Notes:
David Prophet was one of the greatest motorsport privateers, and a very popular driver. Hong Kong born, he soon moved to England, living with his uncle. He started his racing career at the age of 23, driving a Kieft Formula Junior car. In 1963 he passed to a Brabham BT6 - Ford Formula Junior and took it out to South Africa at the end of that year. He took part in the Rhodesian Grand Prix at Kumalo, finishing 2nd behind John Love, and in the Rand Grand Prix at Kyalami, where he was 9th, one lap behind the winner John Surtees in a Ferrari 156. On 28 December 1963 he had his Formula 1 World Championship debut, driving the Brabham in the South African Grand Prix at East London. He retired on lap 49 due to oil pressure.
In 1964 Prophet who managed a garage in Kings Norton and had founded the David Prophet Racing Ltd., raced a Brabham BT6 - Ford in British Formula 3 events, while also competing in Formula 2 with a Lotus 32 - Cosworth and with a Brabham BT10 - Cosworth. He became a regular competitor of the end-of-season South African races. At the wheel of his Brabham BT10 he finished 3rd in the Cape South Easter Trophy at Killarney, and on 01 January 1965 he took part in the South African Grand Prix, his second and last Formula 1 issue, finishing 14th.
Later David Prophet went on in British sportscar races with a Lotus 30 - Ford, obtaining a 9th place overall in the Tourist Trophy at Oulton Park, then a round of the 1965 World Sportscar Championship. After he acquired a McLaren M1A - Ford he came back to South Africa, finishing 2nd behind Paul Hawkins in the Rand Grand Prix and fifth in the Pietermaritzburg 3 Hours.
In 1967 David Prophet bought a Ferrari 250LM, scoring a 5th place in the Trophée Auvergne, 300 kms of Clermond-Ferrand, and a 18th place in the BOAC 500 Brands Hatch with Peter de Klerk. Then he passed to a Ford GT40 which he raced in Britain and South Africa. He was second in the Three Hours of Lourenço Marques, in Mozambique, and ninth in the Cape Town 3 Hours at Killarney, once again with de Klerk. In 1968 Prophet campaigned his Ford GT40 with Richard Bond as team mate, being 8th in the 1000 Kms of Spa-Francorchamps. By the end of 1968 the GT40 was changed with a Lola T70MK3B - Chevrolet in which Prophet scored another 8th place in the 1000 Kms of Spa-Francorchamps in 1969, paired with his friend Paul Hawkins. He acquired a rare McLaren M6GT - Chevrolet and a McLaren M12 - Chevrolet, a former Can-Am car, finishing 2nd in 1970 at Magny Cours, behind Jean-Pierre Beltoise in a Lola T70MK3B - Chevrolet entered by David Piper.
Prophet became a regular competitor in British Formula 5000 races, driving a McLaren M10B - Chevrolet which he took to Argentina in January of 1971, to race the non-championship Argentine Ggrand Prix at Buenos Aires. He scored an impressive 4th place overall, first of his class, behind three Formula 1 cars, driven by the winner Chris Amon in a Matra MS120, Henri Pescarolo, second in a March 701 - Ford and Carlos Reutemann, third in Bonnier's McLaren M7C - Ford. Prophet's Formula 5000 career was nearly unsuccessful, but in 1970, 1971 and 1972 he was awarded the BRDC's Chris Bristow Trophy, for setting the fastest lap each year on the Club Circuit at Silverstone. He irregularly continued to attend races until 1980, when he competed in the British Formula Ford 2000 championship, aged 43.
David Prophet was killed on Sunday, 29 March 1981, when he crashed his personal Bell Ranger helicopter while taking off at Silverstone after watching the International Trophy Formula 2 race, probably due to bad weather conditions. Three passengers of the helicopter were also killed. David Prophet was survived by his wife Joan and their two daughters, Jane and Lisa. |
