Richard Edmund Clerke Burton

Richard Edmund Clerke Burton (born November 20, 1938 in Exeter , Devon , † January 6, 2008 ) was a British bon vivant , entrepreneur and automobile racing driver, who as Richard Burton in the 1960s Formula 3 races in Great Britain and on the European Contested continent. Burton has been described as one of the last gentlemen's drivers in the British press .

Life

Richard Burton's parents were Robert Clerke Burton and his wife Mary, b. Dixon. The father was the Commander of the Royal Navy . His ancestors included the writer Robert Burton , best known for the book Anatomy of Melancholy published in 1621 . Richard's brother Charles became known in 1979 through a transglobe expedition during which he crossed the earth along the prime meridian from north to south.

Following training at Wellington College , Burton completed his military service in the British Navy in the 1950s. After the end of the service, he made fortune by gambling in London . Around 1960 he spent some time in Bad Hersfeld . Back in the UK, Burton worked for various London advertising agencies. At this time his interest in motorsport began, which he pursued for several years. In the 1970s he belonged to the upper class of society in England. He was a member of the London Turf Club and Annabel’s , a "symbol of British decadence". At times Burton was a model and advertising medium for exclusive British men's outerwear. In 1980 he began to publish books in Geneva ; In 1984 Burton founded an art gallery in Los Angeles and later in Palm Springs , where he sold lavish reproductions of well-known paintings. Hollywood celebrities were among his customers .

In the 1990s, Burton returned to the UK. He settled in Wiltshire , where he died in 2008.

Burton was married five times. His wives were Susan Black (1966–1970), Ariane Desouches (1971–1976), Marie Dolores Ortiz-Echagüe (1976–1978), Hanna Schumacher (1988) and Martine Grandclement (from 2002).

Motorsport

From 1964 to 1968 Burton drove a few automobile races primarily in Great Britain. He was friends with the racing drivers Chris Amon , Jochen Rindt and Jackie Stewart .

Burton made his debut as a racing driver at the BARC Member's Meeting on March 14, 1964 in Goodwood , which was carried out according to the Formula 3 regulations. Burton drove a Lotus 31 with a Ford engine. He won the race half a minute ahead of second-placed Ray Moore . In 1964, four more races followed at Brands Hatch , Goodwood and Mallory Park , of which Burton finished two in third. At the prestigious International Gold Cup 1964 in Oulton Park in September 1964, Burton drove a Cooper T72 with a four-cylinder BMC engine for the first time . In the race he only covered one lap before retiring with a bearing damage.

For 1965 only a few races Burton are recorded. He was registered for the BARC Member's Meeting in Goodwood, but was disqualified before the start of the race because he could not prove a license. At the BRDC Trophy on July 10, 1965, an accompanying race to the Grand Prix of Great Britain , Burton entered with his Lotus 31 for the Prior Racing Team . Here he only completed two laps before retiring. In 1966, Burton did not contest automobile races. In 1967 he registered with a Brabham BT21 for the Coupe Internationale de Vitesse in Reims-Gueux . Starting from position 27, he overtook 21 drivers on the first lap. On the fourth lap, the car caught fire after gasoline mist leaked from the not completely closed tank opening and ignited on the hot exhaust. Burton's coveralls had picked up gasoline fumes and caught fire too. Burton sustained severe burns that affected 65 percent of his skin. Jackie Stewart organized a helicopter transport to a specialist clinic, which saved Burton's life. After his recovery, Burton started in 1968 for the racing car dealer and team owner Frank Williams in his Formula 3 program. Williams thought Burton was a talented racing driver and considered using him with Frank Williams Racing Cars in the medium term alongside Piers Courage in the Formula 2 European Championship . However, after three Formula 3 races, of which 12th place at the International Trophy was his best result, Burton gave up his motorsport involvement in the spring of 1968.

Editorial activity

From the 1980s, Burton was a publisher of books. From 1984 to 1988, his assistant was Sarah Ferguson , then the partner of ex-racing driver Paddy McNally and later Duchess of York . Burton published Ferguson's books Victoria and Albert: Life at Osborne House (1991) and The Palace of Westminster (1996) , among others .

Web links

Obituary for Richard Burton

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Richard Burton. telegraph.co.uk, February 16, 2008, accessed December 7, 2018 . 
2. ^ Paul Lewis: Charles Burton, 59, a Pole-to-Pole Explorer. nytimes.com, July 17, 2002, accessed October 6, 2018 . 
3. ↑ In its obituary, the Telegraph incorrectly speaks of "Bad Hirschfeld".
4. ↑ Carsten Volkery: “50 years Annabel's: 'Hello rich people!'” Spiegel online, October 31, 2014, accessed on December 10, 2018 . 
5. ↑ Statistics from the BARC Member's Meeting on the website http://www.formula2.net/F364_GB3.htm (archived version) (accessed on October 5, 2018).
6. ↑ Statistics of the Oulton Park Gold Cup on the website www.formula2.net (archived version) (accessed on October 5, 2018).
7. ↑ Statistics from the BARC Member's Meeting 1965 on the website www.formula2.net (archived version) (accessed on October 5, 2018).
8. ↑ Statistics of the B: RDC Trophy 1965 on the website www.formula2.net (archived version) (accessed on October 5, 2018).
9. ↑ Statistics of the BRDC Caravans International Trophy 1968 on the website www.formula2.net (archived version) (accessed on December 7, 2018).
10. ^ Sarah Mountbatten-Windsor Duchess of York, Jeff Coplon: My Story , Simon and Schuster, 1997, ISBN 9780671004392 , p. 62.