Past ImperfectMasten Gregory was one of the most colourful and unusual drivers to make the transition from racing in the US to racing in Europe in the 1950s and 1960s. Certainly he did not fit the usual mould of the general perception of a racing driver.
This mild-mannered young man from Kansas City wore spectacles, which was very unusual then and is still uncommon today in the sport.
In the cockpit of a racing car he acquired a different persona, and contested most of the big sportscar races in Europe between 1954 and 1971, as well as being a Grand Prix driver for most of that time. During these years he won a lot of races, but also had more than his share of crashes and acquired something of a reputation for "bailing out" of his cars before they crashed.
Gregory arrived in Europe to drive a Ferrari in the 1954 and 1955 seasons, and immediately made an impact with wins at Aintree and Lisbon, as well as a fine third place at the mighty Nurburgring behind the all-conquering 300SLR Mercedes-Benz cars.
Staying with Ferrari, he won the Buenos Aires 1000km race and also made his F1 debut in Argentina. Signing a contract to drive ageing 250F Maseratis for a private team, he was fourth and fifth in his first two drives, followed by a third in the Monaco Grand Prix. In 1958 and 1959, Gregory raced for the Scottish Ecurie Ecosse team, putting in some fine performances in their Lister-Jaguars with wins at Spa and Silverstone.
The years that followed saw him drive a wide variety of cars, particularly a lightweight Piccolo Maserati and a Cooper Climax.
Although F1 wins eluded him, his fearless performances attracted a lot of attention - nowhere more so that at the German Grand Prix held in 1959 on the high-speed Avus circuit at Berlin.
There he battled wheel-to-wheel with the supposedly faster Ferraris until his over-stressed car broke.
These years were the highlight of Gregory's F1 career, and in the 1960s he turned his attention to sports car racing which he continued until 1971. The highlight of these years was his improbable victory with Jochen Rindt in the 1965 Le Mans. On this occasion the duo were signed to drive an elderly 3.3 litre 275 LM Ferrari for the North American Racing Team (NART) and were somewhat unimpressed with the car's preparation for the race.
Believing that this private entry had no chance against the "works" Ferraris and Fords, they conspired to drive the car as hard as possible so that the inevitable retirement would come sooner rather than later, neither driver having any desire to drive Le Mans for 24 hours with a placing the only probable reward. Rindt drove the first stint as hard as he could, and handed the car over to Gregory. At the second pit stop Gregory had to go looking for Rindt, who was already changed and about to leave the circuit. Gregory persuaded Rindt to return and again the pair drove the car as hard as possible.
It is said that the team manager, Luigi Chinetti, and the mechanics deliberately didn't look at the telltale rev counter during the pit stops.The result of all this was a rather weary 275 LM in the lead in the last hour of the race - the Ferrari and Fords having all failed to match its pace - and, despite an axle which threatened to shed teeth, they made it over the line for a famous victory.
Gregory - the Kansas City Kid - died of a heart attack near Rome in 1985 at the age of 53.