Bob Anderson (racing driver)

Anderson was born in Hendon in the north of London and later lived in Haynes, Bedfordshire.[1][6] He trained as an agricultural engineer, though left after a year and got a job as a mechanic in a local machinery dealer.[5][6] He began his motorcycle racing career in 1953 competing on a 500cc Triumph Special at Cadwell Park.[6] By 1955 he was racing a Matchless G45 at circuits such as Crystal Palace and Castle Combe and placed 8th at the 1955 Senior Manx Grand Prix.[6] Switching to a Norton in 1956, he finished second to Jimmy Buchan at the Senior Manx Grand Prix and won the 500cc North West 200.[6]

Anderson established himself as one of the top national competitors in 1957 with victories at Cadwell Park, Crystal Palace, Snetterton, Brands Hatch and won the 350cc North West 200.[6] He finished second to world champion John Surtees at the 1958 Senior TT race at the Isle of Man, then considered the most prestigious motorcycle race on the world championship circuit.[7] Anderson began to compete in the Grand Prix world championships in 1958, scoring another second place result behind Geoff Duke at the 350cc Swedish Grand Prix.[3]

At the end of 1960, Anderson sustained a back injury while racing in South Africa, which led him to switch to auto racing at the relatively late age of 29.[1][2] In 1961 he drove a Lola in a Formula Junior race at Snetterton. He continued to race cars and eventually competed as a Team Lotus driver in the Formula Junior championship, winning a race at Autodrome de Montlhéry and finishing second at Monaco.[8]

He entered Formula One in 1963 with his own Lola Mk4 car, under the guise of DW Racing Enterprises, a small team compared to other private outfits such as Scuderia Filipinetti or Rob Walker Racing Team. DW was actually only composed of Anderson and a small team of mechanics. Despite this hindrance he took the flexible little Lola to victory in the non-Championship Rome Grand Prix in that first year. In later years he ran private Brabham cars under the same banner, with his best result a third place in the 1964 Austrian Grand Prix. He was awarded the Von Trips Memorial Trophy as the most successful private entrant of 1964.[1]

In 1967 he suffered an accident while testing at Silverstone, in which he slid off the track in wet conditions and hit a marshal's post.[8] Anderson suffered serious chest and neck injuries and died later in Northampton General Hospital.[9]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)