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

Next: Childhood and Education

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