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| Gerry Marshall | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | |
| Born | 16 November 1941 St Neots, Huntingdonshire, England |
| Died | 21 April 2005 (aged 63) Silverstone, Northamptonshire, England |
| British Saloon / Touring Car Championship | |
| Years active | 1965, 1970, 1973–1974, 1976–1979, 1987, 1989 |
| Teams | Newtune Ltd Shaw & Kilburn Ltd London Sportscar Centre The Vauxhall Motorist Racing with Capital Motors Dealer Team Vauxhall Team Triplex Gerry Marshall Racing Marshall Asquith Racing Marsh Plant Hire |
| Starts | 63 |
| Wins | 0 (5 in class) |
| Poles | 1 |
| Fastest laps | 7 |
| Best finish | 3rd in 1976 |
| Championship titles | |
| 1971 1976 | Castrol Escort Mexico Challenge Series British Saloon Car Championship - Class C |
Gerald Dallas Royston Marshall (16 November 1941 – 21 April 2005) was a British racing driver. He was commonly referred to by the nickname Big Gerry. According to a 2002 edition of Motor Sport Magazine poll, he was one of the best drivers of all time. According to the 28 August 2019 edition of Motorsport News, he is the United Kingdom's number one British motorsport hero. He was awarded the BARC Gold Medal in 2002, the first saloon car driver to be presented with the honour and was a life member of the prestigious BRDC. He took 625 overall and class wins and countless championship wins throughout his motor racing career.
Marshall was also well known in motoring circles for his successful car dealership, Marshall Wingfield, originally located on the Finchley Road, London, before moving to Brook Street in Tring and through his adult life lived in Harrow, Chiswell Green, Bricket Wood, Hemel Hempstead, Northchurch, Aston Clinton and Pitstone.[citation needed]
Marshall's ashes are buried at St. Leonards Church in Southoe, where his grandparents are also buried - he was relocated locally during the Second World War.[citation needed]
Marshall's professional driving career spans five decades, in 2000 chalking up his 600th win in a race at Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit, Norfolk in an Aston Martin DB4. His first Sprint victory was in 1963 driving a Mini, with his first race win following in 1964 (again in a Mini) and his last (and 625th) on 11 September 2004.
Marshall is probably best remembered for his flamboyant and crowd-pleasing style during the 1970s driving for Dealer Team Vauxhall in the racing Firenzas "Old Nail" and "Baby Bertha", and also the V8 Holden-Repco Ventora, "Big Bertha". He also won the 1971 Escort Mexico championship, beating future Formula 1 World Champion Jody Scheckter and finished second in the 1974 Avon Tour of Britain driving for the same team as the equally respected rally driver Roger Clark.
Marshall's style has been described as "sideways, on-the-edge cornering that was to distinguish his driving in any car, large or small, front or rear drive." This outward appearance belied an extraordinary cool-headed ability and intelligence behind the wheel.
Marshall's first biography, published in 1978, is titled Only Here For The Beer and a tribute edition was re-issued shortly after his death and his new biography (published by Haynes and written by Jeremy Walton and Gregor Marshall) was released in April 2010.
Marshall died of a heart related illness whilst testing the ex-Richard Petty's IROC Chevrolet Camaro at Silverstone. His son, Gregor, is also a race driver and he also has two daughters.
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Pos. | Pts | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Newtune Ltd. | Austin Mini Cooper S | A | BRH Ret |
OUL | SNE 16 |
GOO | SIL ? |
CRY 5† |
BRH | OUL | 12th | 14 | 4th | |||||
| 1970 | Shaw & Kilburn Ltd. | Vauxhall Viva GT | C | BRH Ret |
SNE DNQ |
THR 12 |
SIL 7 |
CRY 10† |
SIL 9 |
SIL 28 |
CRO 16 |
BRH 13 |
OUL 8 |
BRH | BRH | 37th | 6th | 12th | |
| 1973 | United Service Garage Portsmouth | Vauxhall Firenza Magnum 2300 | D | BRH | SIL | THR | THR | SIL | ING | BRH | SIL DNQ |
BRH | NC | 0 | NC | ||||
| 1974 | London Sportscar Centre | Chevrolet Camaro Z28 | D | MAL Ret† |
BRH DNS |
33rd | 4 | NC | |||||||||||
| Capel Continental Expresses Stock Cars Ltd. | Vauxhall Firenza 2300 | B | SIL Ret |
OUL | 11th | ||||||||||||||
| The Vauxhall Motorist Racing with Capital Motors | Vauxhall Firenza Magnum 2300 | THR 9 |
SIL Ret |
THR ? |
BRH 12 |
ING Ret† |
BRH | OUL | SNE 5† |
BRH | |||||||||
| 1976 | Dealer Team Vauxhall | Vauxhall Firenza Magnum 2300 | C | BRH 4 |
SIL 14 |
OUL ?† |
THR 4 |
THR 7 |
SIL 5† |
BRH 3 |
MAL 6† |
SNE 3† |
BRH 2 |
3rd | 58 | 1st | |||
| 1977 | Dealer Team Vauxhall | Vauxhall Firenza Magnum 2300 | C | SIL 6 |
BRH 4 |
OUL ?† |
THR 8 |
SIL 9 |
THR 8 |
DON Ret† |
SIL 6 |
DON 6† |
BRH 4 |
THR 6 |
BRH Ret |
7th | 27 | 3rd | |
| 1978 | Triplex Safety Glass | Ford Capri II 3.0s | D | SIL 2 |
OUL Ret† |
THR | BRH 6† |
SIL 4† |
DON Ret† |
MAL Ret† |
BRH 18 |
DON 6† |
BRH | THR | 23rd | 14 | 8th | ||
| Ford Capri III 3.0s | OUL Ret† |
||||||||||||||||||
| 1979 | Team Triplex with Esso and Motor | Triumph Dolomite Sprint | C | SIL | OUL 8 |
THR 17 |
SIL 9 |
DON 9 |
SIL Ret |
MAL | DON | BRH ? |
THR ? |
SNE | OUL Ret |
17th | 23 | 5th | |
| 1987 | AGK Motorsport | Toyota Corolla GT | D | SIL | OUL | THR | THR | SIL | SIL | BRH | SNE | DON | OUL 9‡* |
DON | SIL | NC* | 0* | NC* | |
| 1989 | BBR Motorsport | BMW M3 | B | OUL | SIL | THR | DON 7‡ |
THR | SIL | SIL | BRH | SNE | BRH | BIR | DON | SIL | 35th | 6 | 9th |
Source: | |||||||||||||||||||
† Events with 2 races staged for the different classes.
‡ Endurance driver.
| Year | Team | Co-driver | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback | 3001cc - 6000cc | 107 | DNF | DNF |
| Year | Team | Co-drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Vauxhall Firenza Magnum 2300 | -2500 | 276 | 2nd | 1st | ||
| 1978 | Ford Capri III 3.0s | +2500 | ? | DNF | DNF |