Mike’s Career summary

Born 24 September 1931 in Richmond, Surrey, Great Britain.
Father John Joseph Parkes CBE, mother Mary Beatrice Parkes (née Johnson).
His father, who trained as an engineer and learned to fly in the Auxiliary Air Force, was a factory manager at De Havilland during the Second World War and then became Managing Director, and subsequently Chairman, of Alvis Ltd.
Education: Lockers Park Preparatory School and Haileybury College (1945-1949).
1950-52 Apprenticeship at Humber-Hillman.
1952-1962 Development Engineer in Rootes experimental department. From 1955-1962 he worked on the design and development of the Hillman Imp, which went into production in 1963.
1952 won first race in his own MG TD.
1954-55 raced vintage Frazer-Nash.
1957 raced Geoff Williamson’s Ford Lotus 11.
1958-59 raced David Fry’s F2 Fry Climax.
1960 raced Sir Gawaine Baillie’s Lotus Elite. First long-distance races at Le Mans and Nürburgring.
1961-62 raced Jaguar 3.8 saloons and 250GT Ferraris for Equipe Endeavour/Maranello Concessionaires racing team.
1961 Le Mans drove works Ferrari for the first time, with Willi Mairesse, coming second.
1963 moved to live in Modena and work at Ferrari as development engineer and works driver in sports and prototype races.
1963-67 raced in European and American long-distance sports and prototype races as Ferrari works driver, achieving many placings.
1966-67 raced in eight Formula One races as Ferrari works driver achieving two first places, two second places, and one fifth place.
1967 serious accident at Belgian GP, broke both legs and wrist.
1967-1968 convalescence.
1969 returned to Ferrari as development engineer and team manager of sports car racing programme.
1970-73 team manager and racing driver for Scuderia Filipinetti.
1974-77 development engineer for Lancia Stratos rally car.
Died 28 August 1977 in road accident at Riva di Chieri, near Turin, Italy.

Major races

Formula 1 races

French GP 1966 (2^nd), Dutch GP 1966, German GP 1966, Italian GP 1966 (2^nd), Daily Express Trophy 1967 (1^st), Siracusa GP 1967 (1^st), Dutch GP 1967, Belgian GP 1967

Vingt-quatre Heures du Mans

Competed in 1960, 1961 (2^nd), 1962, 1963 (3^rd), 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967 (2^nd), 1970, 1971, 1972

1000 Km de Paris Montlhéry

Competed in 1962 (2^nd), 1966 (1^st), 1969

12 Hours Rheims

Competed in 1963 (3^rd), 1964 (3^rd), 1965 (2^nd)

500/1000 Km Spa

Competed in 1964 (1^st), 1965, 1966 (1^st), 1967

Monte Carlo Rally

Competed in 1961

1000 Km. Nurburgring

Competed in 1960, 1962 (2^nd), 1963, 1964 (2^nd), 1965 (2^nd), 1966, 1970

1000 Km. Monza

Competed in 1965 (1^st), 1966 (1^st), 1967 (2^nd), 1970, 1971

Monza Coppa Inter-Europa

Competed in 1963 (2^nd)

Targa Florio

Competed in 1963, 1965, 1966, 1970, 1971

RAC Tourist Trophy

Competed in 1960, 1961 (2^nd), 1962 (3^rd), 1963 (2^nd)

12 Hours Sebring

Competed in 1963, 1964 (1^st), 1966, 1970

24 Hours Daytona

Competed in 1967 (2^nd), 1970

Engineer and racing driver