Mike Spence

Michael Henderson Spence (30 December 1936 - 7 May 1968): British racing driver from Croydon, Surrey who participated in 37 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix from 1963 to 1968, achieving one podium (third at the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix) and scoring 27 championship points with Lotus and BRM. Spence was killed during practice for the 1968 Indianapolis 500 when his Lotus 56 turbine car crashed and a wheel struck his helmet, causing fatal head injuries—the second devastating loss for Lotus team principal Colin Chapman in 1968 after Jimmy Clark's death at Hockenheim. Born in Croydon, Spence began racing in the late 1950s, progressing through British club racing categories before catching the attention of Lotus.

His smooth, intelligent driving style impressed Colin Chapman, who signed Spence as a Lotus works driver for the 1963 season. Spence made his Formula One debut at the 1963 Italian Grand Prix at Monza on 8 September, driving a Lotus 24-BRM. Over the next two seasons, Spence competed regularly for Lotus alongside Jim Clark, though always in Clark's shadow. His best result came at the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, where Spence finished third, scoring four championship points and his only career podium.

The Mexican GP podium demonstrated Spence possessed genuine talent, but opportunities at Lotus were limited with Clark as undisputed number one. For 1966, Spence moved to Reg Parnell Racing, driving customer Lotus cars. Results were mixed, though Spence occasionally showed flashes of speed. In 1967, Spence joined BRM, partnering Jackie Stewart. However, the BRM P83 was uncompetitive and unreliable, yielding poor results despite Spence's efforts.

Spence never scored points with BRM, a frustrating end to his full-time Formula One career. Following Jimmy Clark's death in a Formula 2 accident at Hockenheim on 7 April 1968, Colin Chapman was devastated. Clark had been not just Lotus's star driver but Chapman's close friend. Chapman invited Spence back to Lotus as part of their Indianapolis 500 team for the race scheduled for 30 May 1968. Clark had been slated to drive for Andy Granatelli's STP team in a revolutionary Lotus 56 turbine car, and Spence replaced Clark in the seat.

The Lotus 56 used a Pratt & Whitney turbine engine instead of a traditional piston engine, generating power through a gas turbine similar to an aircraft engine. The car was experimental and complex, representing cutting-edge technology. On Tuesday, 7 May 1968, during practice for the Indianapolis 500, Spence lost control of the Lotus 56 entering Turn 1 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The car spun, slid approximately 300 feet, and hit the wall at a 45-degree angle.

The impact was violent, and the right front wheel—either torn off or partially detached—bent back and struck Spence's helmet. Observers believed the wheel ripped off Spence's helmet, which was later found with the chin strap still fastened and tire marks on it. The blow caused catastrophic head trauma. Spence was initially conscious after the crash and walked to the medical center, where he complained of severe headaches.

He was transported to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, where doctors discovered a subdural hematoma—bleeding between the brain and skull causing pressure on the brain. Surgeons operated but could not save Spence. He died approximately four hours after the crash, at 6:09 PM, aged 31. Colin Chapman, who had lost Jimmy Clark just one month earlier, was shattered. He had now lost two good friends in the space of 30 days.

Chapman turned over his Indianapolis 500 operation to Andy Granatelli, his partner in the turbine project, stating he wanted nothing more to do with the 1968 Indianapolis race. Chapman accompanied Spence's body back to England, mourning a second devastating loss. The 1968 season became one of Formula One's darkest years. Beyond Clark and Spence, French driver Jo Schlesser was killed at the French Grand Prix in July driving the air-cooled Honda RA302, becoming the third major driver fatality of 1968.

The string of deaths highlighted motorsport's appalling dangers. Spence left behind a widow and young children. His death received extensive coverage in British media, with tributes celebrating his smooth driving style, intelligence, and potential that would never be realized. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway held a memorial service, and Spence was buried in England. Known for his third-place finish at the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix, smooth and intelligent driving style, long association with Lotus and Colin Chapman, death at Indianapolis during practice for the 1968 500 when a wheel struck his helmet, being Colin Chapman's second devastating driver loss in 1968 after Jimmy Clark, and leaving behind young children, Mike Spence represents the talented drivers whose lives were cut short by 1960s motorsport's terrible dangers.

His death, coming so soon after Clark's, compounded Chapman's grief and demonstrated that even the best teams with the most advanced technology could not guarantee driver safety.