Rippon, Alan

[Michael Aikey]

My George Hartwell inquiry went so well - how about anyone having biographical (date and place of birth, occupation, etc.) and racing information on Alan Rippon. I have references of him campaigning Kiefts at Le Mans ('51, '54, '55) and the Tourist Trophy ('54 and '55). I also have a signed photograph of him driving a 500 or 1100cc, race unknown. That's about it for my sources. Thanks.

[David McKinney]

Can't help with the first part of your quest.
Also, it was an MG he drove at Le Mans in 1951 (Kiefts 1954 and 1955)
I believe he started in 500s: he was second in the 100-mile race at Silverstone 8/7/50 at the wheel of a Cooper

[Adam Ferrington]

Michael,

This is what I have for Alan Rippon :-

[HiRich]

Alan Rippon was born in 1912 in chelmsford, where he seems to have lived his entire life. By trade he was Managing Director of a Wholesale Newsagents.

He entered Formula 3 in 1949, buying Forbes Clark's ASA with CJM Abbott, and renaming it the AR Special. I cannot find any record of it competing until the SUNBAC race at Silverstone in the September (where it melted a piston).

For 1950, he had given in, and followed the crowd to Surbiton, purchasing the 1949 MkIII JAP of Ken Watkins. He was entered for "Royal" Silverstone, May 13th (the British Grand Prix meeting), though he doesn't appear in the top ten results I have for either heats or final. A DNS for the Zandvoort race (11/06 - big end failure) followed.
As David says, he was second at Silverstone in July. I think his career at this stage is best summed up by Austen May's comments on this race "Perhaps more surprising (than 'less than youthful' Ken Watkins winning) was to see Alan Rippon in second place because Alan, more than anyone else I know, really does drive for sheer personal enjoyment, always setting a pace which suits himself rather than attempting to match the pace of a particular race and most certainly giving of his very best within the strict limits he sets for himself."
He would take sixth on another visit to Zandvoort (23/07), enter (but not appear in the placings) the "Coupe du Monde" around Ostend (14/08), and that appears to be it.

In 1951 he was placed second in the Final for the Luxembourg Grand Prix at Finden (3/05). The car is listed as a Cooper JAP, but which one I don't know. This was the race in which ex-Speedway rider and JBS designer Alf Bottoms was killed.
He scored a 3rd in a heat of the Daily Telegraph international Trophy Race at Brands Hatch (12/05) - in those days every race on the Brands Hatch card was for F3s.

1952 provides a third at the Circuit de Draguignan, Toulon (18/05), now in a Cooper Norton, 10th in the Eifelrennen, Nurburgring (24/05), a 3rd at the Circuit de Vitesse d'Orleans (8/06), so he was clearly enjoying the European Tour that year.

But, from a 500 perspective, that's it (though admittedly my results are incomplete). Presumably he joined up with Kieft after they moved to Wolverhampton (1953), apparently as a works driver, but in which categories I'm not sure.

Does the car in the picture look like a Cooper or does it have the very different features of a Kieft (bullet nose, very forward seating, long fabricated trailing arms for the rear suspension)?

NB in my PM, I suggested that it was Alan who had a contretemps with Don Parker at Brands. That was wrong, it was another chap.

[Haine Kane]

Hello,
I don't know the birth pace of Alan RIPPON
So, born 26 september 1912 in Chelmsford (Essex)
If someone have a portrait of Alan and an autograph can you post here please ?

Thanks a lot.