2. ^ Autosport 3-hour race 1960
3. ↑ Kyalami 9 Hour Race