Dan Gurney Born: 13th April 1931, Port Jefferson, United States
Died: 14th January 2018, Newport Beach, United States Grand Prix starts: 87 Grand Prix victories: 4 Points total: 133
Dan Gurney was born in New York but he grew up in California and began racing a Triumph TR2. He soon worked his way up to Formula One and was offered a drive with Ferrari.
He impressed from the outset, finishing on the podium twice in his first three races. He left Ferrari at the end of the year and joined BRM but without the financial clout behind him he found little success. He drove for several more teams and won the 1967 Belgian Grand Prix in an Eagle, the last of his four victories.
Gurney started the tradition of spraying champagne from the podium, which he first did at Le Mans in 1967. He is also the inventor of the Gurney flap, a device used on car and aeroplane wings to increase lift or downforce. In addition, he introduced full-face helmets to Formula One and IndyCar.
